Economy: Home owners go for brick kitchen cabinets to cut maintenance costs

People who build houses to rent are becoming very specific in everything they install in their buildings.

They now seek long lasting furniture and fittings to reduce maintenance costs. The result is that some of the innovations of the past are back again.

They include wooden ceilings, brick bed stands, brick wardrobes, among others.

Economy&lifestyle discovered that the latest is the use of brick to make kitchen cabinets.

These days, the cabinets are constructed with small sizes of blocks and cement paste while the doors can be wooden or aluminum.

This innovation is replacing highly adopted materials like expensive plywood and aluminum which gives a kind of luxury appearance to kitchens.

Mr Solomon Gbagi, a caretaker, explained that the return to brick cabinets was aimed at cutting costs on maintenance as caution fees paid by tenants hardly covers maintenance of things they destroy after moving out of the apartment.

“Many Landlords build homes putting into consideration longevity to cut future cost consuming maintenance.

“The building of kitchen cabinets with brick is one of these considerations.

“Most tenants are destructive. There is a tenant who destroyed fittings worth over N200,000 including the doors of the kitchen cabinets.

“The toilet seats cover were broken among other damages.

“When the tenant moved out,the owner of the house was bitter.

“He asked me if N70,000 caution fees will fix what was damaged in the house?

“I couldn’t respond because deep down I knew it couldn’t.

“He had to change the doors from panel doors to iron cast doors, the kitchen cabinets to brick and other things looking at longevity and no longer luxury.”

Describing the various materials in vogue used to construct cabinets to give it a luxury look, Mr. Martin Ifagbemi, a furniture maker, said: “There are various types of wood used for constructing cabinets to give it a luxury look.
“We have solid wood like oak, maple, cherry and the like.

“There is also Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and High Density Fibreboard (HDF).

Plywood is also used and stainless steel.

“The most commonly used is the MDF and HDF which are not moisture resistant than solid wood but are budget friendly, available and can be customized into any design.”

Mr. Ogbonna Obi, a bricklayer, mentioned that he has received contracts from 10 homeowners to build brick kitchen cabinets within two months.

“Many of these landlords are now very cautious seeking long lasting building materials instead of luxury.

“It is not their fault. What damage will caution fees of N50,000 to N100,000 fix.Some tenants can hardly maintain themselves not to talk of an apartment.The way I build the cabinet is unique. I use small size blocks and arrange them with cement.

“Then add tiles to the body to make it last longer.The way things are getting expensive everyday will make one consider deeply what he or she is spending money on.

“People look at longevity nowadays especially when investing in something that is public to avoid spending more on maintenance in the future”, he added.

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