Remodeling Kitchen Cabinets: What You Need to Know Before Getting Started

Beginning a home improvement project, particularly if your home value is dependant on a major improvement or construction project, can be one of the most difficult tasks to undertake as a homeowner. With careful planning, however, remodeling your home can be an immensely rewarding experience. Even when purchasing new construction, it can be easy to envision what you will want your new home to look like. Particularly if you are purchasing a less expensive new home, one of your priorities may just be a kitchen renovation. This may also be the case if you’ve been living with your old cabinets for some time and have decided that you’d like to make a change.

In your kitchen, the easiest, least expensive way to change the look of your cabinetry is simply to paint it. Although this is a less-than-desirable change if your cabinets are hardwoods, less expensive cabinetry can benefit from a facelift such as this. If this is the way you intend to proceed, you should choose your color scheme, and then remove all the hardware from your cabinetry. You may find it easier to remove the cabinet doors as well, and be certain to keep your hinges clean and free of paint. Remove any shelf paper you may have inside the cabinets, and pull your stove and refrigerator out of the way so that you won’t get paint on them. Now is also the time to decide whether you’ll be replacing the floor. If so, than you don’t need to be concerned with drop cloths. If, on the other hand, you wish to keep your floor, a drop cloth is your best protection before you begin painting.

Another option is cabinet resurfacing. Some kitchen cabinets will be conducive to allowing you to simply change out the fronts of the cabinets rather than the whole thing. This involves removing the doors as well as the facing boards of the cabinets, and replacing them with higher-quality doors and fronts. In some respects, this remodeling alternative is every bit as labor-intensive as painting your cabinetry, but the results may well be far more satisfying if you are seeking a solid-wood look in your kitchen, but the sides and bottoms of your cabinets are hidden from view.

The third alternative, and of course, by far the most expensive, is removing your kitchen cabinets completely and replacing them. This option is most desirable if your cabinets are of some construction other than wood, or you have some amount of rot under your sink which is a problem which you will want addressed regardless of whether you are choosing a full kitchen renovation or simply a quick refreshing. You should be able to do the demolition work yourself, even if you choose to have the cabinets professionally installed. Start with removing the doors, then the cabinet faces, and finally remove the cabinets themselves from the wall. Some will be attached with screws, some with nails. Either way, they won’t be too difficult to remove with just a few tools and a vacation day. It should also save you a considerable amount of money should you indeed decide to hire a contractor to install your new kitchen cabinets.

Renovating your kitchen is still one of the most popular ways to add value and equity to your home, and provided that you approach your kitchen renovation with patience and a keen eye, you or your prospective home buyers will enjoy your work for a long time to come.