I live in a house that was built in the 1950's and it exists in
Baytown, Texas which is just outside of Houston. It is a ranch style
home. My wife and I have been thinking of either replacing or
refurbishing our kitchen cabinets. I had an estimate from Sears for
a refacing job. The refacing along with a new corian counter came up
to 10k. The estimator indicated that because our kitchen cabinets
are "built in", they are made of excellent wood. I have also had
estimates from Lowe's for replacement of the cabinets. There costs,
while cheaper, are not substantially less than Sears.

My question is.... Can I do something to refurbish my cabinets so that
there is an effective upgrade? I am very handy (In the last year, I
sheetrocked all of the ceiling on the first floor of my house, and I
refinished all of my hardwood floors with polyurethane), but I have
not done any cabinet work. Additionally, as I am semi-retired, I have
a lot more time than most do. Please send along your opinions.

Al Kondo

Al Kondo wrote:
I live in a house that was built in the 1950's and it exists in
Baytown, Texas which is just outside of Houston. It is a ranch style
home. My wife and I have been thinking of either replacing or
refurbishing our kitchen cabinets. I had an estimate from Sears for
a refacing job. The refacing along with a new corian counter came up
to 10k. The estimator indicated that because our kitchen cabinets
are "built in", they are made of excellent wood. I have also had
estimates from Lowe's for replacement of the cabinets. There costs,
while cheaper, are not substantially less than Sears.

My question is.... Can I do something to refurbish my cabinets so that
there is an effective upgrade? I am very handy (In the last year, I
sheetrocked all of the ceiling on the first floor of my house, and I
refinished all of my hardwood floors with polyurethane), but I have
not done any cabinet work. Additionally, as I am semi-retired, I have
a lot more time than most do. Please send along your opinions.

Al Kondo

You left out a couple of factors that would help.

Why do you want to refurbish the cabinets? Dirty, wrong color, too
light or dark, just tired of them? Are they mechanically solid? Do they
server your current needs other than looks?

What else do you want to do with your kitchen? Change arrangement? New
countertops? Floor?

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

They must be stripped to be done properly, bring a door to a furniture
refinisher to get an idea of price and looks. Spraying a finish will
give best results. You may or may not have good wood worth refinishing.
Get pro advise.

Do you really have to strip them? I understand if you want to re-stain them
you would need to do that but what about priming them and giving them a nice
paint job? - maybe some sort of faux finish.


"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
They must be stripped to be done properly, bring a door to a furniture
refinisher to get an idea of price and looks. Spraying a finish will
give best results. You may or may not have good wood worth refinishing.
Get pro advise.

The grease imbedded in the finish is what could be a future problem. If
you can really clean it good then prime and paint, Some old cabinets
are well kept up, some the finish is junk. If the old finish is ok and
doesnt come off with your nails then ok paint if its soft and removes
easily especialy around handles and knobs it has to be stripped . Over
many years grease and oil usualy penetrate finishes ruining them,
every job is different.

In answer to a question from a respondent, my wife and I just want to
update the cabinets so that they look better. The wood of the
"boxes" are in excellent shape. The cabinet doors, however, need some
help. They have some sort of thin veneer which has been coming off
for some time now. The veneer is of wood color and has been
cracking. I am not sure what to do with them. Can I replace them if
they are not worth saving? Can the veneer be removed and new veneer
used to replace it? I am wondering if there is something I can place
over the existing "boxes" to give it a different look. Presently,
they are painted white and pretty simple. Any thoughts or suggestions
will be welcomed.

Al Kondo

"Al Kondo"

Any thoughts or suggestions
will be welcomed.

I have yet to see a refinish job I though looked good. Just me, though.
It's a shortcut, and looks like it, IMO. Refacing? Seems you have to pay
someone to do that - and if you were to do it yourself, you'd spend a
similar amount of time as ripping out and re-installing fresh new cabinets.
You'd also still be stuck with your old drawers and that funny smell in the
back of the cabinets. A kitchen's worth of cabinets should come to a lot
less than 10k, unless you have a really large and sophisticated kitchen.
4-5 k for nice ones seems about par. Hanging kitchen cabinets is a hell of
lot easier than hanging and finishing drywall on a ceiling, IMO.


- Nate

Al Kondo wrote:
In answer to a question from a respondent, my wife and I just want to
update the cabinets so that they look better. The wood of the
"boxes" are in excellent shape. The cabinet doors, however, need some
help. They have some sort of thin veneer which has been coming off
for some time now.

Bad news. Likely you can't salvage them or re-finish them. The stuff
coming off may have been veneer or a printed paper product. In either case,
it is now in bad shape. You can't really fix what is missing or stop the
rest from coming off. You could take it all off, but I doubt if you will
find anything worthwhile finishing under it. They seldom use anything of
value under a veneer or other covering. About your only hope is that the
stuff peeling off was put there by someone who just wanted to change
something that was there.

The veneer is of wood color and has been
cracking. I am not sure what to do with them. Can I replace them if
they are not worth saving? Can the veneer be removed and new veneer
used to replace it? I am wondering if there is something I can place
over the existing "boxes" to give it a different look. Presently,
they are painted white and pretty simple. Any thoughts or suggestions
will be welcomed.

Al Kondo

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math