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Cover Kitchen Remodeling: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
A full Cover kitchen remodel in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $14,000 – $45,000 installed, and in most cases we can complete it within 4 – 8 weeks depending on cabinet lead times and whether we’re moving plumbing. If you’re reading this because the existing Cover kitchen has finally given out, you’re not alone – we see it most often as cabinet hinge failures, water-damaged sink base cabinets, and countertops that have cracked from years of Florida humidity cycles.
The common thread we hear from homeowners: the kitchen looked fine for years, then one failure cascaded into the next. A slow leak under the sink softens the cabinet base. That pushes the countertop out of level. Once the countertop shifts, the backsplash grout cracks. Suddenly a $400 hinge replacement becomes a full gut and rebuild. Knowing the difference between a patch job and a structural rebuild is what this page is for.
Which Cover Models This Applies To
Cover is a forward-looking kitchen brand, not a traditional cabinet manufacturer, so the compatibility question is less about matching a model number and more about understanding what’s behind the existing install. Most Cover kitchens we open up in Fort Lauderdale condos along Galt Ocean Mile and single-family homes in River Oaks use either pre-manufactured slab cabinets with cam-lock assembly or semi-custom frames. The measurements that matter are the cabinet box depth (almost always 24 inches), the door overlay style (full overlay or half-inch reveal), and the sink base width.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha we run into constantly: Cover cabinetry often uses 18mm box stock rather than the ¾-inch (19mm) stock most U.S. cabinet makers build. That one millimeter sounds like nothing, but it changes how hinges seat and how deeply screws bite. It’s why generic replacement doors from a big-box store never quite line up. When we spec replacements, we match the original 18mm spec or reface the entire run so the doors sit flush across the board. For OEM Cover parts versus quality aftermarket equivalents: on hinges, slides, and bumpers, we use Blum or Salice hardware, which generally outlasts the original and carries its own warranty. For doors and drawer fronts, custom-machined to the original spec gives you a cleaner result than trying to source OEM panels that may have been discontinued.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Cover Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Hinges sagging or doors that won’t close flush. This is almost always the 18mm box stock losing its bite on the hinge screws. The particleboard around the screw hole craters, and the door drops a quarter inch. Once two or three hinges go, the rest follow within months.
- The sink base floor is spongy or stained. A recurring slow leak, even from a loose P-trap, saturates the cabinet floor. In Fort Lauderdale’s humidity, that moisture never fully dries. The cabinet base delaminates, then the sides begin to bow outward.
- Countertop seams opening or a crack running from the sink cutout. Quartz and solid surface tops expand and contract with temperature swings, but when the supporting cabinet below has shifted, the countertop takes the strain. A hairline crack from the sink corner is usually structural movement, not a material defect.
- Soft-close slides that slam or catch. The ball-bearing tracks wear unevenly when cabinet boxes are even slightly out of square. You’ll notice it first on drawers that get the most use: the utensil drawer and the pot drawer under the cooktop.
- Grout cracking along the backsplash in a stair-step pattern. That pattern means the wall behind the tile is moving, which usually traces back to a cabinet run that has settled. Regrouting alone won’t solve it; the movement just recracks the new grout in eight to ten weeks.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A Cover kitchen remodeling job in Fort Lauderdale runs $14,000 – $45,000 installed. The number swings on three main factors: cabinet line and box construction, countertop material, and whether plumbing or electrical moves. A modest galley kitchen update with shaker doors and laminate tops sits at the lower end. A full tear-out with KraftMaid or Wellborn cabinetry, a Cambria or Silestone quartz top, and a relocated sink or island moves toward the top.
Every kitchen remodel we quote in Fort Lauderdale includes the demolition and haul-away, cabinet install, countertop template and fabrication, plumbing and electrical connections for the fixtures, backsplash, and a written warranty on the work. You get a line-item price before we start, and that number doesn’t change once the walls are open unless you ask us to change scope. We don’t burn the budget on surprises, because we write the price only after we know exactly what’s behind a Cover kitchen: the 18mm boxes, the condition of the substrate, and what the humidity has done to the framing.
DIY or Call Us?
There’s a safe middle ground between calling us and living with a failing Cover kitchen. You can check for cabinet door alignment with nothing but a straightedge and a flashlight. You can identify active leaks by running the sink, then running a dry paper towel along the supply stops and the P-trap. You can measure cabinet boxes to confirm whether you’re dealing with 18mm or ¾-inch stock, because that’ll matter whether you call us or not.
Full kitchen demolition is where DIY gets expensive. Tearing out cabinets incorrectly means you’re replacing drywall, patching slab, or giving a pro a rework job that costs more than the original demo. In Florida, moving a sink or cooktop often means pulling a permit, and most municipalities including Fort Lauderdale require a licensed contractor on file as the responsible party for permitted work. If the failing part is isolated (a hinge set, a drawer slide, one damaged cabinet box), we can do a targeted repair without gutting the room. Call (754) 551-2922 and tell us what you’re seeing. We’ll tell you whether it’s a $300 fix or a $30,000 rebuild, and we’ll give you that number in writing either way.
FAQs
A Cover kitchen that’s well-installed and kept dry can last 15 – 25 years, but Fort Lauderdale’s humidity shortens that timeline when leaks go unnoticed – we regularly replace Cover sink bases at the 10 – 14 year mark that failed from slow plumbing drips rather than material defects.
If your cabinets are showing signs of age, call (754) 551-2922 for an honest condition assessment before you spend money on a rebuild.
Yes, many failures we see are repairable – hinge reboring, a new sink base cabinet, replacing soft-close slides, or refacing doors and drawer fronts can extend a Cover kitchen by years without a full gut. The deciding question is structural: if the cabinet boxes are swollen, out of square, or pulling from the walls, you’re in replacement territory. Call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll tell you which one you’re dealing with.
Most full Cover kitchen remodels in Fort Lauderdale take 4 – 8 weeks from demo to final walkthrough, with cabinet lead times and countertop fabrication driving the schedule. Custom or semi-custom cabinetry from brands like KraftMaid or Wellborn typically lands in 3 – 5 weeks, and the quartz shop needs another week after template. A backsplash-only job can often wrap in 2 – 3 days. Call (754) 551-2922 for a timeline based on your specific scope.
We stock Blum and Salice hinges, soft-close slides, matching touch-up kits, and cabinet door bumpers on the truck, so most hardware repairs on Cover kitchens are done in a single visit. For full door and drawer front replacements, we measure and order custom-machined pieces matched to the original 18mm spec. Call (754) 551-2922 to describe what needs replacing and we’ll tell you what we have available.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
