# Refacing kitchen cabinets



## bzbatl (Feb 10, 2009)

My mom has been dying to get her kitchen redone for the last 2-3 years, but the price has been unbelievably prohibitive for her. She's seen me develop my woodworking skills and now thinks I may be able to do it... :thumbdown:

The cabinets are MDF/melamine. The doors' covering is coming off on a few of the most-used cabinets (yikes).

I thought about just tackling a section at a time, but then I remembered: the countertop is TILE. *UGH*

So refacing is the only option I can possibly tackle for her without putting her kitchen out of commission for 6-8 months, haha.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for refacing? I was thinking of just applying an 1/8" oak veneer to the cabinet exteriors, tearing off the painted crown, and building new doors out of oak or cherry. I need to know what to do about the two exterior corners, however (it's a U shape, but one side of the U butts into the fridge, so it isn't visible).

My idea was to go over there, take off one cabinet and reface it, then reinstall and repeat for the uppers. Then just drag my tools over there for a couple days to finish off the lowers.

Comments, suggestions, and experiences all helpful.


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## scribbles (Mar 2, 2009)

Don't take them down, 1/8 ply glued over the boxes, use a spray contact adhesive, practice until it looks good, buy or make new doors, new crown, scribe, trim, stain lacquer done.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You could just use a backed oak veneer, and a brush on contact cement. You can cut the veneer with a utility knife and a straightedge. No need to take down the cabinets. Take off the doors, and scuff sand the faces. 

You can buy the veneer in different sizes up to 4'x10'. The exposed ends would be cut from the sheets.


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## bzbatl (Feb 10, 2009)

Thanks for the replies.

Do I stain and poly the veneer before applying to the cabinets then? I don't really want to subject my mom and stepdad to days of dealing with the vapors with me hanging out for a few days, haha...

Source on that veneer, cabinetman? Rockler or Woodcraft?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

The finishing should be done after the veneer is on the cabinets. If you use a waterbased polyurethane, it dries in about 30 minutes. Your best source for the veneer would be a hardwood supplier in your area that sells hardwood ply, lumber, and veneers, that cater to cabinet shops. You would be best to use a paper backed veneer, if you can get it.


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## creative novice (Jul 25, 2008)

*kitchen re-do other ideas*

Another thought: there is a local manufacturer here in my neck of the woods www.kahleskitchens.com ( i dealt with a "lori" ) that has beautiful, well crafted cabinets. they will also make doors to your specs. they are remarkably inexpensive. my sister had me work out the basics for her kitchen and with all new doors and end skins her kitchen, which is quite large, was only going to run less than 1200. (i think that price included an additional cabinet or two too). there are also alot of other makers out there that are cheaper. (quality unknown) anyway, you might want to price that out that way too. for my sister's, i was/am going to sand her frames and re-stain them to match the doors she picks out. You could go ahead and add the 1/8" ply or the veneer to the fronts, as the previous members suggested, waiting to obtain matching stain. the reason my sister is not painting or refinishing hers is that her door styles are very "barn-like" and she doesn't like them at all (can't blame her), but the cabinets are very good and were evidently very well made. We also painted her vanity in bathroom a few times and did not like the result on that style of door. On my recent kitchen make-over, i added new skins (1/8' oak beadboard) to the ends and the wall cabs' exposed sides near the sink and breaks above stove. it worked out well. i added some trim and had removed the "paneled" bulkhead, added a horizontal oak board and crown molding underneath it. added rope light up above and shelving. My doors and frames were fine, just the stain and poly had aged and worn abit. So i sanded and re-stained and poly'd them. My pics are on my album, placed there for another person to read/view. When you say your moms cabinets are melamine....i can't picture them. Are they really melamine or are they formica? And, most important...are they structurally sound? Insides still good? My shelves had been glorified partical board and where drinking cups had been placed while still wet, the partical board and wood-grain-simulated-contact-paper covering swelled a bit. my solution was to purchase good place and press wood-look floor tiles and place in them, now the from-the-dishwasher-wet glasses no longer cause problems and it wipes clean great. just another suggestion to ponder.


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## bzbatl (Feb 10, 2009)

Wow, that's a pretty incredible price, I'll have to look into that. Thanks!

They're just particleboard with a plastic covering that was apparently glued. The glue has released in the moisture-prone areas and is peeling off in one big sheet (holding the profile even!) under the sink and above the stove.

I'm going to hit a couple of the local lumber yards and hopefully will be able to source some paper backed veneer. I'll test it out on my garage cabs first (which I'll just paint over anyway) to get a little practice. Hopefully mama likes the look 

My last issue: every time I've stained a veneer/plywood, the veneer takes stain WAY more than the matching hardwood. This could be due to my preference of darker stains, but ya'll have any tricks for getting it to match?

Thanks all!


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## Webster (Mar 6, 2009)

As far as your staining goes, you can try a light coat sealer on the veneer. That should do it, or perhaps using a light stain on the veneer and a dark or medium on the solid wood.
Another thought...try gel stain.
I'm like you, love the dark stains. Watco danish oil dark walnut is one of my fav's.
You'll have to try a few samples first.
The cabinet refacing part is something I know absolutely nothing about.

All the best.


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## hydenbrain (Apr 27, 2009)

The kitchen is often the focal point of any house, as well as a place for cooking and eating it is often a meeting place where the whole family gather. Therefore it is important to have a kitchen that is both functional and pleasant to be in. One simple but effective idea is to put an island in or near the centre of the room. These provide great storage as well a convenient and handy workspace. Kitchen island designs automatically create more space, as they are usually placed in the centre of the kitchen it also gives you easy access all the way around. With a little thought you could even incorporate something like a breakfast bar as part of your kitchen island design. And don’t forget that you are not just limited to a square or rectangle for your kitchen island, it could be round or oval or any shape that will fit into your kitchen floor design.


 Kitchen Design Ideas


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## crlukejr (Jan 16, 2009)

*Cabinet refacing*

Just a little planning advice as I just finished my kitchen cabinet resurface job. Measure and make all your doors before you start demo. Making a large number of doors after you have demoed and resurfaced the cabinets will make your mother a little upset when you take three weeks to assemble and finish the doors. Good luck my project turned out great, but I spent more on eating out than I did on materials.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Kitchen Island...hmmmm*

I had a 24" deep by 36" wide double door, Mission style hickory, cabinet remaining from my kitchen remodel....hmmmm
What if I put locking casters on it, top it with the solid surface Zodiac like Sile Stone, put 2 full width towel bar handles on it and Presto!  serving cart/movable island :thumbsup: 
It provides set off space across from the range and dish drying space across from the sink. When and if I ever have a party :laughing: I can load it up and wheel it into the dining room. Just my thoughts, slightly out of the box again....bill


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## Steve John (Aug 27, 2009)

Refacing kitchen cabinets with a covering such as laminate or veneer can appear at first to be a difficult task. But it really isn't as long as you know about some good tips and tricks that can not only prevent you from making mistakes your first time out, but will also significantly
Click here speed up the job as well. Here are several good ideas that you should keep in mind when tackling such a job.

When you are stripping your kitchen cabinets to prep them for refacing, use a finer grain sandpaper to strip off lacquer, and a heavy grit sandpaper to strip paint. With either, be sure that you use medium grit sandpaper for the final sanding so that the wood is just a bit rough to the touch. This will allow for optimal bonding of the refacing material's adhesive to the wood.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Not me*



Kasey1 said:


> Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh,I feel the same too


I have no feelings left.:thumbdown: bill


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## jlewismt (Nov 12, 2010)

I have had the same problem with the cabinets in my kitchen. Instead of putting a veneer on the cabinets though, I would like to paint them. The adhesive used to glue the plastic covering on is giving me problems though. I can remove it from the flat surfaces with a razor pretty easily but I can't really get down into the grooves though. I tried sanding it off, but it is quite sticky when I do this and gums up my sandpaper making it useless. I thought I would try to paint the one I got most of the adhesive off just to see what would happen. The paint stuck really well to the places I got the adhesive off but in the grooves the paint just peeled off after it dried. I'm gonna have to get this adhesive off first. Anyone have any suggestions that won't harm the cabinets themselves?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

jlewismt said:


> I have had the same problem with the cabinets in my kitchen. Instead of putting a veneer on the cabinets though, I would like to paint them. The adhesive used to glue the plastic covering on is giving me problems though. I can remove it from the flat surfaces with a razor pretty easily but I can't really get down into the grooves though. I tried sanding it off, but it is quite sticky when I do this and gums up my sandpaper making it useless. I thought I would try to paint the one I got most of the adhesive off just to see what would happen. The paint stuck really well to the places I got the adhesive off but in the grooves the paint just peeled off after it dried. I'm gonna have to get this adhesive off first. Anyone have any suggestions that won't harm the cabinets themselves?



*WELCOME TO THE FORUM*

You can use a heat gun and a chisel. For removing glue (dried contact cement), keep it damp with VM&P naptha. It will get it soft and gummy and you can roll it off or slide a chisel to remove it. Not like lacquer thinner which will dissolve the glue and make a mess.












 









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## buddycurt (Nov 30, 2010)

Hi
What is the technical term for the cabinet additions that go on either side of upper kitchen cabinets that are at a 45 degree angle? Like instead of the cabinets ending bluntly in a 90 degree angle from the side of the cabinet it tapers to the wall at a 45 degree angle and gives a little extra cabinet space for spices or other small stuff. There would be one extra thin cabinet door and triangular shelves. Know what I mean?


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## creative novice (Jul 25, 2008)

*45 degree angle cabinets*

are you talking about a corner cupboard...??? other option would be a blind corner cabinet...it continues further back into the corner and another butts up against it. it creates a space that is not directly open but rather you have to reach in from the side. in pre-fab it generally is a regular cabinet with the "blind" door removed.


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## MastersHand (Nov 28, 2010)

buddycurt said:


> Hi
> What is the technical term for the cabinet additions that go on either side of upper kitchen cabinets that are at a 45 degree angle? Like instead of the cabinets ending bluntly in a 90 degree angle from the side of the cabinet it tapers to the wall at a 45 degree angle and gives a little extra cabinet space for spices or other small stuff. There would be one extra thin cabinet door and triangular shelves. Know what I mean?


The nomenclature is wec available in all standard heights and usually 6" or 12" wide you can get with door or open shelves. Top can have options of forty five or square depending on what you want to with crown.wall end corner for the end of a run


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## jacklynjessa (Apr 25, 2011)

Refacing kitchen cabinets is worth due to the return on investment that you get out of it. But what is kitchen cabinet refacing anyway? It is one way to give your kitchen a new look and feel, a new style, basically it is remodeling it when you can't afford to buy a whole new kitchen furniture altogether.


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