How to Reface Cabinets
If your cabinets look drab and boring already, you might be thinking of replacing them. Before you do this, stop. Why replace cabinets when you can just reface them for less money? With a few materials and hard work, your cabinet installations will look different and brand-new. Here’s one way how.
What You’ll Need:
Cabinet doors
1/2 inch plywood
Drawer fronts
Sander
Self-sticking veneer
Drill
Utility knife
Hardware and knobs
Paint mask
Wood putty
Liquid nails or carpenter’s glue
Procedure:
Measure the existing drawer fronts and doors to check that the new ones you want will fit well. Most home improvement stores sell doors and matching self-stick veneer at affordable prices. Buy enough drawer fronts, doors and pulls and knobs. Don’t worry if your cabinets are painted, you can still use veneer.
refaced cabinets
Remove the hardware and doors from the cabinets. If there are drawers, take off the fronts, too.
Using the sander, remove the paint from the cabinets, until what you have is a smooth surface. Wear a paint mask, so you won’t inhale the paint dust. If the surface is veneer, though, use a 150-grit sandpaper to roughen it.
Use a tack cloth to clean the surface properly, removing all traces of dust. Leftover dust will only make the veneer adhesive stick less.
Carefully cut plywood panels, making sure they fit the cabinet’s exposed ends. Using either liquid nails or carpenter’s glue, nail the panels in. the heads of the nails must be very flat and sunk in, so they won’t be seen through your veneer. When you sink them, fill them up with wood putty.
Measure the frame, then cut the veneer 1/2 inch wider and one to two inches longer than the measurements you took. Afterwards, use a utility knife to cut through the veneer. You need to cut it in such a way that the wood grain is going lengthwise. Begin at the top, then pull the self-sticking covering back.
Stick the top on then pull off the covering as you work your way downwards. Go across the same direction, a little at a time. Allow the ends to overlap. Afterward, start at the top again, then use a block of wood to press on the veneer, pulling it downwards all the way. This helps you make sure that the adhesive sticks properly.
Go across the bottom and top of the frame. Cut the veneer, putting it on the cabinet’s exposed ends, in the same manner.
Trim the excess veneer away. Go inside the cabinet’s opening, then cut across then downwards. Use the outside so the knife is guided.
If you have two cabinets together, use a level so you’ll get a nice, straight cut. Use the level again to cut the overlaps at the top and bottom.
Install your new cabinet doors properly, putting the hinges in first. Screw them in the cabinet. Don’t tighten the screws immediately, since the doors will need more adjusting. When they are hanging properly, go back then tighten the screws.
Drill holes for the knobs, then screw them in, too.
Put the new drawer fronts and pulls. Most drawer fronts screw in from the drawer’s inside. Drill holes for the pulls, then screw in place.
Make your cabinets look good as new by refacing them. With these easy steps, there’s no more need for you to spend large amounts of money for new cabinets.