Cabinet Refacing and Refinishing

Cabinet refacing can be done for any cabinetry throughout the home and offers incredible value to the customer, typically involving the replacement of all doors, drawer fronts, and hardware.  Furthermore, the face-frame (exposed face of the cabinetry around the doors and drawer fronts) is refinished using laminate (plastic layer that resembles wood) or natural wood veneer.  There is incredible variety in the approach we have taken for refacing over the years due to the differences in construction, age, and condition we come across.

Using all Natural Wood

This option provides the most stunning improvement when it comes to refacing because everything we apply to the kitchen is stained and lacquered and no plastic components are used.  We will use natural wood for the doors and drawer fronts and use ¼” plywood or natural wood veneer for all cabinet sides and face-frame.  The higher cost comes at a premium finished effect – the end product truly looks like a brand new custom kitchen!  Click here to see a perfect example of this scenario.  Below is a gallery showing some of the door choices we can use in refacing your cabinets:

Combination of Natural Wood and Laminate

For most customers this is the perfect balance between cost and effect.  We use real wood for the most prominent portions of the kitchen, including doors, drawer fronts, and any decorative effects, but use laminate material that matches the wood species we selected for all cabinet sides and face-frame.  Since we only have to stain and/or lacquer the natural wood components, you are still saving a significant amount of money from the All Wood scenario.  This small bathroom cabinet shows the final product perfectly, refaced using Cherry laminate for the face-frame and sides and using natural Cherry wood for the doors.

Using Only Laminate

Using laminate (usually Formica brand) for the side panels and face-frame together with laminate doors and drawer fronts is typically the most affordable refacing option.  You are saving a lot of money here because we do not have to apply stain or lacquer to the doors, drawers, or veneer.  The laminate comes in ready form and resembles different varieties of wood, as well as standard colors.  Click here to see some samples of laminate selection.

Do It Yourself Cabinet Refacing

We have been approached by many customers that want their cabinetry refinished but would like to do the work themselves to either save money or just for fun.  In this scenario, we will come to the customer’s home and help them decide what to do in terms of using laminate or wood, and we then order the proper sized doors, including all the hinges and hardware necessary.  We also procure all required laminate material and glue.  All of these materials are provided to the customer, who does all the actual installation.  We can basically provide you with the materials, whether it’s the doors, drawer boxes, or laminate, and you do the installation work.  Most laminate material can be cut using a trimmer or special scissors that typically cost around $50.

Cabinet Refinishing

As opposed to cabinet refacing, where you replace the doors, drawer fronts, and any matching side panels, cabinet refinishing is focused on re-using the existing materials.  This option therefore requires the doors and drawer fronts to be in fairly good structural condition – scratches and small dents are easy to repair but significant missing portions or disintegrating sections will make refinishing impossible.  The ideal way to approach refinishing is to use a solid color lacquer for the new finish, most commonly in white lacquer.  A solid color allows us to mask any damage or imperfections from years of use to a final product that looks brand new.  Refinishing cabinets using stain and lacquer requires the doors and drawer fronts to be in even better condition, where structural repairs required are minimal.  Using a solid color lacquer for the refinishing is typically the most cost effective approach to getting  a new look for your kitchen while the stain and lacquer refinishing approach gets you closer to the full refacing pricing.