If you have been in your home for several years or you have recently purchased an older existing home, there is a good chance you are in the market for a change in your kitchen such as a laminate cabinet refacing. Almost every homeowner faces a kitchen makeover sometime during their life as a homeowner and the first issue involved in the planning of a renewed kitchen will be how to address the cabinets. You may have a strong desire to reconfigure your kitchen and, if so, your best option may be to tear out and entirely replace your cabinets. However, if your kitchen is laid out to your satisfaction and your cabinets are still structurally sound, your are a good candidate to save quite a bit of time and money be refacing your existing cabinets.
There is more than one process you can choose when you are considering a cabinet refacing. You can simply paint your existing cabinets for a fresh new look and many people choose this method. If you have stained cabinets, you can refinish your existing cabinets and again refresh the look of your cabinets. However, one of the more common methods involves a complete laminate cabinet refacing that includes the replacement of your cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and applying a matching laminated to the cabinet boxes that matches the new drawer and door fronts. This process will give the appearance of brand new cabinets with much less expensive and be completed in just a few days.
In reality, many times, laminate cabinet refacing may provide you with better quality then new cabinets. If you are in an older home, your existing cabinets may be of solid wood and higher quality construction than most custom cabinets that are built today. Refacing your cabinets will allow you to get back in your kitchen much faster as it is also much less labor intensive then tearing out and reinstalling brand new cabinetry. Keeping your present cabinets will not require you to tamper with existing plumbing, sinks, or counter tops unless you have the desire to do so. Along with these advantages that help you keep from busting your budget, refacing kitchen cabinets will add value to your home as an updated kitchen can give you a return on your investment of 75 to 125 percent.
When you begin the planning of your kitchen cabinet makeover, do not forget the options available to you in the replacement of your drawer and cabinet pulls. Chances are these items also need to be updated and will provide a finishing touch to your laminate cabinet refacing. Consider adding some updates inside your cabinets such as cookie sheet racks, a Lazy Susan in a cornet cabinet or some drawers in the bottom cabinets for your pots and pans. You will easily be able to pay for these space saving upgrades with the money you saved by not blowing your budget on brand new cabinets.
Showing posts with label cabinet refacing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabinet refacing. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
What Cabinet Refacing Supplies Do I Need?
Just like any home improvement project you choose to take on, the tools and materials you use will either make the job go extremely well or extremely bad. Of course, cabinet refacing supplies are no different. If you will remember that you are saving thousands of dollars by not having to totally replace your cabinets, spending extra money to get high quality tools and materials for this project should be no issue.
When thinking of tools you will need for this project, the actual tools needed are minimal. A screwdriver to remove the hardware,and paint brushes and rollers to apply the finish. Since you likely have plenty of screwdrivers on hand to deal with this, I'll focus on the brushes and rollers. Purchase a professional quality 4-1/2" roller frame and the finest shed resistant 1/4" nap roller covers you can find. Also purchase a professional quality 2" or 2-1/2" flat or angled sash paint brush made for use with all oil-based or alkyd paints, low VOC coatings, enamels, and high-grade acrylics. Depending on the type painting tools you are used to buying, these may seem quite expensive, but believe me the extra cost will be apparent in the end when you are rewarded with a beautifully applied finish.
Now that your tools are in hand, let's address the paint and primer. Once again, go for quality. Skip the discount center and even the big box home improvement store for this project. Head to the local paint supply store and speak with a knowledgeable sales person there and explain what you are doing. They should supply you with a professional grade primer and paint designed for cabinet and trim application. Again, you will spend a little more, but you will be overjoyed with the results.
The combination of professional grade tools and high quality paint designed for cabinet refacing will produce a beautiful finish that will last for many, many years to come.
When thinking of tools you will need for this project, the actual tools needed are minimal. A screwdriver to remove the hardware,and paint brushes and rollers to apply the finish. Since you likely have plenty of screwdrivers on hand to deal with this, I'll focus on the brushes and rollers. Purchase a professional quality 4-1/2" roller frame and the finest shed resistant 1/4" nap roller covers you can find. Also purchase a professional quality 2" or 2-1/2" flat or angled sash paint brush made for use with all oil-based or alkyd paints, low VOC coatings, enamels, and high-grade acrylics. Depending on the type painting tools you are used to buying, these may seem quite expensive, but believe me the extra cost will be apparent in the end when you are rewarded with a beautifully applied finish.
Now that your tools are in hand, let's address the paint and primer. Once again, go for quality. Skip the discount center and even the big box home improvement store for this project. Head to the local paint supply store and speak with a knowledgeable sales person there and explain what you are doing. They should supply you with a professional grade primer and paint designed for cabinet and trim application. Again, you will spend a little more, but you will be overjoyed with the results.
The combination of professional grade tools and high quality paint designed for cabinet refacing will produce a beautiful finish that will last for many, many years to come.
How to Reface Kitchen Cabinets
Have you ever looked at those old, out of style cabinets in your kitchen or bath and thought it would be nice to just tear them completely out and replace them with some nice new custom cabinets? If you have, I also bet that not long after having this thought that the next thought you had was something to do with how doing such would cost a small fortune. There is an option that will make those cabinets look brand new at a fraction of the cost of replacement. Cabinet refacing cost is an option that involves simply applying a new finish to the existing cabinets. You could hire a professional painter to complete this project and still save quite a bit of money over completely replacing your cabinets. However, this is a project that can be accomplished easily by even the most novice do it yourself homeowner and doing it yourself is where you can really save thousands of dollars over the cost of cabinet replacement.
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 doors and your cabinet refacing is complete.
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 doors and your cabinet refacing is complete.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Easy Cabinet Refacing
My wife and I purchased a home that was built in the mid 1980s in a rural area of a rural county just outside a large metropolitan area. We were looking to get out of the urban/suburban area we had lived in while I children were in school and find a home with a little space around it. We were fortunate to locate a home that met our needs and that was also to our liking. However, the decor of the home was definitely in need of an upgrade and as my wife will tell you, she is more than up for a task like that.
The first thing we did was go room by room and begin to develop a task list. The first stop was of course the kitchen. It was immediately apparent to my wife that although the kitchen was laid out adequately, there were major cosmetic changes in store for our new kitchen. One thing that stood out over and above everything else that needed to be done was the cabinetry. Luckily for me and my bank account, the wife decided that a simple kitchen cabinet refacing would accomplish her goals and that I was just the man for the job. If any of you have ever undertaken the refacing of cabinets, you know that there is really nothing complicated about it but it is extremely labor intensive.
The kitchen cabinets in our newly purchased home were oak stained with an extremely dark oak stain that made the kitchen kind of dreary looking. The counter tops did nothing to offset the dreary appearance as they were a dark brown butcher block. The first decision was whether the cabinet doors would have to be replaced. While I am sure my wife would have preferred a different door pattern, she did see the wisdom in keeping the doors as they were custom made oak and were in great shape. Once the decision to keep the doors was behind us, it was time to determine the finish that would result in the end product. She decided that an off white cream finish would look great and really brighten up the space.
Now that her work on the cabinets was done, she quickly moved on to planning the total makeover of the kitchen while I was left to begin the grunt work. I have found that the easiest way to approach refacing kitchen cabinets
is to first remove the doors. The cabinet doors are much easier to refinish when they are laid horizontally on a flat surface. Once all the door hardware (hinges and cabinet pulls) are removed, 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. In years past, this was little fun due to the noxious fumes put off by these extremely smelly paint removers. Today, there are many environmentally safe paint and stain removers that also have a much more pleasant odor than those of yesteryear 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.
Since we were applying a painted finish to the our cabinets, we did not need to completely remove the present surface. After cleaning, I lightly sanded the surface in order to dull the old finish which provides a good surface for the adherence of the new paint. Let me say this before I go any further, and tell you that I cannot emphasize this enough, buy the best quality oil based primer available, as well as, the best oil based paint you can locate that is designed to be applied when refacing cabinets. Even using the most expensive paint available, your cabinet refacing cost will still be a fraction of the cost of replacing your cabinets. If you do this, you will achieve a great finish that will last for many years to come. Another place that you should not scrimp is on the primer. You need to ensure that the cabinets have a good hard finish on them in order to resist nicks and scratches and also to allow for cleaning with a good heavy duty cleaner.
Okay, back to the task at hand, once the cabinets are sanded and all the dust from the sanding is removed, apply two coats of a high quality primer allowing at least 24 hours between each coat and also do a light sanding between coats. The directions may indicate that you can apply a second coat after a shorter period of time but I believe the extra drying produces a much smoother finish. 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 the finish paint, 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 in most cases when you reface kitchen cabinets you will purchase new hinges, drawer pulls, and cabinet pulls
in order to provide a more up to date look. After the hardware is on, hang the newly resurfaced doors and your cabinet refacing is complete. By taking your time and doing some good, attentive prep work when you reface cabinets, you should now have cabinets that will serve the purpose for which they are designed as well as providing a great, fresh look in your kitchen for many years to come.
The first thing we did was go room by room and begin to develop a task list. The first stop was of course the kitchen. It was immediately apparent to my wife that although the kitchen was laid out adequately, there were major cosmetic changes in store for our new kitchen. One thing that stood out over and above everything else that needed to be done was the cabinetry. Luckily for me and my bank account, the wife decided that a simple kitchen cabinet refacing would accomplish her goals and that I was just the man for the job. If any of you have ever undertaken the refacing of cabinets, you know that there is really nothing complicated about it but it is extremely labor intensive.
The kitchen cabinets in our newly purchased home were oak stained with an extremely dark oak stain that made the kitchen kind of dreary looking. The counter tops did nothing to offset the dreary appearance as they were a dark brown butcher block. The first decision was whether the cabinet doors would have to be replaced. While I am sure my wife would have preferred a different door pattern, she did see the wisdom in keeping the doors as they were custom made oak and were in great shape. Once the decision to keep the doors was behind us, it was time to determine the finish that would result in the end product. She decided that an off white cream finish would look great and really brighten up the space.
Now that her work on the cabinets was done, she quickly moved on to planning the total makeover of the kitchen while I was left to begin the grunt work. I have found that the easiest way to approach refacing kitchen cabinets
is to first remove the doors. The cabinet doors are much easier to refinish when they are laid horizontally on a flat surface. Once all the door hardware (hinges and cabinet pulls) are removed, 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. In years past, this was little fun due to the noxious fumes put off by these extremely smelly paint removers. Today, there are many environmentally safe paint and stain removers that also have a much more pleasant odor than those of yesteryear 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.
Since we were applying a painted finish to the our cabinets, we did not need to completely remove the present surface. After cleaning, I lightly sanded the surface in order to dull the old finish which provides a good surface for the adherence of the new paint. Let me say this before I go any further, and tell you that I cannot emphasize this enough, buy the best quality oil based primer available, as well as, the best oil based paint you can locate that is designed to be applied when refacing cabinets. Even using the most expensive paint available, your cabinet refacing cost will still be a fraction of the cost of replacing your cabinets. If you do this, you will achieve a great finish that will last for many years to come. Another place that you should not scrimp is on the primer. You need to ensure that the cabinets have a good hard finish on them in order to resist nicks and scratches and also to allow for cleaning with a good heavy duty cleaner.
Okay, back to the task at hand, once the cabinets are sanded and all the dust from the sanding is removed, apply two coats of a high quality primer allowing at least 24 hours between each coat and also do a light sanding between coats. The directions may indicate that you can apply a second coat after a shorter period of time but I believe the extra drying produces a much smoother finish. 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 the finish paint, 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 in most cases when you reface kitchen cabinets you will purchase new hinges, drawer pulls, and cabinet pulls
in order to provide a more up to date look. After the hardware is on, hang the newly resurfaced doors and your cabinet refacing is complete. By taking your time and doing some good, attentive prep work when you reface cabinets, you should now have cabinets that will serve the purpose for which they are designed as well as providing a great, fresh look in your kitchen for many years to come.
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