Some Specifics
There’s often some confusion between cabinet refinishing and refacing — and understandably so. When homeowners decide their kitchen cabinets are in need of a facelift, they sometimes use the two interchangeably. However, the differences between the two are pretty stark; cabinet refinishing involves our tried and tested process of prepping and detailing your job site by applying masking tape and draping to/over the job site. Once we’ve ensured that the job site (which is most commonly a kitchen) is well prepared for the forthcoming process, we vacuum and sweep the area to remove any remaining dust and debris. We’ll then remove and tidy up any heating and ventilation to ensure no dust finds its way to the project area. We’ll then patch and fill any cracks, if need be. To ensure no contaminants remain the project area, we’ll deep clean any and all wood surfaces, then allow them to thoroughly dry.
From there, it’s time to get into the fun part: actually refinishing.
The cabinet refinishing process then sees us restoring or changing the original color of the wood to one of your preferences, then sealing it to ensure that color remains on the cabinet. Finally, we’ll burnish the cabinets and apply a proprietary high-performance, low VOC, water-based polyurethane finish. If you prefer, we have a UV instant cure finish as well. From there, your kitchen refinishing project is simply a waiting game. Once completed, we’ll pack and tidy up, leaving no debris, dust, dirt, or tools used during the refinishing process. Finally, you’re left with your refinished cabinets and a clean, facelifted kitchen.
The Cabinet Refacing Process
Since we’ve discussed the cabinet refinishing process, let’s get into cabinet refacing and how it further departs from refinishing. Both processes give your kitchen a facelift, but kitchen refacing involves some different steps. Bluntly, kitchen refacing involves removing your existing doors, drawer faces and/or complete drawings and, in their place, installing new drawers. This process affords you numerous options for choosing specific colors and styles, as well as placement and cut. And we want our clients to have choices; if we don’t inform you of options, it’s simply because the supplier offers only one style/model/color.
Most often, however, you’ll be given at a minimum of three face frame/end panel options, ranging from ⅛ inch thick veneer to upwards of ¼ inch to ensure covering for existing face frames and up to ¼ inch panels on islands and cabinets’ ends. Moreover, you should be presented with options for crown molding and base shoe moldings and other services to give your kitchen the full facelift you desire. These options most often include hardware upgrades and cabinet/drawer organizers.
Traditional Cabinet Refacing Vs. Unique Cabinet Refacing
We here at St. Croix Cabinet Solutions know that no two kitchen refacing projects are the same, and each homeowner has specific wants and needs. That’s why we provide each client with two distinct refacing processes: traditional and unique. Our traditional cabinet refacing offerings often work best for those who are looking to keep a tighter budget. However, this doesn’t mean that you’re left without options; our traditional cabinet refacing process includes new door and drawer installation and covers each exposed part of the frame with wood veneers to match. Our clients who choose our traditional cabinet refacing services save up to 50 percent off the cost of new cabinet installation.
And when we say you’ll have plenty of options, we mean it. When you choose traditional cabinet refacing with St. Croix Cabinet Solutions, you’ll have over 23 varieties of wood in 95 grades to choose from, as well as over 180 different wood and style combinations. These choices give you generous flexibility to ensure you’re getting the kitchen cabinets that work best for you and your preferences. And, with over 34 stain colors, 24 paint colors, 15 glaze colors and seven glaze methods, and hundreds of accessories to choose from, you can be sure you won’t end up feeling bound by lack of options.
Unique Cabinet Refacing
We want to reiterate that we see each cabinet refacing project as unique and like no other. Accordingly, we understand that your kitchen upgrade may require a combination of our services to get you the end results you’ve been looking for. Our unique cabinet refacing options allow you to keep your current cabinet frames and only replace doors and drawers, should you so choose. Or, we can refinish your frames or apply wood veneers in addition to the frames. This option may be right for you if you know you like (and want to keep) the layout of your cabinets, you want to change your cabinets’ style, or your cabinets are a little worse for wear with cracks and splits or faded, yellowed,o r water-damaged wood.
Let’s Chat
Since your kitchen cabinet refacing project is unlike other projects, we encourage you to reach out to us here at St. Croix Cabinet Refacing with any questions you might have concerning your project. We’re always happy to hear from potential clients who are simply looking to improve their kitchen cabinets and, in turn, making their kitchen a much more enjoyable living space. Whether you’re looking for total kitchen cabinet replacement, or are working within a fairly restrictive budget that can’t be breached, St. Croix Cabinet Solutions has the cabinet upgrade options to ensure your project is completed on time, in budget, and up to your standards.