Tips for assembling Kaboodle kitchens from Bunnings

Sep 9, 2010 by Kevin    5 Comments    Posted under: Bunnings FlatPax Range, Kitchen Products

Update: Flatpax have changed their name, and are now selling their DIY kitchen products as “Kaboodle”. Whilst I haven’t had any experience with the new product, it seems to be roughly the same core product ideas. If you’ve installed one of the new DIY kit kitchens from Kaboodle in your home, please share your experience in the Comments below. Thanks!

When I was building my house, I opted not to have overhead cabinets installed in my kitchen area, however I quickly realised that I was lacking in storage space, which meant that I had to investigate options to upgrade and increase my kitchen storage.

I decided to look at products that would allow me to do the upgrade as a “DIY” project, to save some time and money compared to getting a kitchen company to come in and install the extra cabinets for me. I looked at the FAKTUM range of cabinets at IKEA, however compared to the FlatPax range from Bunnings, it was a lot more expensive. A quick inspection of the FlatPax range instore allowed me to see that it appeared to be constructed of higher quality materials and they had a range of finishes for the doors, including a white that matched in with my existing kitchen very well.

Tips for Assembling your FlatPax Kitchen Cabinets:

• While assembling the product, it is handy to have a second person to assist with holding the pieces as you glue and screw them together. Make sure you purchase a bottle of Wood/PVA glue (Aquadhere) when you are in store to provide extra strength in the cupboards.

• When it comes time to place the cupboard on the wall, the instructions recommend screws that are at least 65mm long, to go through the thickness of the cabinet, your Gyprock/plasterboard walls and into the timber or steel wall studs. I’d also recommend adding a generous amount of Liquid Nails to the back of the cabinet before putting it on your wall too, to add extra strength to the bond and to ensure that the cabinet will not fall down, especially if you could only find one stud to screw into for one of the cabinets.

• The manufacturer recommendeds that the adjoining cabinets are screwed together internally, and white plastic screw caps as well as screws are provided in the box to make it look neat and tidy.

• Between your first cupboard and the corner wall (if applicable), you should use an end panel to allow for a small gap between the edge of the cabinet and the wall.
• If you are installing a rangehood, use one of the wall cabinet end panels on the side of each cabinet that sits alongside the rangehood cabinet for a professional finish, and be sure to put one on the end of your new cabinets too. You’ll also need a jigsaw to cut the holes in the cabinet for the flue, unless you’re using a filtering and recirculating rangehood, rather than an extraction rangehood. I did mine with a “$20 special” XU1 XJS-100 jigsaw, which did the job fine.

Once the cabinet has been affixed to the wall, you can then add on the door pack. These go on fairly easily – just remember to drill and attach your handles to the door before putting the door up to make the job easier. The handles that come with the cabinets are plain and cheap looking, so I’d recommend that you purchase some of the nicer looking handles that are available from Bunnings, IKEA or a specialist cabinet store. A simple template to help you locate where to drill can be made from an old cereal or snack box, or you can buy a plastic tool to assist you with the job from IKEA, Bunnings or your local hardware store.

Overall, it is a fairly simple process to assemble and install these cabinets and you should be able to get it done in an hour to an hour and a half per cabinet from start to finish, but you really do need two people for the job. I did it without the “Instructional DVD” that they sell for an extra $5 because the instructions provided are pretty good. In my kitchen, I installed a 900mm wall cabinet, a 600mm cabinet for a rangehood and an 800mm cabinet. Be sure to check out the sample kitchens that they have instore for ideas and inspiration, as well as display homes, etc.

If you’ve used FlatPax/Kaboodle Kitchen cupboards to renovate your kitchen, share your experiences with other users via the comments section below.

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