Steps for Updating Your Kitchen Cabinets

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Refacing your kitchen cabinets is a cost-effective way to give your kitchen a fresh new look. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Plan: Decide on the desired cabinet style and color scheme. Measure the cabinets to determine the amount of materials needed.

2. Remove doors and hardware: Take off the cabinet doors, drawers, and hardware like knobs and hinges.

3. Prepare surfaces: Clean the cabinet frames and doors thoroughly. Sand them to create a smooth surface for the new finish.

4. Apply new finish: Use adhesive veneer or laminate sheets to cover the cabinet frames. Install new doors, or reface the existing ones with the same material.

5. Add finishing touches: Install new hardware, such as handles and knobs, to complete the new look.

By following these steps, you can transform your kitchen cabinets without the need for a full renovation.

Renewing your kitchen cabinets can be done through the process of refacing, which involves replacing the surfaces and adding new doors and drawer fronts. This option is more expensive than simply painting the cabinets, but it provides a more dramatic transformation. Additionally, refacing can save you about 75% of the cost of completely replacing the cabinets.

While you can hire a professional company to do the refacing for you, it is also possible to do it yourself. You don’t need advanced building or woodworking skills, but you should pay attention to detail and take your time with each step. Plan for a few days of work to avoid rushing and making mistakes.

Process of Cabinet Refacing

Refacing your cabinets involves removing the doors and drawer fronts, covering the exposed surfaces of the cabinet boxes with a thin wood veneer, and then installing new doors and drawer fronts, along with any additional trim you desire. The veneer, doors, and drawer fronts are sold together to ensure a matching wood and finish. The veneer is made of real wood and comes in sheets that are 2-by-8 feet. You will need to cut the veneer into strips, adhere them to the cabinet, and trim them to fit flush with the cabinet edges.

The veneer sheets can come pre-finished to match the stain and finish of the doors, or they can be unfinished for you to apply your own choice of stain and finish. In the past, veneer was adhered to the cabinets using contact adhesive, but now many companies offer peel-and-stick veneer that can be easily pressed in place. Each refacing kit may have slightly different installation processes, so be sure to carefully follow the instructions provided with your specific materials.

Supplies You Will Need

  • Cabinet refacing kit

  • Drill with screwdriver bits

  • Sponge or rag

  • Dish soap or TSP (trisodium phosphate; or a TSP substitute)

  • 150-grit sandpaper and sanding block

  • Auto body filler (as needed)

  • Putty knife (as needed)

  • Tack cloth or mineral spirits and rag

  • Tape measure

  • Pencil

  • Utility knife

  • Straightedge

  • Veneer scraper

  • Paper trimmer

  • Stain pen or color-matched wood filler (as needed)

  • Tools and supplies for installing trim (as needed)

  • Screws for drawer fronts

Steps for Refacing Your Kitchen Cabinets

1. Prepare the Cabinet Boxes

To start the project, empty the cabinet boxes and clean them. Remove all items from the cabinets to prevent them from getting in the way and protect them from dust created during the sanding process.

  1. To begin, remove the cabinet doors by unscrewing the hinges and store them in a safe place if you plan to reuse them.
  2. Next, pull out all of the drawers from the cabinet boxes.
  3. Empty the cabinets of all contents.
  4. Clean the interior and exterior surfaces of the cabinets using mild dish soap or TSP and water. Use a slightly damp sponge or rag and rinse with clean water.


Image Credit:
Sanford Creative

2. Prepare the Surfaces for Refacing

The surfaces of the cabinets that you will be refacing should be smooth, flat, and clean without any bumps, raised edges, or depressions.

  1. Lightly sand all the surfaces that will be refaced using 150-grit sandpaper and a sanding block. Check for bumps and depressions as you work.
  2. If there are any bumps or raised areas, including face frame edges that extend past the sides of the cabinet box, sand them down until all surfaces are flush.
  3. Fill any dents or depressions with auto body filler (such as Bondo) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Smooth the filler with a putty knife and let it dry before sanding it flush with the surrounding wood surface.
  4. Wipe the cabinets with a tack cloth or a rag dampened with mineral spirits. Avoid using cleaning solvents that may soften the old cabinet finish.

3. Cover the End Panels

The exposed, finished ends of the cabinet runs are typically covered with a large sheet of veneer. Some kits may include thin plywood for the end panels, or you can choose to cover the ends with door panels that match the new cabinet doors.

  1. Using one of the long factory edges of the full veneer sheet, measure and mark the veneer piece for each end panel. Make sure the piece is slightly wider and taller than the end panel.
  2. Cut the veneer piece to size using a sharp utility knife and a straightedge.
  3. Peel away the non-stick backing from the factory edge of the cut veneer.
  4. Position the veneer against the wall with the factory edge, overlapping the top and bottom of the cabinet equally.
  5. Stick the exposed veneer edge to the cabinet and smooth it with your hand, starting from the center.
  6. While smoothing the veneer from the center outward, carefully peel away the remaining backing.
  7. Ensure that the veneer is properly positioned and use a veneer scraper to thoroughly smooth it from the center outward, following the grain of the wood.
  8. Trim the overhanging edges of the veneer using a utility knife.

4. Cover the Cabinet Stiles

The stiles are the vertical pieces that make up the sides of the cabinet face frames. The standard process is to reface the stiles on all of the cabinets before moving on to the rails, which are the horizontal frame pieces. Once the rails are covered, you can then return to fill in the final vertical pieces on any center supports in double-door cabinets. Alternatively, you can complete each cabinet one at a time, following the same order.

  1. Prepare a strip of veneer for each cabinet stile, as previously done, making it slightly wider and longer than the stile.
  2. Remove the non-stick backing from one end of each strip.
  3. Center the strip over the stile, allowing it to overhang equally on all sides.
  4. Press the strip onto the stile and smooth it with your hand while removing the remaining backing.
  5. Use a veneer scraper to thoroughly smooth the strip, following the wood grain.
  6. Trim the strip to match the edges of the cabinet using a utility knife. Use a straightedge to trim the inside edge where it passes over frame rails and center supports.

5. Cover the Rails

The rail veneer strips should be cut precisely to fit between the stile strips. Professionals often use a paper trimmer for this, but a utility knife and straightedge can also be used for a straight cut.

  1. Cut each rail strip in the same way as the stile strips, ensuring they are slightly wider and longer than the rails.
  2. Position the strip against one of the adjoining stiles and mark where it meets the opposite stile.
  3. Cut the rail strip to length at the marked point using a paper trimmer or utility knife.
  4. Check the fit of the rail piece to ensure it fits snugly between the stiles without bending.
  5. Remove the backing from the rail strip.
  6. Starting at one or both ends, fit the rail strip into place and smooth it with your hand and the veneer scraper.
  7. Trim the rail strip to match the top and bottom edges of the rail using a utility knife.

Tip

When cutting the rail strips, align them so that the long edges are parallel to the wood grain. This will give the strips a horizontal grain orientation when installed, similar to solid-wood rails.


Image Credit:
Sanford Creative

6. Complete the Refacing

The final steps of the veneering process involve filling in center support strips, touching up veneer edges, and adding optional trim. Some refacing kits provide stain pens and wood filler for these final touch-ups.

  1. Cut, apply, and trim veneer strips for all vertical center supports using the same methods as for the rails. These pieces should fit between the bottom and top rails of the cabinet frame.
  2. Use a stain pen or color-matched wood filler to touch up any visible veneer edges or seams.
  3. Install decorative trim along the tops of wall cabinets and/or where cabinets meet walls, if desired.

7. Install the Doors and Drawer Fronts

New cabinet doors often come with predrilled holes for hinges. If you are reusing old hinges, you will need to order doors without predrilled holes.

  1. Attach the hinges to each cabinet door, either using the predrilled holes or by drilling pilot holes if reusing old hinges.

  2. Install the door handles or pulls, if applicable.

  3. Securely mount the doors onto the cabinets following the instructions provided by the hinge manufacturer.

  4. Make any necessary adjustments to the hinges in order to properly align each door. Most modern hinges are adjustable.

  5. Take off the existing drawer fronts from the drawer boxes.

  6. Position the new drawer fronts by centering each drawer box over the backside of the new front and fastening them together by screwing through the front of the drawer box into the drawer front.

  7. Attach the drawer handles or pulls, if needed.

  8. Fit the drawers into their designated slots to complete the project.

Tip

If your drawers have three-sided boxes where the drawer front acts as the fourth side, you can keep the original front in place. Remove the drawer slides from the box, then cut off the side edges of the original drawer front so that it is flush with the box sides. Flip the drawer end-for-end and attach the new drawer front to what was previously the back end of the drawer. Reinstall the slides so that they face the new drawer front.

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