Replies

1. 
   jako17 | Jun 27, 2006 06:02am | #1

   Yes

2. 
   desertmaster | Jun 27, 2006 06:41am | #2

   isgrn,

     For a bunch of exerienced info on redoing kitchen cabinets without completely replacing the entire cabinets boxes, get the book, "Refacing  Cabinets," by Herrick Kimball.

1. 
   lsgrn | Jul 01, 2006 04:13am | #7

   Thanks. I'll check out the book. Larry

3. 
   Dave45 | Jun 27, 2006 04:24pm | #3

   I must have this conversation at least once a month - lol.

   Typically, people reface old cabinets and some jobs are quite good.  Many, however, look pretty obvious so you'll need to shop around for a good refacing person.  Unless you're planning to paint the cabinets, don't even think about trying to sand them down and refinish them.  The carcasses are veneered plywood or particle board and the veneer is THIN!!  Veneer sand throughs are ugly and I've never seen one successfully hidden.

   The most important thing about updating existing cabinets is the condition of the cabinet carcasses.  If they're still sound, you need to take a good look at the faceframes.  If you're lucky, they were just nailed (or screwed) on and can be easily removed if necessary.  If they were glued on, things can get dicey.

   If you aren't changing the configuration of the cabinets, new doors and drawer fronts on refaced carcasses and faceframes can work well.  If you're changing the configuration, the faceframes will need some careful modification - or replacement.

   Finally, you may be faced with matching the stain/finish.  That process is 99% art and 1% science.  I rarely try it anymore since my successes have been more luck than skill.  I sub my finish work to a guy who is a magician - lol.  A few months ago, I replaced a faceframe and two doors on a section of cabinets.  When I installed the new work, the only difference was that the new work was slightly "shinier" than the old.  The customer said that they wouldn't even have noticed that if I hadn't pointed it out - lol.

    

1. 
   lsgrn | Jul 01, 2006 04:15am | #8

   Thanks.

4. 
   notDusty | Jun 27, 2006 05:03pm | #4

   Hello Isgrn ,

           The first question I ask is , what do you want to end up with when you are done ?  How much footage is there and what is the finish and material of the existing cabinets ?

      Cabinets can be refinished , chemical strippers to remove the finish is the way to go not sanding the old finish off . I have seen a few bids from re facers that were not far away from the cost of replacement .

   Are the drawers and slides alright ? At a certain point you can go too far with a foundation not worthy of the time and expense to make it look different .

   Painting the cabinets with a professional job and replacing countertops and sometimes hardware and even flooring can be a dramatic face lift and give the old kitchen maybe 10 more years and a whole new look .

      good   luck              dusty

1. 
   Cheatah | Jun 28, 2006 03:58pm | #5

   While I never have resurfaced cabinetry, it sounds straightforward as this:

   1. Re-surface the face frames in a close match to the new doors and end panels. A perfect match is not super critical since the full overlay door will cover most of the face frame. (May be best done by a resurfacing pro?)

   2. Build new doors, shelves, end panels and drawer fronts and moulding.

   3. Install new doors, shelves, end panels and drawer fronts and moulding.

   I know this is the abridged version, but isn't this the basic process?

   I have thought ALOT about doing this to our existing white therforformed cabinets.

   Clearly the biggest challenge is re-surfacing the face frames....but may be a pro could do a nice job.

    

    Thank you,

   Cheatah

5. 
   Kaleo | Jun 29, 2006 01:21pm | #6

   Refacing your cabinet is the way to go. I worked for 3 years in facing cabinets, and when done by someone who knows what they are doing it looks great. You can use solid wood veneers, prestained and finished if you like. Our you can choose you wood and then stain and finish after. up to you. But if you don't want to replace all the cabinets, refac them. because stripping and refinishing is a long process, and personally I hate painted cabinets.

   Kaleo Kala
   Australian School of Fine Furniture