Changing the look of the cabinets is the prime goal of kitchen remodelling. Most of the time cabinets that are in good shape are removed and replaced because the homeowner is bored with their look. This is just the same as getting rid of the car which is in perfectly good condition, just because you don't like its colour. The appearance of your kitchen can be changed by the cabinet refacing St. Charles performed by Fresh Faced Cabinets, which offers a number of benefits of replacement of cabinets but at a minimum cost. 

What Is Meant By Cabinet Refacing? 

It is the replacement of the cabinet by removing the drawer fronts and doors and putting a new veneer over the existing body of the cabinets. 

How Cabinet Refacing Works? 

Many companies specialize in performing the job of cabinet refacing. Cabinet refacing can be done by a skilled DIYer by getting a veneer kit having the wood veneers and materials, then ordering cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

In both the ways the process takes place in the same order -

•     The cabinet doors, drawers, and the drawer fronts are removed but the drawer boxes remain in place.
•     The cabinet boxes fronts are layered, with natural wood veneer or RTF - melamine based product.
•     The sides of the cabinet are laminated or wood veneer.
•     New door hinges are put if required. Good condition hinges can also be reused.
•     New handles, drawer pulls and other fixtures are also installed. If the old hardware is in good shape then it can be reused.
•     Glass panels, lighting, Crown molding,  or storage accessories are also installed.

 

A professional will take two to four days to perform cabinet refacing service, depending on the kitchen size. A three days schedule may look something like given below -

•     Day 1 - Take off hardware, drawer fronts, and the doors. Start veneering. At the end of the day pick up and clean.
•     Day 2 - the Veneering continues. At the end of the day pick up and clean.
•     Day 3 - the veneering process is completed. Install new drawer fronts and doors. Also, install hardware. Make the last adjustments.

 

When doing the work on your own with the kit materials, give yourself at least a full week for the work. 

Costs 

The refacing of cabinets, instead of replacing with custom cabinets, costs less, but you need not hurry thinking that refacing is a cheap alternative to new cabinets. If the refacing is done by a professional then it may cost nearly 50% of a new custom cabinet installation and  70 to 80% of the price of installing stock cabinets bought off-the-shelf from home improvement centres. 

Conclusion 

Cabinet refacing may be a cost-effective option for remodelling of the kitchen if the already existing cabinets are well made and in good shape and at times when an entirely different look is desired. It is also an excellent idea when the present kitchen layout functions well as it is. But if the old cabinet shows malfunctioning or the hardware is in a poor state or the internal storage features are lacking, you may better go for the new cabinets.