Custom Cabinet/Contractor guys...Need some advice

[Pete Hotard]

Just moved into this house and there are older built-ins in the family room from back when TVs were small and square. I would like advice on what I could do to to either widen the gap where the TV is supposed to go, or advice on how to bring the cabinet in the middle down to the level of the two on the sides so that I could remove the built in shelves and mount the TV to the wall. Thanks in advance.

[Jim Andrew]

Retired, but that really does not work. Either buy a tv that will fit in the cabinet, or remove the whole thing and replace with a set of cabinets that fits with your tv. I'd try to leave the whole upper open inside, in case you get a bigger tv in the future. Did the same thing in my living room, and am limited on the tv size that will fit. Refrigerators are another thing that is not standard now. A neighbor called me to look at their kitchen, it is not built with components, and I told them no way could I raise their opening and make it look right without rebuilding the whole wall. On my sisters house, just raised the cabinet above the refrig.

[Dave Zellers]

Ugh. That is a custom cabinet (or three) that was built to fit a specific need. That need has changed. As a custom cabinet maker, I don't really see any reasonable way to alter those cabinets to fit your new needs. Sad but true. That's not to say you couldn't remove the center cab and hack into the two side cabs to achieve your goal but most if not all custom cabinet makers will tell you it will be cheaper to remove those and start from scratch.
And they are right. The sad truth.

[Warren Lake]

make a new one you have the space there more to the right and if need be narrow the two sides a spec, its ugly anyway.

[keith micinski]

Ripping those out and building new ones could run into the thousands. I'm pretty sure you could go to to town with an oscillating saw and remove the middle sections behind the tv and then make new trim pieces to get up where you made your cuts. Loose the top two shelves on either side of the tv but most of that space will be your tv anyway.

[Sam Murdoch]

I started writing a process for disassembly and repurposing this cabinet. The more I wrote the more I was thinking that unless you are an experienced cabinet maker/installer or better than average remodeler you have already been given the best advice - TEAR IT OUT and START OVER. Build or have something built that will do just what you want. You might be able to incorporate some of the parts of this built-in. No matter how careful you are though there will be refinishing and new trim work required and certainly a new top for the base.

You could start by taking out the entire center section through to the crown. The flankers are very likely screwed into the center section so you will need to locate and cut or withdraw those screws. Then add a new middle section in the same plane as the flanking cabinets. This will still require modifying those flankers and some new cabinetry, new top and new crown. No short cuts on this one.

[Charles Lent]

Put the new TV on another wall, and then make doors and maybe a shelf for the TV hole in that cabinet. A pull-out slide for a desk writing area behind a short wide and hinged down door would fill the VCR slot. Trying to make that TV fit in that location will require a complete remake of that cabinet.

Or you could do what I did. My TV cabinet is very similar in design, but it's in three sections and not built-in. To avoid replacement of the cherry cabinets, I bought a TV just slightly smaller than I really wanted, but one that would just fit in width into the existing TV hole. I put it on a swivel base on top of a VCR/DVD player, so I can rotate it when I need to get behind it to change the wiring or add something. The VCR slot in my cabinet holds a Blue Ray DVD player, cable box, Fire TV box, and the remotes when they aren't being used. The left side cabinet of my system holds a component audio system and turntable and the right side cabinet holds CD music, DVDs, and a few VHS tapes. It's way too small for the number of DVDs that I have, so I'm designing a stand alone kind-of book case style cabinet with doors to hold the rest of the DVDs with lots of empty space for more DVDs. It will sit against an adjacent wall and will be finished as close as I can to match the existing TV cabinet. Built-ins are nice, but not very practical in a changing world.

Charley

[jack duren]

If it were me I would find out if it was a add on or not. This meaning if the floor was finished underneath and if it could be removed. It looks nice but not up to date with current electronics...

[andy bessette]

Remove the protruding portion of the center cabinet, everything above the surface the TV is sitting on. Also remove the two upper shelves, on both sides of the TV, and install speakers that come flush with the TV, after pushing the TV back to be flush with the side cabinets and speakers.

[William Fretwell]

If it's made of pine & MDF the materials could be $300 to $500. Have a look at the doors to see what they are made of. If it's cheaply made just hack away.
I would scrap it and build real furniture for the space.

[Martin Wasner]

I'd rip it out and start over. Anything else you're just spending a lot of time correcting things. Even in the shop, if I make a big mistake, most of the time I just start over and turn the mistake into dumpster fill.

[Bradley Gray]

I did a similar project for a client a few years. I completely replaced the cabinets and the owner relocated the old to a basement office.

If you have flooring under you have an opportunity to leave a little wall space on either side the existing kinda looks shoe-horned in.

[Mel Fulks]

I don't like it either. But all that stuff was intended to soon be obsolete. When we were making those I used to say that in a few years they would all be in garages. The TV is too wide to fit the cabinet ,but not too wide to watch. Since you just moved in there is probably something on exterior that really needs attention.

[Floyd Mah]

I feel compelled to add my two cents. Depending on the size of your room, if a large tv fits well in that space, just cut off everything above the lower component (?at 30-32" high) so that you have bare wall. Put in some trim (or faceframe) for the middle section and either have an open shelf or cut down the existing doors. If you have other AV components or a cable box, it can go on the shelves under the TV. There's no need to pull the center part back to be flush with the side units. Put in a nice top to the lower part that spans it from edge to edge. If you choose, you can frame the TV later with some trim or shallow shelves. It would cost less than $100 to convert if you did it yourself. It would be such a waste of time to tear out the lower unit(s) and then replace them with essentially the same thing. Since everything is painted wood, there would be no trouble matching the new trim.

[sebastian phillips]

I'd rip it out and start over. Anything else you're just spending a lot of time correcting things. Even in the shop, if I make a big mistake, most of the time I just start over and turn the mistake into dumpster fill.

This, exactly.

You'll end up spending more time and probably as much money "fixing" this. You'll be making a mess in your finished space. You'll end up with a compromise, that will bother you every time you look at it.
Unscrew the existing boxes, repurpose them in your workshop in you can, throw them out if you can't.
Build new units to the exact specs that you need, and in the exact style and finish that you want. You'll be happy and proud every time you use them.