How To Renew Your Kitchen Cabinet Doors Without Spending A Fortune

Most people believe that it is really expensive to renew kitchen cabinet doors. That is definitely not the case. In reality, you will find yourself in a moderate project. You just need around half an hour for every single cabinet and you will spend around 50 to 175 dollars per every shingle cabinet, all based on size, finish and material. On the whole, we can say that you would pay just one fifth of the amount you would pay for a new set of cabinets.

By Paul Schultz under CC BY 2.0

Quick Facts To Be Aware Of when Renewing Your Kitchen Cabinet Doors

The truth is that when you need to learn how to renew your kitchen cabinet doors, all you have to do is switch old doors after you cover exposed parts so that the brand new finish matches. You can easily work with self-stick veneers but you have to be careful since it would quickly turn into a problem if you do not properly add them as veneer is hard to remove.

The toughest part is to trim the veneer. You need to be slow and assess your current DIY level. If you have problems with simpler projects, you should look at something else.

1. Gluing Plywood To Exposed Sides

Remove cabinet doors and clean all sides and faces so that grease is removed. Let everything dry and then scuff surfaces. Wipe them down and use carpenter’s glue in order to apply plywood panels. Use 2D finish nails in order to secure panels. Sink heads and fill holes with the use of wood fillers.

1. Cover Your Stiles

Measure stiles and rails. Use a knife to cut veneers into half inch wide and 2 inch long strips. The wood grain needs to run lengthwise. Take a piece of the veneer, hold it and then add it to stiles. Make sure that alignment is proper and that edges are overlapped. Peel corners and then press veneers in their right place.

As soon as the veneer will be stuck to stiles, use wood blocks in order to press down on veneer strip length. This eliminates air bubbles and guarantees proper adhesion.

1. The Actual Refacing Of The Cabinet Doors

Veneer your stile on sides. Take the knife and eliminate all the excess veneer that may overlap cabinet openings. Make sure that you run on frame inner edge as guides. You have to trim the outer, bottom and top edges. Straightedges need to be used as guides whenever trimming at 2 cabinet joints.

1. Covering Rails

Apply veneer to cabinet rails so that both sides’ stiles overlap. That will create a great joint between stile and rail. Your knife can be used with a square as guide so that veneer layers of suitable sizes can be cut.

1. Removing Veneer Trimmings

All excess rail veneer pieces have to be cut off. Rail veneer edge should be lifted in order to expose all the cut pieces on underneath stiles. A razor can be used to slide under edges so that you can easily lift frames to remove veneer. Try to push rail veneers back in the proper place so that you smooth everything down. All frames can be finished in this way.

1. Hang Your Doors

Use a drill to screw hinges to your door. Make sure that the door is properly aligned and only temporarily screw this to frames. You have to adjust everything after you close the door so that everything is correctly positioned. Just open your door properly and then tighten screws.

Holes have to be made for the door knobs and drawer fronts. Pulls and knobs have to be put in place. Remove old fronts and then screw new ones.

Renewing kitchen cabinet doors is as simple as what is written above. Just make sure that you call a professional in the event that you do not actually know what has to be done. Patience is always necessary at the end of the day and you have to be honest.