COVID effects on kitchen cabinets
COVID effects on kitchen cabinets? Corona Virus has affected all of us in many ways. Many lost their jobs. Others got their hours cut down. Almost everyone had to cancel their holidays. We learned how to work from home. Pubs were closed, parties and gatherings prohibited. We learned about social distancing and self-isolation. But could your kitchen cabinets be affected by the respiratory virus?
COVID side-effects are spreading into your home
Admittedly it sounds unlikely at first. But for your own good and the sake of your kitchen cabinets, read on. Of course, kitchen furniture does not develop a cough or temperature. But the side effects of the corona pandemic are indeed spreading as far as your kitchen furniture. Your long-planned kitchen renovation might turn into a nightmare when an average ‘bloke’ comes to have a squiz at your kitchen.
People got creative and tried to find new income streams
The problem is that so many people lost their income and jobs. Some were let go for good while others were put on hold until the industry recovers. With their livelihood and family finances at risk, people got creative and tried to find new income streams. All of a sudden, chippies became painters, tilers turned cabinet makers and roofies became maintenance experts. In other words: In the post-pandemic economy every bloke and his dog are having a crack; promising you expert work as cheap as chips and you end up with a destroyed kitchen.
At Dianella we too felt the downturn during the lockdown, that’s for sure. However once everything calmed down and business went back to usual, we noticed a new trend. People were calling us to help fix their kitchen cabinets, or shall we say to rescue them.
Kitchen destroyed with a patchy paint job
For the last few months, we have had at least a couple of calls a week from devastated customers that had their kitchen cabinets messed up if not destroyed by general handymen and tradies of all kinds. We call it the COVID effects on kitchen cabinets. Sharon from Doubleview* called us in June asking if we could re-paint her cabinets. When Trevor, the owner and managing director of Dianella Polishing, went out for an obligation-free quote, he found her timber kitchen destroyed with a patchy paint job.
It turns out Sharon fell for what seemed to be a great offer at the time. In “just a few days” Dan* promised to re-vamp the kitchen. The handyman said he had done it plenty of times before and made Sharon a really good price. For only $1800 he would fix her kitchen. He kept his promise to be in and out of her house in only two days. However, the re-vamp was not what Sharon had hoped for. The doors of the cabinets are streaky: “You can see every brushstroke,” she says.
Cabinet doors don’t close properly
To make things worse the cabinet doors don’t close properly anymore. (Probably because they were not marked and replaced in the exact location where they came from, Trevor guesses.) Can we re-finish them? Probably not, the cheap paint the handyman used most likely destroyed the underlying substrate. As a result, our 2-pac paint won’t adhere properly making it almost impossible to re-paint the kitchen. The cheap kitchen make-over will cost in excess of $10,000. If she is lucky our qualified cabbie can make brand-new doors for her quality kitchen and at least save the cabinets.
Sharon is not a single case. We had customers call us that had their peeling vinyl “repaired”. The repair turns out to be a poorly executed attempt of gluing the vinyl back on to the underlying board. For one, this “repair” never lasts. Even worse: The glue will destroy the otherwise perfect cabinet door. Another Client called us desperate for help. Her kitchen cabinets looked shocking after some tradie had painted over her vinyl wrapped doors.
Painting kitchen cabinets is a very specialised trade
We understand that everyone is just trying to make a living. However painting kitchen cabinets is a very specialised trade. Dianella Polishing has been in the business for more than 30 years. We are not a panel beater nor the average spray painter but a highly qualified business with professional equipment and the latest in facilities. Renovating a kitchen or more precisely re-finishing kitchen cabinetry is not a DIY job. 2-pac paint cannot be applied in a chippies backyard or by a roofie in your own kitchen.
Stay clear of unqualified tradies
So if you want to avoid COVID effects on kitchen cabinets, we recommend you stay clear of unqualified tradies. You wouldn’t let a bank teller repair your car, would you? Similarly, don’t let an average bloke you found on Gumtree get near your kitchen. Quality in-built kitchens are an asset to any property. To replace a well-made kitchen will leave you with easily a $30,000 bill. To repair a messed up kitchen make-over will most likely have you $10,000 out of pocket.
Stay tuned for our next article: ”The top 5 questions to ask your kitchen painter” and feel free to add your questions and experiences to the comments below. For more health-advice on your kitchen, click here: https://www.dianellapolishing.com.au/blog/first-aid-for-peeling-vinyl-doors/. For an obligation-free quote, click here.
*Names changed for privacy reasons
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