Cabinet Refinishing Question

16 years ago

We are in the early planning stages for a moderate kitchen remodel. Our house is 18 years old, and we are the original owners. All of our cabinets are custom-made, european-style, with stained, solid oak doors and drawer fronts. The top two drawers in the lower cabinets have a strip of walnut running horizontally, and the upper cabinet doors have the walnut running vertically. Some of the fronts are in dire need of refinishing (so we'll have to do them all), and for the remodel plan we'll need a few new cabinets made to match.

What type of contractor do you think is best suited for this work? We can contact the original cabinetmaker, but they have gotten quite big, and I'm not sure they'd want this job. Also, the original job ended with some disagreements, but we probably remember that more than they do.

Most of the refinishing services you see are really doing refacing, which is not what we need. Is it likely that any custom cabinet maker can do the job we need? When I look around (Denver-Boulder, Colorado area) I don't see a lot of listings that seem like what we're looking for.

We haven't decided whether we're going to hire a general contractor for the job, or sub it out ourselves. I supose if we go the general contractor route, we will let them take care of it.

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Comments (4)

sierraeast
16 years ago
I would seek out a small, but reputable custom cabinet shop. They should be able to duplicate any set(s) of cabinetry. The reason i refer small shops is becuase they are typically more able to set up for your project compared to larger outfits that often times have jigs set up for their standards such as toe kick sizes, side jambs, heights, etc. Face frames, doors, drawer fronts as well as frameless are all dependent on design, so that's typically not an issue. You can get referalls from finish carpenters in your area that do the installs or from high end custom home builders that only go with custom cabinet shops.
sombreuil_mongrel
16 years ago
Hi,
It's not clear what the scope of the work is. Just a few new cabinets made to match existing? Or a thorough rearrangement, involving plumbing and wiring as well?
It depends; in one case you'd just need the original cabinet co and a good installer, but for the latter, you need at least some good subcontractors, perhaps a GC.
Casey
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User
16 years ago
In addition to cabinet shops, I'd investigate furniture refinishers/restorers. Folks who deal in local antiques might have a lead on someone who has a dip tank for the doors. Sanding or chemically removing the finish from such a large project will be very labor intensive, which equates to very expensive. Having the doors dipped into a vat of stripper may or may not be able to be done depending the the construction techniques and materials used, but if it is able to be done, it's a big timesaver.

Or, you can investigate doing the refinish job yourself, because it's the PITA job that will cause the quote $$ to be so high. Refinishing a lacquer finish isn't that hard, it's just long and yucky. You may be someone who has more time than money for the project, or you may be someone who has more money than time and want to pay for it to be done. Either way, be prepared for sticker shock, especially considering the description of the quality and degree of customization of the original cabinets. Prices have really gone up in 20 years, and that original cabinet job would probably have quadrupled at least in expense, and the one or two needed pieces may be close to what you paid for a whole kitchen initially.
hgluckman
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the responses.

As to the scope of the project, we have several options, but if we go for the most complex, it will mean refinishing all of the drawer/door fronts, building a few new cabinets (the largest being a new oven cabinet, and an enclosure for a built-in refrig), and a "minor" rearangement of the existing cabinets, which will involve some plumbing and electrical, however.

The doors were originally stained with an oil-based stain of some sort. Some of them are fine, but others have faded (sun), gotten dirty, and/or some water damage. Except for maybe a couple of them, I think they're all salvageable. We'll want any new cabinetry to match of course.