RE: adding cabinet doors

[ckkevin]

 
I am wanting to add cabinet doors to the front of my bench seats so I don t have to remove the cushions everytime.  I know several people have done this mod so I am looking for some advice.  
 
 How did you reinforce the thin wood where the door is attached?
 What did you use for doors?
 Anything you would do different or change now?
 Any Pictures?
 
 Thanks for your help.

[6Quigs]

 ckkevin
After reading about someone doing this modification, I had a better look at the doors we have on our Niagara.
 All they use to frame the openings, was 1"  square pine wood, not very strong, but light.
 The doors, I think they got from their dealer, or you could try Home Depot, and see if the doors they stock would fit.
 

[kathybrj]

 ckkevin
We used 1" x1"  strips to reinforce the openings when we added doors under the dinette seats in our former Sedona.
 
 We picked up doors at a liquidation lumber yard. They matched the other cabinet doors well. I stained them, but don t recall what stain we used. We found nearly an exact match on hardware at Walmart.
 
 Only have a picture of one of the doors:
 
 http://kathybrj.tripod.com/Off_The_Ground/id3.html

[tlhdoc]

 ckkevin
I did this mod to my Nevada.  I ordered the doors (1999 Niagara doors) and hinges from my Coleman dealer.  It was under $50 for all of the parts.  I did get the door pulls but decided not to install them.  I thought people might hit them, because they are so close to the floor.  I used pine 1 X 2 s to add support to the seat.

[Venatic]

 ckkevin
I was able to get free doors from my dealer. They didn t match the style that was used in 2000, but they are not that noticeable because they are near the floor. Our dealer had a bunch of these from people who add a furnace. Hence the dealer now has extra doors that they don t do anything with.
 
 Two of these under each seat fit perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. One set was a tight fit, the other set had one door that wouldn t close all the way. A little velcro fixed that!
 
 I was able to cut out enough opening for the doors with having to add any extra framing as some have done. I used what was there. Haven t had any problems.

[mike4947]

 ckkevin
We ve always done what Gary did, hit up a few dealers for " extras"  sitting around the shop. As for reinforcing the openings we just used the same material that was used around the rest of the seat and made a " header"  and put " studs"  from it to the floor on either side of the opening just for a little extra support and then just pieced in the bottom between the " Studs"  like you frame a window on a house.
 For opening hardware on anything where it could catch we sinply cut a relief in the back of the edge of the door for a finger grip and use internal spring catches to hold it shut. Figure it saved about 20 ankles over the years.

[ckkevin]

 ckkevin
Thanks for all the input.  It looks like I need to take a trip to home depot and get started.

[Ab Diver]

 ckkevin
Kevin, when I added the doors to my dinnete, I ordered the doors from Coleman, but you can find matching hinges and pulls at your local Borg. I used spring-return hinges so they snap shut the last few degrees, with snap-in holders to keep the doors shut during transit.
 
 Measure where you want the door opening to be, and drill holes at the corners large enough to start a jig saw blade (fine tooth, smooth cut). Use a straightedge to keep the cut nice and clean. (clamp a piece of wood to the seat for a straightedge) Brace the seat vertically with wood 1x2  and horizontally (top) with 1x2 " nested"  within some 1.5x1.5x1/8"  aluminum angle stock (cost,: about $3 in materials). This rests on top of the vertical supports. This way if (when) your 300 lbs. friend sits down rather *firmly* on the dinette, the seat will still support him without the side breaking. []
 
 You ll want to add a final piece of wood bracing to the bottom portion of the dinette side below the new door opening. Screw the brace into the floor and into the dinette side from " inside"  the seat. Otherwise, a small child s errant foot will be all it would take to crack that thin piece of material.
 
 If you have any woodworking experience, the doors can be made from plywood, with molding glued to the front to form a " frame" . Stain to match, or even to contrast would be easier. Cost: the can of stain will cost more than the wood. I d have done that, but SWMBO wanted *exact* matches-- no " artistic"  license. []

[SheBantam]

Thanks guys, just asked this yesterday before I looked in the"distant" past.

Paula

[Old Goat]

I removed the doors from the dinette seat ends in our 01 Niagara, inlarged the openings and made drawers to fit...Rebuilt seat frames to make them stronger using 1X1" white pine for framing..All joints are put together with glue and brads. Wood screws were used where needed...Drawers are 17" wide X 24" long and 11" deep. Drawer faces are made of red oak that was planed down to save weight, stained to match and three coats of satin finish urethane varnish were applied.... No more lifting the cushions or kneeling down for access.......