Are you tired of seeing the same kitchen every day and like to change the face of your kitchen? There are various ways to do it. They are also time and money saving. Every day, newer ideas cross our mind, and we are sharing them with you so that you are benefited. Sit back and stay with us.
What are the options?
You can change your custom kitchen cabinets entirely and remodel them. This idea is acceptable if you really need some extra space. But only craving for a new and fresh look does not necessarily require replacing the cabinets. Refacing is something that is going to do the same thing in a smarter way.
Preparatory considerations
What are the pros and cons after all?
Pros:
- You save 50% of the cost for new cabinetry.
- Refacing generally needs only 3-5 days to complete.
- You can choose from many colors and finishes.
- Kitchen can still be used while work is in progress.
Cons:
- If anything on your cabinetry is already damaged, warped, had broken frames, or you need to extend your kitchen area, refacing would not be a great idea.
- Some exotic veneers and hardware are really costly, and if you go for the best, whatever it takes you’re not going to spend less than that you’d do to replace them.
Refacing options
- Thermofoil cabinet doors (RTF): Often called rigid thermal foil, this door is comprised of a durable vinyl. They are easy to clean, durable, and sustain color longer than painted doors do.
- Plastic laminates are of a wide variety of color and pattern. They are also moisture resistant. The price is not high.
- Wood veneers are another smart option. So many people think wood veneers are inferior to cheaper than solid wood. This is incorrect. Used for high-end furniture pieces, they can, sometimes, be more costly than solid wood. Don’t panic. There are numerous smart-looking veneers that have reasonable prices.
- How about painting the whole kitchen cabinet? It’s the question of refacing, and your new color has to give it a fresh new look.
For a detailed description on painting it yourself, visit this website, and you’ll have enough information on the painting process. Using an electric paint sprayer is another fun job if you want to paint yourself.
- You can install new cabinet doors, which would make a spectacular change about the whole kitchen. There are good many numbers of options for your cabinet doors like custom, semi-custom, stock, and ready-to-assemble doors.
- Updating some hardware is another simple but effective way. A number of knobs and handles are available on the market, and you buy according to your choice and budget.
- Wallpapers can give your kitchen no less attractive look. If you visit amazon.com for wallpaper, you’ll be surprised to find a variety of wallpapers available in the market.
- You can think of some accessories as well. Lighting for cabinets and furniture, countertop laminate products, and many more items are there waiting for you to make your kitchen even more attractive.
Costs
Needless to say, costs vary according to the size and your material, i.e., hardware selection.
For a ten foot by twelve foot kitchen, a professional cabinet refacing might cost you $1000 to $3000 for laminate.
For a real wood veneer, it is going to be something between $2500 and $6000. Now it’s up to your calculation according to the size of your kitchen and your demand.
Hardware like knobs, hinges, or pulls will need $2 to $4 per piece. For more information, read this article.
Can I do it myself?
There should not be any problem for you to do it yourself if you have time, patience, the necessary tools, and a knack of precision. After all, being your own boss is always a freedom.
The Main Business
Get the Tools
- 4-in-1 screwdriver
- File
- Miter saw
- Circular saw
- Cordless drill
- Brad nail gun
- Forstner drill bits
- Laminate slitter
- Caulk gun
- Veneer tool
In addition to the above tools, there are two more specially for using veneer.
They are virutex laminate slitter and a simple paper cutter. A standard virutex laminate slitter will cost you somewhere between $100 and $200.
There are, however, other old and easy options: borrow or rent. For the paper cutter, it’s non-professional but works fine whereas it’s not that expensive.
8 Steps and you’re done!
- Measure everything you’ve got: It all starts with measurement. Start with the measuring tape, and write down the exact measurement figures.
- Remove doors and drawers: This may be a temporary removal only to place them back after the refacing process or a permanent out-of-house taking away. For the second case, you can donate them to any of the recycling hubs and make your unwanted materials available for other families.
- Apply veneer skins: This is a process of pasting the veneer skins over the cabinet box sides and cabinet face frames. Undoubtedly this is the most important and crucial of all tasks necessitating all your patience, concentration, perseverance, and knack of precision.
There are roughly 4 types of skins you can use:
- Commonly known as ‘peel and stick,’ the pressure-sensitive adhesive wood veneer is very easy to stick to the surfaces.
- The simple wood veneer is almost the same as the previous one with the only difference of being without adhesive. You use contact cement to stick it to the surfaces.
The other two types are:
- veneer core plywood
- MDF core plywood
- Assemble drawers: After applying the veneer skins over the surfaces of the cabinet and frames, the drawers are put back in their own places. By the time you stick veneer skins over the carcasses of the cabinet, you are most likely to reface the front side of the drawers before replacing them.
- Install new cabinet doors: Now you add the doors to the cabinets. The doors can also be given a new look with veneer skins or wallpapers just as the surrounding surface is done.
- Add hardware: Now is the time to add hardware like door knobs, handles, etc.
- Add any other accessories: As we have stated at the last point under ‘Refacing Options,’ you can add any accessories according to your choice and taste.
- Clean up: This is the last, but not least, important task. Veneer cutting and other processes produce a lot of dust. Cleaning them can be tiresome and tedious, but you cannot overlook it.
Changing the face of your productive and delicious lady, the kitchen, is always a good idea. It only takes your planning and realization.
Good luck with your refacing!
Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels
