When planning to start a project it is very important to understand the order of the things you want to do. Choosing the color, the material, the texture, the make, the design, the quality must be orderly.

The installation order of the cabinets, countertop, floor, backsplash, lights etc…, does not necessary match the choosing order.

Choosing Process

• If you want to remodel the kitchen room, the cabinets are your first priority because it will define clearly what direction you want to take. Of course, wood species, design, stain and moldings are the factors to consider.
• The countertop is definitely the second in line, the choices out there are probably too many, but if you know the design of the new cabinet door then it is easier choosing. In the past 8 years, I have seen many homeowners walking in to our showroom with a small sample of granite that they like and spend hours trying to pick the cabinet door. It creates confusion and unnecessary stress because the countertop is not the most important thing in the kitchen so should not dictate the rules also.
• The floor is very important. Since opinions in how to combine colors are different and personal, I would like to say that I have never liked to look at floors that match or are very close to the color of the kitchen cabinets. A nice contrast brings out the beauty of both the floor and the cabinets.
• The backsplash is the next in line. It represents the connection between the countertop and the cabinets and it should be in synchrony with the floor (Lupton and Miller, 34).
• Wall color, light fixtures and various decorative accessories are easy to pick after you have done the cabinets, countertop, floor and backsplash.

Installation Process

Complete remodeling

• It is important to remove walls, rough electrical and plumbing if required.
• Floor
• Trims and walls painting
• Install the new kitchen cabinets according to the new layout.
• Once you have leveled the base cabinets, the countertop is ready for installation with the new sink.
• Install backsplash after the countertop.
• Decorative accessories like knobs, light fixtures and touch ups should wrap it up.

Re-facing

• Install the new floor around the perimeter of the base cabinets. Re-facing should come first to allow the ¼” thick veneer to cover the imperfections and give the illusion that the new floor is underneath the base cabinets too.
• The countertop needs to be installed before re-facing because solid surfaces like granite, quartz etc, require a perfect leveled cabinet boxes, that forces to fill not leveled cabinets with unpleasant looking shims. Fortunately, you can cover these imperfections with veneers when the cabinet re-facing happens.
• Electrical work for under-mounted lights and plumbing for sink connections should happen before the backsplash.
• The backsplash installation should happen before the re-facing so new light valances can but against it.
• The Cabinet Re-facing comes next. Working the magic with the veneer will allow masking all the imperfections left from the floor and countertop installations.
• Painting of the walls is last because the use of glue on the cabinet re-facing may dirty them and it is easy to pick colors when you have done everything else.

March 4, 2011

Hi Frank,

Hope all is well…

Wanted to send you a letter along with some pictures of the kitchen (before and after) to thank you. We are so thrilled with our re-faced kitchen! I was a little sceptical in the beginning when we were looking at getting either a brand new kitchen or go with a re-face. I wasn’t sure we should get the new kitchen look that I wanted. However, our re- faced kitchen looks brand new and we paid only a fraction of what a new kitchen would have cost us! As you know, my husband did all the work himself and that would not have been possible without your instructional video on how to reface a kitchen. The video was an excellent step by step guide and we couldn’t have done the job without it. The quality of the wood doors, paneling and the installation kit was fantastic and along with the excellent service you provided from design, colour to answering any questions involving installations and concerns along the way made the experience from start to finish a good one.

As you can see from the finished picture it looks fantastic and we couldn’t be happier with our re-faced kitchen.

Thanks again and wish you much success in the future – we will be referring Cabinet Refacing to Go to anyone looking at saving money on a kitchen renovation without sacrificing quality and style.

All the best,
Diana and Neil L

When selling, renting, or flipping homes, the Bathrooms and Kitchen are the primary focal points that one should ensure they are in perfect shape. In addition, to ensure that one gets perfect results and maximises the amount of returns from any project, sometimes it is important for individuals to work on their own, because of the high labour costs that are associated with most projects. Moreover, considering the amount of pleasure that is associated with doing a project individually especially when one owns a property with pride, it is necessary for individuals to do some projects on their own. Although most people argue that refacing an existing kitchen cabinet can save up to 60% as compared to replacing it from scratch in an endeavour to give an existing kitchen the look and functionality of a brand new kitchen, such sentiments never take into consideration the amount one can save if they complete the project themselves.
Let us talk numbers with a real example;
About two months ago Donna walked in to my Showroom and requested for a quote on how it will cost to reface her low grade; builder quality kitchen cabinetry. After she picked the door style, wood specie and stain, we set up an appointment and I went to visit her for a final quote. At her house when I told her that the total amount was approximately $5600, her excitement faded because of her small budget. However, after explaining to her that if her husband had basic tools and two weekends to sacrifice, she could get her dream kitchen with only $2300, her excitement came back, as this was a dream come true to her. To achieve this, I promised her that, by following the step by step video they were going to get commendable results. After this DIY renovation their house’s value increased by approximately $20000; a value that is not bad for a two weekend sacrifice and $2300 investment. Considering this, imagine if it was a bigger house and bigger kitchen; how much would they have saved? Personally, I have visited their home and I can attest that the kitchen looks amazing. One thing that really shocked me was the pride that both Donna and her husband Nick had on their face when they personally came to see me and invite me to their home. They portrayed a level of happiness that I have rarely seen in customers who have always hired us to do the entire renovation, regardless of how good their kitchen looked. Therefore, DIY Cabinet Refacing is one of the greatest ideas of our organisation.

It has been an interesting battle between MDF and Wood cabinet doors since the Medium Density Fiberboard was introduced to the cabinet’s industry.

The MDF is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down wood residuals [saw dust] into wood fibers and combining it with wax and a resin binder. Panels are formed by applying pressure at a high temperature. MDF is denser than Plywood and became popular in the 1980s. It is used in many different ways but mainly for paneling, moldings and cabinet doors.

The Wood most often used for a solid colour finish [paint] in the cabinet business is Soft Maple due to its unbeatable smoothness.

When a customer is looking for a solid colour finish, a majority of kitchen cabinet companies prefer to promote MDF over Maple while other companies will prefer to use Maple, even if it means hiding the beauty of the wood grain underneath a few coats of paint.

The advantages of using MDF cabinet doors for a painted finish are primarily the low cost and stability that this material has. MDF won’t be affected by any expansion and contraction guaranteeing the integrity of the finish from cracking and peeling on the cabinet doors for the first few years. A disadvantage using MDF is mainly the durability. The daily use of the kitchen will eventually chip the doors leaving the MDF vulnerable to water infiltration that will cause the swallowing of the cabinet doors. It is not possible to repair damages of this kind.

Using Maple for painted cabinet doors is a better long term investment. The chipping due the regular use won’t cause the Maple to swallow. It is known that due to the natural expansion and contraction of wood the finishing may be damaged from small cracks, mainly where the cabinet door’s seams are.

Taking all of this information into consideration I would definitely recommend Wood over MDF, even for a painted finish.

This is a question that homeowners ask me very often.

When you run a Kitchen Cabinet Refacing [or resurfacing] business you soon realize that a substantial number of people misunderstand what we actually do.  They think that refacing is simply about sanding the cabinets and giving them a fresh coat of paint or stain. This is called “Refinishing” and while it is a viable option it is most certainly not the most effective one and could be completed in two different ways;

1. Done by the homeowner or professional painter with paint brush or roller

It is definitely the most economical, but the results are poor due to the fact that the brush and roller marks will always be visible, even if the job is done by a talented painter. It is a good option if you have low quality cabinets and you want to spruce them up without having high expectations.

2. Done by professional refinisher with the stripping techniques and a spray gun.

The door/drawer fronts are stripped to bare wood and finished with a spray gun in a spray booth guaranteeing a smooth finish.

It appears as a great option but not too many refinishing companies are willing to do the same thing with your cabinet boxes, toe kicks and moldings.  These will most likely end up being finished on site with brush or roller marks compromising the quality.

Keep in mind that to strip and refinish a wood cabinet door can cost anywhere from $80 to $100.  It is easy to realize that you can explore better options, unless there is a justified emotional attachment to the existing doors.When chatting with homeowners I understand their disappointment when they learn that to get a beautiful kitchen they should not use their old solid wood doors.  As a lover of wood myself I feel the same way, but the labor required to professionally refinish them is too intense and brand new, modern designed wood cabinet doors are available with similar financial effort.

The refacing industry has been booming in the last 10 years because homeowners get a brand new looking kitchen while saving 50%-60% as opposed to a complete kitchen remodeling.  What can really excite them is Do It Yourself [DIY] kitchen cabinet refacing programs that are available where companies don’t just sell doors or veneers, but provide homeowners the knowledge with step by step videos and the technical support.

Turn your new cabinet door facedown making sure you have a soft surface and measure the opening from the back of the door. Subtract 3/16 of an inch from both the width and the height to ensure that it will fit. This will give you the actual glass sizes you need to order from your local glass distributor.

The thickness of the glass should be 1/8” if you want to install it with the rubber glass retainer included in your order. If you want to have a thicker glass you will need to use silicone for the installation.

The rubber glass retainer that we provide is very easy to use because it will fit nicely into the grove that is precut into the back of the cabinet door. If you are having hard time too fit the retainer, we suggest stretching it previous using it. The use of silicone could be very messy if you are not familiar with it, that is why we recommend to order a 1/8” glass thickness for your project.

I would like to share a simple tip that may seem obvious for some, but may be very useful for others regarding removing and installing cabinet doors. Using a power drill and the appropriate bit, remove the old doors starting from the screw on the bottom and work your way up. Doing it this way will allow the door to hold itself onto the last screw, making it easier and safer to remove.

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People that need to do something to improve the look of their kitchen sometimes don’t even know that there is an alternative to replacing the kitchen cabinets that it’s not repainting them, and few that know about it are not sure when it is possible and worth it to do it.

It easier to list when is not a good idea to reface;

• If saving 40% to 60% compared to replacing it is not important for you
• If you don’t mind having workers in your house sometimes for several weeks
• The inside of your cabinets (boxes) are worn out, cracked, rotten etc.
• The layout of your kitchen it is not working for you any more so you want to drastically change the configuration. (Minor changes or adding extra cabinets like an island or a pantry are still possible with the refacing service).

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The Kitchen is the most important room in your house for two main reasons;

• You spend the most valuable time with your family and friends.
• It is the room that influences at the most the value of your house.

When this room starts to look outdated the first thing you should take care is the kitchen cabinets.

The total kitchen cabinet replacing could be a scary investment and a disruptive project.

The kitchen cabinet refacing is a good alternative for three main reasons;

• According to the size of your kitchen 40% to 60% in comparison to the total replacing could be saved.
• It is a job that could be done usually in 3 to 5 day without being too invasive and allowing the use of the appliances; your kitchen won’t be off limit for several weeks or sometimes month like would be for the classic replacing.
• The refacing option gives the possibility to save your granite countertop.

The kitchen cabinet refacing is not a good alternative when;

• The inside of your cabinets (boxes) are worn out, cracked or rotten due to pipe leakage or spillages through the years.
• The layout of the kitchen requires drastic changes. (Minor changes or adding extra cabinets like an island or a pantry are still possible with the refacing service).

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