Bravo folks! Those are some beautiful sets of cabinets and drawers! Like many of you, we also wanted to improve the appearance and function of our older trailer, so we discarded the original pressboard / vaneer cabinet doors on out 1984
Casita. As replacements, we built all new cabinet doors and a natural wood countertop that are complementary to the original burnt-orange shag carpet. The new closet, pantry, and cabinet doors were constructed of ¼” oak panels, reinforced by ¼” stiffeners in the back, and trimmed with pine molding. We used adjustable Sun-Dog brass stud catches (attached sideways to oak plates) for the latches.
The new countertop is constructed of laminated 3/4” pine boards that were stained lightly with Minwax natural wood finish, and trimmed by oak. I installed long wood shims between the
fiberglass cabinet base and the countertop to level-out the counter surface, and the shims are hidden by oak molding. The countertop was attached by stainless steel wood screws and construction adhesive. I used a jigsaw to remove the cut outs for the
propane burner, sink, and pump, and then finished the woodwork with several coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar urethane (semi-gloss). I also added a bead of white latex kitchen caulking around the back and side where the countertop abuts against the
fiberglass. I was able to salvage and re-install the original sink, but I added a new LC triple-action low-boy pump, and a new Suburban 2-burner stainless steel drop-in
propane cook-top. I also hollowed out a section of bamboo to accept and hide the metal conduit for the
electrical wires that run from beneath the sink to the new 120V AC / 12V DC
lights located above the sink and
propane burners.
Steve