Refacing Cabinets: Making an Old Kitchen New (Fine Homebuilding) [Paperback]

Product Description

By refacing old cabinets, virtually anyone with basic skills can make a kitchen or any room in the house look stunning at a fraction of the cost of new. The secret is knowing how to refurbish old cabinets by applying high-quality wood laminate and new cabinet doors, door fronts, and/or trim. This book shows readers everything they need to know to achieve professional results. 130 color photos. 50 drawings.

 

What People Are Saying About This Cabinet Refacing Book

Buy this book before you think about refacing!

This book is very thorough, and reading it convinced me to skip refacing (I think I have the skills) and just buy new cabinets. There's much more work involved than I appreciated and the disruption to the kitchen doesn't look to be much less than simply replacing the cabinets and cupboards.  

My husband is refacing my kitchen cabinet in the future and this book will be great help! It sure has all the information he will need. 

I had never seen a refaced kitchen or even spoken to someone who had. This book detailed the aspects of kitchen refacing in such a way that I am confident I can do this job myself and do it well. The pictures and diagrams are abundant and pertinent to the text and are a great supplement to understanding each aspect of the job. The book is organized and the subjects are categorized in such a way that the book is a good tutorial but can also be used as a reference.

If you plan to reface your kitchen or just want to know what is involved with the job this book is an excellent resource.

I purchased Herrick Kimball's "Refacing Cabinets" book since it was the "bible" on how to reface your kitchen cabinets. I was not disappointed! I followed Mr. Kimball's instructions and the results were fantastic. My first refacing project looks great with few errors. Some references to materials need to be updated since the book is 10 years old. I did find equivalent substitutes. 

I don't think I could have gotten the project done without this book. Organized in perfect order. Many, many techniques to make the job look great and save time making everything fit. I talked to some professional cabinet refacers and they weren't even aware some of the techniques used in this book that made the result look great.

However, one item that is missing is the technique for getting a clean cut between 2 pieces of veneer that touch each other. It's the same overlay technique that wallpaper hangers use. Other than that, this book has it all.  

 

 Bosch 12V Cordless Max Multi-X Tool

 

 

I completed my refacing project in a few days after thoroughly
reading and following the instructions in this excellent book.
The MUT is an indispensable tool; I got mine at Rockler. This
book saved me a lot of money by doing the reface myself and not
paying someone to redo my kitchen. It's worth every penny! 

The MUT (multi-use tool) is now available from Rockler, rather than fabricating your own.

Read the book, found it interesting and thorough, but have not tried a whole job using it.

I have however used some of the techniques in spot repairing fire damage, and the concepts I learned in the book were helpful.  

This book delivers exactly what it promises. I have used the techniques and they DO work. I would recommend this approach for the extremely budget minded renovator. By the way, the veneer he uses can be found easily online. 

This is a really excellent guide to cabinet refacing. It covers the job from start to finish, and offers several options for different steps along the way, not just the author's preferred technique. It gives the pros and cons of different techniques and materials as well. I'm a pretty good woodworker/carpenter/builder, so I really wouldn't hesitate to take on a reface job after reading this book. I've already ordered his other two books.

I found this to be a very clear explanation as well as a source reference for resurfacing cabinets yourself. Many photographs, charts, and diagrams accompany the text. The author convinced me that this is a home improvement project that I could tackle with a little help from my friends. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to update their 60's or 70's kitchen. I plan to give it a try this summer. 

 

Detail but dated and incomplete

This book is focus on putting new veneer or laminated board on old cabinet, not what I was looking for as refacing the existing face with stain or new paint. Even on the subject of installing new cabinet face, it lacks the final finish (clear coat, stain)suggestion. The pictures are way dated and not inspiring. it's a good wood work book, but not very helpful if you want to evaluate different options to modernize your kitchen such as sanding and painting the existing panels.  

Refacing Cabinet Doors for a Whole New Look

At any given time in this great country, there are literally thousands, no, probably tens of thousands of kitchen remodeling projects underway.  Included in these projects are replacement of cabinets that could probably be reused by utilizing a simple process to reface the cabinet doors.  In most cases, this project can be easily accomplished by the homeowner, thus saving thousands of dollars and also lots of down time waiting for the new custom cabinets to arrive.  The money saved by not replacing the cabinets can then be used to upgrade other items that will be replaced or used just to offset the cost of the overall project.

As long as you are happy with the style of the cabinet doors and drawer fronts you presently have, a cabinet refacing may be a way for you to get those fresh and new appearing cabinets without spending the tens of thousands of dollars that replacement custom cabinets can cost.  Even if you do want to change the door style, replacement doors can be obtained and the cabinet boxes can be refinished to match, again saving lots of money over the cost of total cabinet replacement.

Start by inspecting the condition of you present cabinetry.  Check each cabinet for loose joints, warped doors, the proper opening and closing of drawers, water damage in the area of the sink, and any other type damage that may be noticeable.  If you find the cabinets to be in good condition and still usable with at most a few minor repairs, then you are ready to begin the cabinet refacing process.

The next step in the process is to visit the home improvement stores or kitchen design centers in your area to see the many choices in cabinet finishes that are popular today.  You can also get some great ideas on reorganizing the interior of your cabinets and drawers by installing some of the new items available designed to make your cabinets more usable then ever.  Once you settle on a finish and whether it will be stain or paint, you will then be able to determine the exact process necessary to reface your cabinet doors.

First off, I have found that the easiest way to approach a cabinet refacing is to first remove the doors.  The cabinet doors are much easier to refinish when they are laid horizontally on a flat surface.  After you remove the doors, remove the hinges and cabinet pulls.  If you are going to reuse the cabinet hardware, clean it all thoroughly with dish washing liquid and a toothbrush.

After removing all the door hardware (hinges and cabinet pulls), the real fun can now begin.  All surfaces must be cleaned thoroughly using a good industrial strength cleaner which will remove any greasy residue that may have accumulated on the surfaces.

Once the surface is completely clean, you are ready to begin preparing the surface for the new finish.  If your intent is to apply a new coat of stain to the cabinets, then you will need to remove the present finish from the wood.  Today, there are many environmentally safe paint and stain removers that also have a much more pleasant odor than those of earlier years, but still do a great job of removing even the toughest finishes.  If you are going this route than the general instruction would be to apply the paint and stain remover per directions on the container followed by a good sanding prior to refinishing.

If you are applying a painted finish to the your cabinets, you do not need to completely remove the present surface.  After cleaning, lightly sand the surface in order to dull the old finish which provides a good surface for the adherence of the new paint.

Now that the cabinets are lightly sanded, be sure to remove all the dust from the sanding.  Then apply two coats of a high quality primer allowing at least 24 hours between each coat and also doing a light sanding between coats.

Once the second coat of primer is dry, it is now time to start to see the results of your labor.  Again, apply two coats of a high quality finish paint designed specifically for cabinets and trim, following the same procedures you used for the primer.

Once the final finish coat has dried for the required twenty four hours, you can reattach the old hardware if you desire, or if you purchased new hinges, drawer pulls, and cabinet pulls in order to provide a more up to date look, attach the new hardware.  After the hardware is on, hang the newly resurfaced cabinet doors and your cabinet refacing is complete.

By taking the time to determine your design choice and inspecting your existing cabinets for the ability to be serviceable for many years to come, you can make a decision that will not only save you thousands of dollars and weeks of time but could also be the difference in whether your kitchen remodel can take place at all.  By choosing the process of refacing cabinet doors instead of replacing your existing cabinets, you will have made a financially sound decision that will allow you and your family to enjoy many future gatherings and events in your freshly remodeled kitchen for many years to come.