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Paint Kitchens Home Repair

kitchen soffit removal and repainting cabinets

3 years ago

we are in the middle of a basement reno, adding two bathrooms and a mud room/laundry room. our home is 50 yr old and we want to do the kitchen but dont have the budget for that currently. we will be moving the kitchen and taking out walls- basically starting over. SO- we want to take this soffit out (it is a ranch with no venting or electrical and attic space above), install can lights- any idea how much it would cost. it is framed in, so it would need to be reframed.
second...the previous owners painted the cabinets and it is chipping so bad. how do I go about repainting or sanding down to paint again? any suggestions welcome

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Comments (4)

User
3 years ago
A failing finish has to be stripped off completely to start over. Those cabinets are not worth that amount of labor. Soffits will have something in them. Something that needs rerouting.

Leave it all until you’re ready to really tackle the kitchen.
salonva
3 years ago
I can add that in our last house, we did not change our cabinets but removed the soffit and added a piece of crown molding to the tops. Before we did that though, to see if it was feasible,our contractor drilled a hole at the ends of the soffit run to get a view. He was able to see with a flashlight what was there. Fortunately there was only one bit of a pipe that was able to be adjusted . That way we knew (well he knew ha) what to expect.

It was a pretty easy way to determine what was what.

I have no suggestion for the painting but I think above is correct that you do need to strip the paint completely.. (Mine were stained and stayed that way).
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I really dislike soffits. And we plan to remove them when demoing outr kitchen. BUT! Your kitchen is nice and bright, and does not feel dark or cramped at all. I would not have noticed the soffits at all if you hadn't mentioned it. You made such good choices with colors etc that the soffits just disappear. I would not prioritize eliminating the soffits.
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My first thought is, do you want to play up the current, classically modern boxes-bolted-to-walls look? (As opposed to the traditional, built-in look of the kitchens Nosoccermom posted.) If so, you may want to maintain at least some contrast for the uppers at least, in color and/or surface material. If that design element doesn't specifically ping with you, you might choose a color/colors for either uppers or both uppers and lowers that blend into the wall color. You could also consider removing some or all of the uppers and hanging art on that wall, or doing something with a few open shelves and art. In any case, all the pictures you posted are of kitchen with flat ceilings and cabinets to them. Before color, I think you should analyze kitchens with high, sloped ceilings like your own for treatments you really like. There are lots of great examples out there. :)
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Here is how I would expect a Pro cabinet finisher to spray paint kitchen cabinets. A brush painted amateur job would differ slightly in that you wouldn't hang the doors to paint. You'd place them on a work table or easel instead. It's time intensive work, and should take 7-14 days to accomplish completely and cost between 5--9K depending on kitchen size and amount of detail in cabinets. Remove doors and drawer fronts. Number on an edge to locate their home easily. Remove hinges and hardware. Clean with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) Rinse (required) and let dry. Scrape any loose finish. Fill any damaged spots or hardware holes that won't be reused. Fill oak grain with PorePac if you want a smooth finish then sand. Repeat. (Or just buy new cabinets. The labor to donthst is insane.) Sand fill smooth. Scuff sand the rest. Tack off dust. Hang in dust free paint booth with wires through hardware points. Tack off dust again. Spray with alkyd based primer like BIN. Scuff sand again. Tack off dust. Spray with second coat of primer. Spray with first finish coat of post catalyzed conversion varnish. Amateurs can use an oil modified waterborne enamel like Cabinet Coat. Spray with second coat. If glazing is to occur, that is next. Add more molding or decorative details to boxes, filling nail holes and sanding smooth. Repeat prep process with face frames and exposed cabinet sides using plastic to create a spray booth on site. If interiors are to be done, they are done before face frames and sides. Interiors are difficult, and add both time and expense to the job. Allow everything to fully cure. Clean hinges and hardware and clear coat if you're keeping the old hardware. Install new (or old) hinges and hardware. Re-install doors and drawers and adjust for proper clearances. If you are receiving a job without this amount of effort, or these professional products, then you are not receiving a quality professional job.
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The "problem" is a design problem -- how to bridge the gap between cabinet and ceiling. Soffits and crown molding are the usual solutions to this problem. If soffit doesn't appeal, my suggestion would be to add a very simple molding so it looks more finished/intentional, and then not put any stuff up there. To me having decorative items up on top always increases the impression of clutter and the shadows created in the corners. Maybe you can find or create a little shelf space elsewhere for your copper collection to come down from the ceiling and shine!
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cat_ky
3 years ago
The cabinets were never painted properly. Probably a quick coat of paint, so they could sell the house. You can sand them all down (lots of sanding, and lots of work), and prime them with a good quality primer, and then use cabinet paint on them, to get by for a while. I dont see soffits in your pictures, what I see is a drop ceiling. There could be something inside that ceiling. I suggest doing what salonva above had done. A section removed, so you can see whats above there. It will all be a lot of work, but, if you can diy it all, you wont have to spend a lot of money right now, and it will be a big improvement.
ci_lantro
3 years ago
SO- we want to take this soffit out (it is a ranch with no venting or electrical and attic space above), install can lights-

What you have there is much more than a soffit. The entire ceiling has been dropped. There may or may not be drywall above the dropped ceiling; there may be insulation up there resting on the dropped portion. The walls above the ceiling may not have drywall on them.

If you remove the light diffusers, you may be able to get a better idea of what is there & what isn't.

This will be more costly than simply removing a soffit-over-cabinet situation.

The good news is that you have attic space above which makes the electrical easier & a bit less costly.

OTOH: we will be moving the kitchen and taking out walls- basically starting over.

Doesn't make sense to do anything now because when the kitchen gets moved, the new lighting you install now will be all wrong; the ceiling will have to be patched/ replaced where the walls come down, electrical will have to be re-routed...

For now, I would replace the cabinet pulls with pulls that have backplates--that will help cover up the peeled paint and minimize chipping--do a bit of touch up painting. Then live with it until you are ready to take on the larger project.

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