Did your cabinets lose their shine or color, making your kitchen look uneven and frankly a little dirty? Cabinet refacing is just the right option for you.
Refacing is a process in which only the cabinet door fronts and cabinet drawers are replaced. As compared to a full renovation, refacing is efficient, quick, and affordable. If you have the means to carry out a full kitchen renovation, then you can do so, but for a lot of us, it can turn out to be extremely expensive, and in this case, cabinet refacing is the ideal technique.
In refacing, you are basically adding a layer of veneer (a high-quality, thin layer of a sheet made out of real wood) over the already existing face frames. This process can bring back the shine of your kitchen and will make it look proper for less money.
Some people get help from professionals while some creative ones decide to do it independently, which is where DIY cabinet refacing comes into the picture. Doing it yourself will bring the price down by a lot, and you will be able to do things according to your preferences, although the process may be time-consuming and tiring.
If you plan to reface your cabinets on your own, you should know the following six things before you begin refacing the cabinets.
1. Make Sure You Like the Layout of Your Kitchen
Many people reface their cabinets and then regret their decision because they don’t like how their kitchen layout looks. Making sure everything goes well together is one of the most important steps of refacing your cabinets.
Also, if you have existing doubts about the kitchen layout, then you should probably save up a little more and go for renovation all together because refacing is only viable for your cabinets, and it won’t change the way your kitchen looks, so be smart and give it a thought before investing your time and money on the process.
2. Refacing Will Only Work If the Cabinets are Sturdy
The refacing project only deals with the front face of the cabinets, and it will not do anything for the framework of your cabinets. Refacing the cabinets will not do anything for your framework, so if your cabinets are damaged and sloppy, all the refacing efforts will go into vain.
So, before getting into refacing, you should inspect your cabinets and see if they need to be completely replaced or a refacing job will fix your cabinetry.
3. Choosing the Best Material for DIY Cabinet Refacing
When you decide to do it yourself, the first thing you need to do after inspecting your cabinets is to find the right materials for your cabinets. There are various options available in the market, and to make things a little easier for you, we have listed below the most used material for refacing.
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Wood Veneers
These are one of the most popular and used materials. You will find plenty of styles and wood tones, so you have a wide variety to choose from. Wood Veneers will give a woody look to your cabinets without replacing them. Veneers are the sturdiest option as they are of good quality and will stay on for a longer period of time, and this is why they are the most expensive option on the list.
Veneers come in non-adhesive rolls, 1/8-inch plywood sheets, and peel-and-stick adhesive rolls.
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Plastic Laminates
They are the least expensive option in the market, and thus, the appearance or overall look of the cabinets will appear grainy and fake.
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Rigid Thermofoils
These are fiberboards that are covered in pressure molded vinyl foil. This option is more pliable than veneers and laminates so they can be molded in the desired shape and style.
4. Refacing is a Cheaper Option
Replacing your whole cabinetry is far more expensive than refacing especially if you are DIYing it. The cost of refacing can be done at half the price of replacing. However, the prices of veneers might be expensive, but it will still be a lot less than replacing the whole cabinets.
5. It is Time Consuming
Any DIY project can be time-consuming, but when it comes to refacing, it will test your patience. It is a whole process that will take a large chunk of your time, but if you are willing to take that risk, the result will be worth the patience.
It is a time-consuming task because you have to remove the cabinet doors, sand them, clean them, add the veneers properly, and finally reinstall the doors.
6. It May Not be Your Cup of Tea
You may think that you’ll handle the task of refacing, but in reality, it is a detailed process that requires precision and accuracy. It is far more complicated than you think it is, and getting into it may get complicated.
It requires technical expertise, which not everyone has. So, if you have even the slightest of doubts about whether you can pull it off or not, you should consult and hire a professional to do it for you.
