Kitchen cabinet toe-kick strip - what's the cheapest?

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  • radhak
    Veteran Member
    • Apr 2006
    • 3058
    • Miramar, FL
    • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

    Kitchen cabinet toe-kick strip - what's the cheapest?

    My neighbor's house is 15 year old. Her kitchen cabinets look okay, but she has been painting them dark cherry, maybe with the idea of preparing to sell the house.

    The problem is that most of the particle-board strips in the toe-kick area have degenerated and need replacing before she paints them. She also has very little budgeted for this, so wants the cheapest possible material.



    She wants to just get some strip of particle board or melamine, but should be paint-able.

    She was thinking of just adding the new strip over the old one, but I thought that would reduce the toe-kick area, making it uncomfortable to stand there. I'll be her handy-man for this (removing old, cutting and adding the new).

    So what do you suggest? It being a kitchen, I ruled out plain MDF - could bloat pretty fast, right? How about plywood sheathing, like this? Or some other ply ?

    Does this strip bear any load of the cabinet? Does it have to be 3/4" thick?

    And I saw this too. Says it's paintable. Would that work?
    Last edited by radhak; 09-28-2014, 07:41 AM.
    It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
    - Aristotle
  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    #2
    I would go with 1/8", maybe 1/4", plywood or 1/8" hardboard--the resin impregnated stuff. Buy the 4x8 sheet and rip to width and brad nail them into place. I'd also paint or rub some sealant into the bottom edge to slow down water wicking up from spills or if they're heavy handed with the mop water.

    It looks like the one you have pictured is next to the dishwasher. Was or is there a leak? That is some pretty bad wear after just 15 years.

    Comment

    • Cochese
      Veteran Member
      • Jun 2010
      • 1988

      #3
      If you just want to do a coverup, you could look at painting plain white countertop material and cementing it on. Hard to tell from the pic, but it doesn't look like wood grain on the doors.
      I have a little blog about my shop

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      • All Thumbs
        Established Member
        • Oct 2009
        • 322
        • Penn Hills, PA
        • BT3K/Saw-Stop

        #4
        Originally posted by atgcpaul
        I would go with 1/8", maybe 1/4", plywood or 1/8" hardboard--the resin impregnated stuff. Buy the 4x8 sheet and rip to width and brad nail them into place. I'd also paint or rub some sealant into the bottom edge to slow down water wicking up from spills or if they're heavy handed with the mop water.

        It looks like the one you have pictured is next to the dishwasher. Was or is there a leak? That is some pretty bad wear after just 15 years.
        I agree w/ skimming it with plywood. And even though it would be more trouble to patch, I'd probably staple it because small nails have a habit of not holding thin materials that great.

        Comment

        • cwsmith
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2005
          • 2737
          • NY Southern Tier, USA.
          • BT3100-1

          #5
          I'd simply use plain old pine, if you could get the old material off. (I think I'd want to remove that anyway.)

          You could paint it or stain it to match/contrast the cabinets. It is durable enough and certainly 100% better than MDF or particle board. I'd make sure you paint or poly it well to protect it from any soaking when the floors are mopped.

          We put in a new kitchen a few years ago and for the kick board, I used solid red oak, to match the cabinets. I used four coats of poly... three very thin.

          They still look great after six years, but then we don't heavily wet mop the bamboo flooring either.

          CWS
          Think it Through Before You Do!

          Comment

          • radhak
            Veteran Member
            • Apr 2006
            • 3058
            • Miramar, FL
            • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

            #6
            Yes, that's next to the dishwasher, and this on the other side, looks even worse:




            Maybe I need to check for water leak too; but I thought for cheap particle-board, 15 years was long enough?

            I was thinking pine too, but will have to figure out to make it really water proof. She wants to paint it with Acrylic, which is not water-proof. Maybe I should poly it before painting? (or should it after?)

            Paul and All, did you mean I could skim it over the existing piece? Or I could remove that and just add 1/8 material? Will that loss of strength matter?

            No, those doors have no grain - I'm sure they are mdf, because they were earlier under molded-plastic-laminate-whatever (as installed by the builder) which she stripped off and sanded before painting.
            It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
            - Aristotle

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            • atgcpaul
              Veteran Member
              • Aug 2003
              • 4055
              • Maryland
              • Grizzly 1023SLX

              #7
              If the toekicks are still structurally sound--those look pretty bad--I would just nail/staple new ones over the old. Ship decks have been swabbed wetter than that kitchen and look better than those toekicks--or she wears long pointy shoes. Something has got to be or had been leaking for a while.

              Comment

              • JimD
                Veteran Member
                • Feb 2003
                • 4187
                • Lexington, SC.

                #8
                I've also seen white painted tempered hardboard in the home center. Ripped into strips it would work well. If you don't want white, the white would still make it easier to paint the color you do want.

                Comment

                • conwaygolfer
                  Established Member
                  • Jun 2008
                  • 371
                  • Conway, SC.
                  • BT3000

                  #9
                  There is absolutely no strength in the toe kick material. The cabinets will stand with or without them. They are screwed to the wall and even if they weren't, the toe kick adds no stability.

                  Conwaygolfer

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                  • capncarl
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 3564
                    • Leesburg Georgia USA
                    • SawStop CTS

                    #10
                    I saw some really nice 5/8x7 1/12" x 48" pine in the stair treads materials at Lowes that could be cut down to replace this wood.

                    Comment

                    • jking
                      Senior Member
                      • May 2003
                      • 972
                      • Des Moines, IA.
                      • BT3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by conwaygolfer
                      There is absolutely no strength in the toe kick material. The cabinets will stand with or without them. They are screwed to the wall and even if they weren't, the toe kick adds no stability.

                      Conwaygolfer
                      ^^^This is worth repeating.^^^ The toe kick material is there as a cosmetic cover for the front of the cabinets. Make sure you figure out whether the dishwasher is leaking before you replace the toe kick. The hardboard idea is a good one. The toe kick material from the cabinet manufacturer that came with my cabinets was simply very thin hardboard material. It works for what it needs to do. I would recommend priming whatever you use with a good oil based primer. I like oil primers for wood materials because it seems to soak in and seal better in my experience.

                      Comment

                      • phrog
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jul 2005
                        • 1796
                        • Chattanooga, TN, USA.

                        #12
                        When I tiled my bathroom floor, I decided to replace the toe-kick and found 4' rubber-type baseboard material at one of the big centers. Glued it to the existing toe kick with a baseboard adhesive that you put in a caulking gun. The baseboard material came in several colors and is very flexible. You cut it with a knife rather than sawing it. I don't know if it is paintable or if it is still being made. However, I will say that where I put it isn't readily visible; so, cosmetics was not a problem.
                        Richard

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                        • radhak
                          Veteran Member
                          • Apr 2006
                          • 3058
                          • Miramar, FL
                          • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

                          #13
                          Great ideas, information and advice - Thanks everybody!

                          I'll first check for leaks before replacing the planks. The existing stuff looks so bad that I'm itching to rip them out and put in new. Hardboard, or the suggested pine sounds pretty good. (I'd not have thought of baseboards and stair treads myself - will keep my eyes open)

                          I'll come back and update y'all.
                          It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
                          - Aristotle

                          Comment

                          • Stytooner
                            Roll Tide RIP Lee
                            • Dec 2002
                            • 4301
                            • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
                            • BT3100

                            #14
                            I have seen left over laminate flooring used as well. The joints hide easily. It is fairly durable and if it is left over, costs nothing.
                            I am slowly redoing our kitchen using unfinished oak cabinets. They are pretty well made. Plywood and solid oak fronts. They have 1/2" luan plywood on them now. I will likely use left over laminate flooring when we get that far along. Probably this winter.
                            Lee

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                            • JimD
                              Veteran Member
                              • Feb 2003
                              • 4187
                              • Lexington, SC.

                              #15
                              I don't know how high the toe kicks are but if you can find a compatible width, prefinished flooring might dress them up nicely. My wife and I used some that was 5/16 thick solid oak from Southeastern salvage that was $1/bd ft. Laminate would be OK too and durable.

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