Cabinet Refacing Guide

Well built cabinets will last indefinitely as long as they are kept dry and are not abused. Unfortunately, they often begin to look rather battered over the years just from standard use. Some homeowners paint or refinish the surfaces areas, doors, and drawer fronts to improve the look of old cabinets, but cabinet refacing is a much more complete and more attractive way to give them a face lift.

What is Cabinet Refacing?

There are four areas on cabinets that become dog eared over time; the tops, doors, drawers, and mulls or outer facings. Not all of these endure the same amount of wear and tear, either. If countertops are made of stone or tile, they may be exempt from a major overhaul. Usually refacing involves just the exterior wood components.

Painting of stained cabinets is a permanent action that requires solvents and strippers if the owner wants to get back to the wood grain, so the better way to remodel is by resurfacing the exterior frames and replacing doors and drawer fronts. Sometimes drawers are replaced entirely because they are in such poor condition.

The cabinet refacing of the exterior frames can be done either with 1/8" plywood glued to the surfaces or with banding. Cabinet banding is made in various widths up to about 3" and has an adhesive that is often ironed onto the cabinet fronts. Banding comes in rolls with real wood on the front. There are many wood types to choose from including mahogany, cherry, maple, red oak, and others.

On cabinets with exposed ends, thin laminate or plywood is used. Some cabinet refacing only takes into account the replacement of doors and drawer fronts.

Do-It-Yourself Cabinet Refacing

The person who has some carpentry skills might undertake refacing on their own. Resurfacing the fronts is relatively simple, but making doors and drawer fronts is much more difficult without the proper equipment and some woodworking knowledge. Most people who undertake cabinet refacing have a cabinet specialty shop provide the doors and drawer fronts.

It is important to note what materials doors are to be constructed of at the cabinet shop so the banding for the fronts can be from the same wood type.

Cabinets that are manufactured instead of being custom built may have a supplier provide doors with the dimensions supplied by the remodeler. When ordering doors, it is important to know what types are needed for the job. This is based in part on what type hinges are on the existing doors. For the new doors to function as the old ones did, the same hinges need to be used.

Slab doors are the type that overlap the cabinet facing and rest on that surface when they are closed. Other doors may be designed to fit inside the openings or be routed along the edges to fit partially into the opening and still lap over the outside.

Preparing the Kitchen for Remodeling

When the front facings have been replaced, they may be raw wood so this necessitates staining, sealing, and finishing. While this is messy work, it is not often feasible to finish the banding or laminates before they are installed. If the sealing and finishing will be done with a spray apparatus, it is necessary to move everything out of the cabinets and mask off the countertops.

Additionally, if the finish is sprayed on, many remodelers take the time to apply a new finish to the interiors of the cabinets which probably need it anyway. Floors should be covered completely with drop cloths or plastic and taped around the edges. Built in appliances that can't be removed during the finishing process should be covered also.

Cabinet fronts may be hand finished with a paint brush to prevent some of the mess, but drips and runs are hard to prevent on vertical surfaces.

The Power of Choice

Cabinet refacing gives a homeowner the ability to change the existing type of materials without purchasing all new cabinets. Some people have dark finished cabinets originally and want to go with something lighter, and others may prefer to switch from lighter to darker. Even using a combination of paint and stained finishes can be very attractive.

The best part of cabinet refacing is that it can be done for much less expense and mess than replacing the cabinets entirely, and if the cabinets are basically in good shape, there is no need to go to the expense to have a totally new cabinet installation when refacing will do the trick.