Kitchen Remodel: Part 2

NOTE: In part 1, I emphasized that the first thing you need to do is to decide on a budget that you are comfortable with. This will help you determine whether you want to keep your old cabinets and do a “Re-Surface” (often referred to as Re-Lam or re-laminating) or remove everything and start over building new cabinets.

After you have decided on your budget and the scope of your project you will need to contact local cabinet shops and have a professional come to your home to give you an opinion on what is best for your kitchen. A good way to find a professional is to ask your neighbors and friends for recommendations on who they may have used in the past.

You can ask your local cabinet shop for references from past customers who don’t mind being contacted. These will be the best ways to determine if the shop you want to go with is reputable and professional.

Just because the shop has a flashy store front or showroom doesn’t necessarily mean they are good at what they do. The small cabinet shop with two guys may have more experience and be more professional. So, be sure to do your due diligence on shops and/or professionals and get several estimates.

NOTE: Be sure to check for Licenses and Insurance.

Once you have decided on a cabinet professional you trust, you can start determining which option is best for you…re-surface existing cabinets or a complete remodel. The cabinet professional should make an appointment to come to your home to look at the project.

If the company wants to sell you things without looking at the project…run... fast! Once they look at the project, they should give you options and of course, their opinion.

We used to use the rule of thumb: “If you plan to move in the next 7 years then you should probably resurface your cabinets. If you plan to stay in your home/apartment for 15 years then getting new cabinets is a good choice.”

If your cabinets and drawers are in good shape, a professional may recommend a “Re-Lam”. As I mentioned above “Re-Lam” means that you will re-laminate or re-surface your old cabinets and add new doors and drawer fronts.

You may/may not reuse your old drawers depending on their condition. Often it is less expensive to make new drawer boxes. Many times when a re-lam is done, it is done with plastic laminate commonly referred to as Formica, however sometimes people will use a wood veneerover the cabinets. Usually re-surfacing cost about half of what a complete renovation will cost.

Laminate companies have many choices. Most laminate companies now offer wood grains with finishes that mimic the look and feel of wood, with graining and ridges. They also offer stone look laminates and even HD laminates, which have the look of real stone. You can even choose a “foil” that matches a certain door choice…I will address this later.

Choose a color wisely, as you will most likely be living with that color for many years. Here at Cabinetparts.com, we offer Wilsonart and Nevamar laminates.

Once you have chosen a cabinet laminate style and color, you will decide what type of door to replace your existing ones with. There are several options, depending on laminate chosen.

If you choose a wood grain laminate you will have the choice of using a laminated slab door in the same color. This is just a square edged board with the laminate applied to it. You will also have the choice of what is called a “foil wrap” door.

This is actually a PVC type material that is vacuum formed over a medium density fiber (MDF) board material that can be machined with any number of door designs. You can have a square raised panel or maybe a cathedral design or several more intricate designs.

They are available in colors to match most any laminate you may choose. Some wood grain foils even have faux miters pressed into them to give the illusion of real wood.

Your cabinet professional will show you all designs and colors available to them. If you choose a wood grain laminate, you have the choice of real wood doors. They will have the same design choices as the foil, only they are real wood.

Real wood doors will be the most expensive choice, followed by foil and then laminate. You could choose to reuse the old hinges or replace with newer products and hinge accessories. Hinges have come a long way since the traditional exposed barrel hinges of our parents or grandparents kitchen.

Hinges are available for several applications. There are degrees of opening to consider and where to use each one.

NOTE: Ask these questions: Do I use a 120º or a 95º opening hinge against the wall? Do I want the door to open all the way around to the cabinet? Do I use face frame hinges or do I use European concealed hinges? What’s the difference? Where do I start?

Start by finding a hardware company you trust, like Cabinetparts.com. This might be a local mom and pop store or a big box store or it might be an online retailer. Whoever you go with, be sure they answer your questions clearly and in terms you understand. You don’t want to find out later that the guy that you weren’t comfortable with gave you the wrong product because he was just looking for a sale.

NOTE: To see hinge definitions and Soft-Close Options see Kitchen Remodel: Part 1

Next you will choose a counter top and back splash material. We will tackle each of these separately.

Counter tops are just as diversified as doors and hinges. One choice is a laminate top with straight or angled decorative edges. Laminate companies now have HD laminates that look and feel like stone in some cases.

CabinetParts.com carries laminate from Wilsonart and Nevamar. Another choice is a solid surface material like Corian. Then, of course there is stone, like granite or marble or even cement.

Choose within your budget. Laminates are the most economical and environmentally friendly choice. Solid surface, Granite and stones will cost a whole lot more and look the same. Again, the cabinet professional will be able to help you choose.

Back splashes are just as diversified. Back splashes can be wood, tile, stone or stainless steel, glass or even not at all, depending on the look you are going for.

Choosing your decorative hardware, knobs and/or pulls, can be a daunting task. Some people find this job harder than all of the other choices they will make.

There are literally thousands of knobs and pulls to choose from. Here at CabinetParts.com, we offer more than 4500 choices. We carry offer products from companies like Amerock, Berenson, Century Hardware, Laurey Hardware, and Schaub.

These are the basics that you need to know. There are many other incidentals that need to be considered, that I really didn't touch on here; like to replace or not replace the sink and faucet or electrical outlets and switches. Or do I replace my appliances? What about flooring or lighting?

These are all things your cabinet professional can help with…. Are you ready? Probably not…but, it will be a fun and exciting journey!