1970s cabinets with heavy face frames
Cabinets from the 1970s often have wide face frames and small door openings. Full-overlay doors cover more of the frame and make the cabinets look current.
Serving Arlington Heights & nearby Mount Prospect, Palatine
Cabinet Refacing in Arlington Heights, IL
New doors, drawer fronts and matching skins on the cabinet boxes you already have in Arlington Heights, with your counters left in place.
- Serving Arlington Heights ZIP 60004, 60005
- A new look without tearing the kitchen out
- Clean, protected work area every day
Cabinet problems refacing solves in Arlington Heights
Refacing keeps the cabinet boxes, countertops and plumbing in your Arlington Heights kitchen and replaces everything you see: new doors and drawer fronts, veneer or laminate skins on the face frames and end panels, and new hinges and pulls. The result looks like a new set of cabinets without a tear-out.
Condo kitchen with building rules
In a condo, refacing avoids hauling old cabinets through the building. We bring in doors and panels and take out only the old doors.
Want to keep granite or quartz counters
If you replaced the counters a few years ago, refacing lets you keep them. The boxes underneath never move.
Peeling thermofoil
Thermofoil peels when heat and steam soften the glue. We replace the failed doors and add heat shields where a range or wall oven sits close to the cabinets.
Oak frames that don't suit a new look
Wide oak face frames can be covered in a new wood veneer or a painted-look laminate, so the whole cabinet takes the new color.
Scratched or damaged end panels
Chipped and scuffed cabinet sides are covered with new panels that match the doors and frames.
Laminate cabinets with loose edges
Peeling edge strips on flat laminate doors are a common reason to reface. We check how well the surface will hold a new skin before quoting.
Old exposed hinges and loose doors
Loose, exposed hinges are replaced along with the doors. Concealed soft-close hinges come standard in most of our refacing jobs.
What's included
- Removing doors, fronts and hingesOld doors, drawer fronts, hinges and pulls come off and leave with us.
- Veneer on face framesFace frames are covered with wood veneer or laminate that matches the new doors, trimmed tight at every edge.
- End panels and exposed sidesWe skin every exposed end, including the island and the panel next to the fridge.
- New doors and drawer frontsDoors and fronts are made to measure for each opening and arrive finished.
- Concealed hingesNew doors hang on hidden, adjustable hinges, usually with soft-close.
- Pulls and knobsNew hardware is installed with a drilling jig so every pull lines up.
- Trim, crown and toe kickWe finish the top and bottom of the cabinets with new trim in the same material.
Finishes we offer
High-pressure laminateA tough plastic laminate in wood grains and solid colors, often used for slab-style refacing.
Real wood veneerThin sheets of oak, maple, cherry or walnut, stained and clear-coated to match solid wood doors.
Painted MDF and solid wood doorsPainted doors use MDF panels that will not crack at the joints; stained doors use hardwood.
Soft-close hinges and slidesSoft-close hardware stops slamming and takes stress off the doors and boxes.
Door stylesShaker suits almost any house; slab doors fit a modern, minimal kitchen.
Cabinet Refacing before and after — Arlington Heights homes
Before
In progress
After
DetailCabinet Refacing in a 1950s ranch, Arlington Heights
A 1950s ranch in Arlington Heights, a typical kitchen for Arlington Heights. What we started with: 1970s dark pecan-stained cabinets. The reason for the call: heavy wood frames that made the room feel old. The result: new five-piece shaker doors in creamy white uppers and navy lowers on the existing boxes, matching face-frame veneer and unlacquered brass knobs and cup pulls. On site this meant veneer on face frames, concealed hinges, plus trim, crown and toe kick.
Before
AfterA Mount Prospect 1960s ranch: before and after
The site: a 1960s ranch in Mount Prospect. The kitchen as it was: dark walnut-stained flush-panel cabinets with brass pulls. The reason for the call: dated wood doors on solid boxes. Finished kitchen: new five-piece shaker doors in soft white on the existing boxes, matching face-frame veneer and satin brass pulls. Work included veneer on face frames, pulls and knobs, plus trim, crown and toe kick.
Cabinet Refacing in Mount Prospect →
Before
AfterA Palatine two-story colonial from the 1990s: before and after
A two-story colonial from the 1990s in Palatine, a typical kitchen for Palatine. The kitchen as it was: golden-oak cabinets with oak soffits above. The reason for the call: dated wood doors on solid boxes. Finished kitchen: new five-piece shaker doors in warm white on the existing boxes, matching face-frame veneer and satin brass pulls. The job covered end panels and exposed sides, new doors and drawer fronts, plus pulls and knobs.
Cabinet Refacing in Palatine →
Before
AfterBefore and after: a postwar Cape Cod in Arlington Heights
What changed: new five-piece shaker doors and drawer fronts in light greige with matte black pulls.
Cabinet Door & Drawer Front Replacement in Arlington Heights →
Before
AfterAn Arlington Heights 1960s ranch: before and after
What changed: new cabinets in warm taupe with brushed nickel bar pulls, installed level and ready for charcoal concrete-look quartz counters.
Kitchen Cabinet Installation & Replacement in Arlington Heights →How the job goes
- Visit and box checkWe inspect the boxes, measure every opening and show door styles and samples.
- Choose style and finishDoor samples and finish chips help you decide in your own lighting.
- Doors are madeProduction happens off-site; nothing changes in your kitchen until the parts are ready.
- Install on siteWe skin the boxes, hang the new doors and fit hardware, typically in a few working days.
- Adjust and walk-throughFinal adjustments, cleanup and a walk-through to check every detail.
Cabinet Refacing questions from Arlington Heights homeowners
What is the downside of cabinet refacing?
It keeps your layout and your cabinet interiors as they are. If the boxes are damaged or the layout does not work, refacing will not fix that.
What affects the cost of refacing?
Kitchen size, the material you pick and extras such as crown, glass doors or soft-close drawers. You get an itemized written estimate after we measure.
Can you reface laminate or thermofoil cabinets?
In most cases. We test the existing surfaces at the visit and tell you if anything needs repair first.
Do you reface bathroom vanities?
Yes. Vanities are refaced the same way, and doing them with the kitchen keeps the finishes consistent.
Can I use the kitchen during refacing?
You keep a working kitchen. Expect some open cabinets and tools in the room during the install days.
Do Arlington Heights condo associations need to approve cabinet refacing?
Associations usually set rules for work hours, elevators, deliveries and insurance, and many require approval for plumbing, electrical or structural changes. We provide the certificate of insurance and follow the building's rules.
Arlington Heights contractor registration: do kitchen contractors need it?
The Village of Arlington Heights contractor license number must be listed on permit applications; homeowners doing their own work file a Homeowner as General Contractor form. We take care of that before work starts.
Do I need a permit for cabinet refacing in Arlington Heights?
It depends on the scope. Arlington Heights's rule in short: Remodel permit applications (shown here via a basement remodel checklist dated 2020) require a building permit application, plans and a contractor proposal; plumbing and electrical permit applications are added if applicable. We handle the permit when one is needed with Building & Life Safety Department.
Do you work in my part of Arlington Heights?
Yes. Our crews work across Arlington Heights — ZIP 60004, 60005 — and nearby Mount Prospect, Palatine, Buffalo Grove.
Working in Arlington Heights
- A lot of Arlington Heights kitchens date from the 1970s. We know these layouts well and what is worth keeping.
- Condo or townhome? We follow association rules on work hours and elevators and bring the insurance certificate your board asks for.
- We know how Building & Life Safety Department handles kitchen permits and pull them for you.
ZIP 60004ZIP 60005
Cabinet Refacing nearby
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Other kitchen services in Arlington Heights
Cabinet Door & Drawer Front ReplacementReplacement doors and drawer fronts in any style.
Kitchen Cabinet Installation & ReplacementNew cabinets installed, leveled and ready for counters.
Custom Kitchen CabinetsBuilt-to-fit cabinetry up to the ceiling.
Kitchen RemodelingFull kitchen remodels, from layout to last cabinet pull.
Kitchen Cabinet PaintingFactory-smooth painted cabinets without replacing them.