Cabinet demo?

RobynnNinjah
by RobynnNinjah

This may get a little long so bare with me.


So, we live in a newer mobile home and I HATE the kitchen. Its builder grade, and I would like to spruce it up a bit with some open cabinetry. My problem; the upper cabinets are all one piece (there are 4 of them) and our vent hood is attached to the wall and cabinets.


My question IS; can I safely remove my cabinets and vent hood and then reinstall the hood on the open shelving/wall? There is no vent hose in my cabinetry; the hood is just flush against the wall, leading directly to an outdoor vent on the outside of the house. I would be installing one of the open shelves exactly in the same spot as the bottom of our cabinets so that our hood would line right back up with its previous location, as well.


If it IS safe and okay to do, what would be the best route for re-attaching the hood back to the wall? I know mobile homes are made up mostly of plaster walls and I do not want this project to be done incorrectly, or to fall apart in 6 months, if I can even do it.


Any and ALL advice is appreciated! 🖤


I'll be attaching some pictures to show the cabinets, how the hood seems to he attached, as well as the inside of the cabinets to show the lack of vent hose!

Cabinets are all one piece. (And the hideous textured ceilings 🤢)

It looks like its attached to the wall and then again underneath the cabinets

No vent hose in cabinets (excuse all my non matching dishes - 5 year olds sure hate matching cups apparently 😂)

  21 answers
  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Nov 19, 2020

    Hello,

    Had you thought about just removing the cabinet doors and re configuring the insides to suit?

  • Seth Seth on Nov 19, 2020

    Yes , it is safe to do. A couple of things to keep in mind. The weight of the vent hood is partially carried by the cabinet. You would need to insure the way you attach the open shelf would still be able to carry the weight of the hood, or, check to see if the manufacturer of the hood has a bracket made specifically for that purpose that would be anchored into the wall studs. Your wall studs should be typical 2x3 or 2x4's that are 16" on center. You might need to interrupt the shelf run to accommodate the hood and trim. Some trim might need to be added where the cabinet was that will now be exposed. You may also need a different model of wall mounted vent that could require relocating the vent opening. Another issue you might run into is the location of the electric service. Is it a plug-in or is it hardwired? You may need to move a wire or put in a junction box if you change vent hoods or relocate it. To completely remove the hood, there may be screws/brackets you need to get to from the outside where the short duct from the hood passes through the wall. Could require a little bit of jerry rigging to may it work, but it's not impossible.

  • Em Em on Nov 19, 2020

    I have the same. Remove the cabinets and the vent can be redone or covered with paint, or any material you like, metal, wood etc. The cabinet is built around the exhaust.

  • 17335038 17335038 on Nov 19, 2020

    What exactly is it about the kitchen that you Hate?

    • RobynnNinjah RobynnNinjah on Nov 20, 2020

      The entire house is builder grade, and we are slowly updating as we go. But the kitchen is quite small, dark, and doesnt function the way I need it too. I'm partially going to be solving storage issues with cleverly bought duel purpose furniture, and using vertical space make it more functional for our needs. The reason I'm not 100% convinced that just painting the cabinets will help is because we arent doing farmhouse. We are doing modern industrial. I'm concerned that if I paint the existing cabinets a dark color to match our theme it'll make everything look small, as it is now, and I was hoping to open the space up. There arent any windows in our kitchen, just 2 light fixtures. I do plan on amping up the light with more modern fixtures and replacing the bulbs with daylight bulbs to see if that'll fix the dark, yellow tinting of our lights.


      Ive tackled some big DIYs before, but for some reason, the kitchen was particularly perplexing. I dont know a lot about vent hoods and this is our first mobile home, so I was nervous to tackle a large project like this because of the structural notoriety of mobile homes. I know the walls are made of VOG most of the time, and I know that adding too much weight to one wall of a mobile home can cause shifting and settling (which brings squeaky floors and other issues)


      Its newer, though, so I know its up to HUD standards. I just was wanting to add personal touches and "custom" features to bring it back from the brink of total builder grade.



  • FrugalFamilyTimes.com FrugalFamilyTimes.com on Nov 19, 2020

    We painted the cupboards in our mobile home and now we love them! Covering that fake wood is the key.

    you should be able to move that hood vent and attach to shelves without much problem. Another idea would be to build a wooden unit around the hood fan and make it look high end!

  • Michelle Michelle on Nov 19, 2020

    In addition to painting cupboards, rearranging insides. You could get new doors or glue trim on with new hardware

  • You should be able to reattach the hood to a shelf. Just be sure it is attached/strong enough to carry the weight of the hood.

  • William William on Nov 19, 2020

    Walls of mobile homes are basically metal studs with panels attached to them and strips (plastic or wood) covering the seams. The hood is screwed to the bottom of the cabinets and possibly to the wall. Electrical for the hood is also in that wall behind the back of the hood. You can remove the cabinets and hood and install shelving. One shelf would need to be the height of the bottom of the cabinets so you can screw the hood to the shelf and the vent lines up perfectly. Have you considered painting the cabinets and see if you can live with them. Would be a shame to take down cabinets lose the storage and hide items you don't want exposed.

    • RobynnNinjah RobynnNinjah on Nov 20, 2020

      I have a clever plan for storage! Between duel function furniture, caster wheel spice racks to hide between the fridge and the wall, and a few other tricks up my sleeve, I'm more looking to add custom touches.


      Were doing a modern industrial theme, and I am at a loss for a paint color for it

  • CJ CJ on Nov 19, 2020

    I suggest you remove the cabinet doors and using the cabinets open to see how you like open shelves before jumping in with demo and replacing with shelves.

  • Homeroad Homeroad on Nov 20, 2020

    I would try painting the cabinets first. If you paint them a nice light color it will change the look and look lighter and brighter in your kitchen.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Nov 20, 2020

    I took the doors off my upper cabinets and just love it. Eventually will remodel and do only shelving

    In you mobile home, what I would do is as CJ suggested and see how you like it, if you need to fancy that arrangement up, you could put peelable wallpaper or peelable contact paper on the back wall of your cupboards, that might help. Even peel and stick tiles.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Nov 20, 2020

    If you decide to paint, that is an option, you could also improve the paint job with transfers. Take a look at:


    https://ironorchiddesigns.com/product/farm-fresh-signage-14-25x24-decor-transfer/


    They are also available through Amazon

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Nov 20, 2020

    I would replace the hood with a ventless one. That is what I am doing, simply because when I had a new roof put on my home, the roofers pointed out that every hole in it is another opportunity for a leak. Of course, you will have to get a piece of metal to cover the hole in the roof but that shouldn't be an issue. We did that to my daughter's mobile home where the skylight had began to crack and leak. We had a metal roofing company cut a piece of flat metal for a larger area and then screwed it in place. It was much larger than the hole but we also sealed the edges.

  • William William on Nov 20, 2020

    Some tips on choosing paint colors

    https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=industrial%20paint%20colors

  • Deb K Deb K on Nov 20, 2020

    Hello, Yes you can remove the vent to install new cabinets, also, you can take the time to paint the vent the vent hood a nice color that you like/love!! I don't think the brown is very appealing. It should be pretty easy to remove the hood to paint it and add in new cabinets.

  • Ken Erickson Ken Erickson on Nov 21, 2020

    Anything that went up can come down. Just need to see how it was installed. Cabinets are usually screwed together where 2 face frames meet. Screws hold cabinet to the wall. The best bet is to put a temporary support under the cabinets and take them down as a unit. Places like Habitat will take them for resale. People are always looking for garage cabinets. Your range hood is probably only fastened with a couple of screws. Disconnect power first and then disconnect the wire going into the fan.

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Nov 22, 2020

    Hi! Shouldn't be too difficult to take them apart. Installing the hood back in the same place will also be a matter of screwing it into the shelf and the wall so it's firmly attached. Pay attention to how it's currently attached when taking it down. Good luck!

  • Annie Annie on Nov 24, 2020

    As long as the hood does not vent up through the cabinet then your idea should work just fine. Perhaps take a look at a new hood that does not mount to the under side of cabinet, and then just get a couple new open style shelves for either side.....

  • 17335038 17335038 on Nov 24, 2020

    For anyone who is not familiar with what Modern Industrial Decor is, here is one site that tells about it and shows some examples:


    https://www.impressiveinteriordesign.com/modern-industrial-interior-design-definition-ideas/

  • 17335038 17335038 on Nov 24, 2020


    One route to dealing with the cumbersome vent hood is to choose a down draft vent instead. These mount into the countertop behind (or to one side of) a stove or a cook top, almost 'disappearing' when in the Off position.


    Installation of a downdraft model is possible in homes with a basement or crawl space. I do not know however, to what extent it could be an option in your particular mobile home.


    The first three pictures below show different models in the On or Up position. The fourth picture shows the back of one.

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Nov 30, 2020


    I suggest you remove the cabinet doors and using the cabinets open to see how you like open shelves before jumping in with demo and replacing with shelves.