Remodel
or Reface?
Refacing can give
your kitchen or bath the feel of a full remodel.
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| Renovation
Inc., in the example above replaced the cabinet doors, draw fronts,
countertops and tile backsplash. |
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Before |
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After |
By H.D. Nelson
Are you happy
with the layout of your kitchen or bath? Have you been thinking about
remodeling? If so then refacing could be the answers to your dreams.
When refacing,
the exterior of your existing cabinetry is recovered or replaced with
a new product, such as oak, birch, cherry, laminates, and more. By
adding new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, opens up a variety of
design choices from contemporary to turn-of-the-century styles. Modern
finishes are tough, very durable and washable. This popular method
is an affordable kitchen remodeling alternative making your work space
more interesting and efficient. This approach can result in tremendous
savings over completely gutting your kitchen and replacing with new
cabinetry.
Refacing is a
much better option than painting your cabinets. Painting only adds
a few mils of thickness, won’t last nearly as long as new surfacing
and will eventually age, discolor and chip. The results are short
term.
Resurfacing your
existing cabinets generally runs about one-third of what it would
cost to totally replace your kitchen cabinets. This can save you thousands
of dollars. “Refacing of cabinetry varies, but typically costs
a couple of thousand dollars for small jobs, and up to $15,000 for
larger projects,” states Ken Stores. Ken is the owner of Renovation
Inc.
www.renovationinc.net,a Lake Oswego firm that has been
in the business of refacing since 1991. Renovation Inc. has a large
showroom where they display all their products and you can also view
the whole refacing process.
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| Kitchen
Man, in the example above matched existing upper cabinets above
the sink and created new counter bases and all the cabinetry around
the stove. Also replaced all countertops. |
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| Before |
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| After |
Basically, cabinets
are boxes sitting on the floor or hanging on the wall. It can be quite
expensive to replace the boxes. Refacing, or resurfacing is economical
and a time saver. This type of renovation project produces minimal
mess allowing you to utilize your kitchen/bath throughout the process.
When you replace all your cabinets, you may need to match old unsquare
walls/floors and this will add time and labor costs to the whole project.
The reason your
cabinet skeleton can be salvaged is because in most cases they are
still in good condition. According to Peter Lackaff owner of Kitchen
Man www.kitchenman.net,
who specializing in refacing cabinets and has been serving the greater
Portland and Vancouver area for over 11 years. “Many of the older
cabinets were constructed out of solid wood, or perhaps birch plywood
with solid wood face frames, and are worth recycling. The shelving
in older cabinetry is solid. We can line the shelves with plastic
laminate, dress the front edging creating a fresh new look.”
At the same time
you reface your cabinets, the installers can also add more cabinets,
move your existing cabinets around. Plus add many updated features
such as new hardware, and counter tops from laminate, solid surface,
granite, and wood. Additionally, adding a decorative crown molding
can enhance the interior design of your kitchen/bath. At this stage
you can also add new modern glides, rollouts, tipouts, take advantage
of blind corners by adding a lazy susan, spice racks, appliance garages,
microwave shelves, chef’s pantries, etc.
The objective
of cabinet refacers is to make your kitchen/bath functional and more
livable, by adding modern amenities to your home that may not have
been state-of-the-art at the time your home was built. Our kitchen
and bathrooms are the busiest places in our homes, and it makes sense
to update them for functionality and attractiveness. The amount of
time for installation is greatly reduced — about two or three
days for smaller kitchens and up to a week for larger ones, and one
to two days for countertops only.
A refacing company
will clean up after every work shift so that homeowners can continue
to use the facilities. They replace old hinges with good quality hidden
hinges. Renovation Inc. also offers flooring of all types to add to
your new look.
It’s a good
idea to hire a professional instead of attempting to apply sheet veneer
to your flat cabinet fronts and to do your own edge banding. Today’s
water based glues need very even distribution, or it can cause delamination.
Delamination can also happen with the moisture you are introducing
in the lamination process, if you are unable to get the formula correct.
And if you don’t put on the veneers at exactly the right time,
for example, before the adhesive solvents have evaporated, this can
also cause bubbling and peeling. So let the pro’s do this project
for you.
By the time the
work is done, you will feel as if the whole kitchen is new, and be
satisfied that you have accomplished your goal of making your kitchen
more functional, updated and at a substantial savings. |
