Beadboard on Cabinets for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCCXV

Beadboard door

We don't give legal advice here, mostly because we don't have a lawyer on staff. Oddly enough, however, we've run across several freelancers among the eHow.com "contributors" who flaunt their JD degrees. We have to say, though, that unless their content is at LegalBeagle.com (yet another Leaf Group niche site, believe it or not) they seem to be pretty much clueless about their chosen topics. That's precisely the impression we got from one Samantha Kemp, a Razorback grad and practicing attorney, when we came across what she thought about the eternal question, "Can You Put Beadboard on Kitchen Cabinets?" (Sam's "answer" is at at Homesteady.com).

When we read the title of Kemp's post, we immediately thought of refacing our kitchen cabinets with some nice beadboard panels in the doors. You know, kinda like the image above... Weirdly enough, Samantha's impression was a lot more... all-encompassing. Here's a line from her introduction:

"Whether you want to completely cover all the kitchen cabinets or add a small amount of beadboard on your cabinet doors, beadboard adds visual interest to your cabinets and can be an inexpensive way to upgrade them."

Wait, what? Kemp thinks you can "add" beadboard to your cabinets? Has the woman ever looked at how cabinets are constructed? Apparently not...

After padding out her post with a plethora of information (and misinformation) about beadboard – 180 words' worth – Samantha headed for the money shot, "Where to Install." Not particularly interested in being useful, Kemp told her readers to,

"Install your beadboard according to your needs and design preference. You can cover all of your cabinetry with beadboard. An alternative is to use beadboard on the end panels only. You can also install beadboard on the back side of your kitchen island cabinetry to make it a focal point in the room. Another option is to cut beadboard to fit within your cabinet door's raised panels. Beadboard can also be added to line the back side of open-shelf cabinetry."

Ummm, no, Samantha, that won't work. Maybe the back wall of cabinets... possibly even the beadboard on the back of the island, but you definitely don't want to follow Kemp's bogus instructions, harvested from a defunct blog and ar article about beadboard ceilings. None of her sources seemed to be aware of actual beadboard, just pressed-wood paneling with a beadboard pattern. Pish. And her "installation" instructions?

"Install beadboard in sheets to make the process much easier and less time-consuming. Prepare your cabinets by sanding them to make a clean surface. Measure and mark the amount of beadboard you need for your first cabinet. A table saw helps make a clean cut between the grooves of the beadboard. Wood glue keeps the beadboard adhered to the cabinetry without the use of a nail gun. Start at the bottom corner of your cabinetry, and work your way up."

Clearly, the esteemed attorney doesn't know what the edges of pressboard paneling look like; and the bit about "start at the bottom"? WTF does that even mean? And no mention of trim on edges and corners, just glue the stuff down? Yeah: expert advice there.

Nope, our Dumbass of the Day had no idea what she was talking about, just parroted some bizarre instructions she found at a blog that informer that "Installing the beadboard does not require any professional." Yeah: another candidate for Dumbass of the Day there...

DDIY - CABINETS