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Cabinet
Refacing - Do It Yourself vs. Hiring Out
If
you are considering remodeling your
kitchen and include refacing your
kitchen cabinets as a way to save money,
then you’ve probably thought about
doing-it-yourself.
Before you decide to reface your
kitchen cabinets, you first need to have
a specific idea of how you want your
cabinets to look.
Your second step is to decide
whether or not you can reface your
cabinets yourself, or if it makes more
sense to hire a professional to do it.
To help you with your decision,
we’ve listed a brief outline of what
you can expect if you decide to
do-it-yourself or if you decide to hire
a contractor.
Do
It Yourself:
The
first thing you should know about
refacing your kitchen cabinets yourself,
is that you must be precise when
measuring door openings,
face frames, and at the ends of
each cabinet door as well as drawer
fronts.
The next thing you should know is
that you cannot cut corners when it
comes to preparation.
You must remove the cabinets and
drawer fronts and then thoroughly clean
all the surfaces.
Once you have completed this
task, you will need to then roughen the
cabinets and drawer fronts with the
properly grit sandpaper so that the
veneer will adhere properly. To ensure that the veneer fits properly, dry fit each new
facing, then apply the adhesive and
securely nail each piece in place.
Before apply the facing, you will
need to fill in all the gaps, using
all-purpose filler that matches the wood
veneer that you have selected, and then
sand smooth any rough areas.
Lastly, you will reattach all the
hinges to both the doors and the frames.
Hiring
a Contractor:
The
main disadvantage of hiring a contractor
to reface your kitchen cabinets is that
you will be spending more money than if
you did it yourself.
When you hire a professional
craftsman to reface your kitchen
cabinets, you can be assured all
measurements will be accurate and the
design of the cabinets will meet with
your approval.
Another benefit of hiring a
professional is that they will usually
will remove and discard your old doors
and drawer fronts, saving you from
having to figure what to do with your
old cabinet fronts.
When you hire a professional
refacer, it usually takes them only a
few days to less than a week to complete
the entire project, with little to no
trouble to you.
In fact, your only true work is
finding the right contractor to do the
project.
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