By: Herrick Kimball
Dateline: 8 January 2019
Updated: 8 August 2023
Updated: 8 August 2023
It has been 20 years since I wrote the above book for The Taunton Press. They are still selling it, but I can tell from my quarterly royalty statements, that it is not selling like it once did. Not hardly. I won’t be surprised if it goes out of print soon.
The good news is that when this now-classic cabinet refacing manual is no longer in print, used copies will be available for years to come. I say it’s good news because even after two decades, just about everything I teach about cabinet refacing in that book is still 100% accurate and applicable for doing a remarkably good job of refacing kitchen cabinets.
The only thing I see that’s out of date in the book is me. My hair is now noticeably gray (and I have a beard). Other than that, the refacing Resources at the back of the book could, admittedly, use some updating. But all the how-to details for sizing doors, and veneer-wrapping old face frames have not changed. You simply will not find better instructions for this high-end refacing technique anywhere else.
Veneer-wrapping of face frames results in a finished look that is as good as it gets. And if the veneer is applied as I explain in the book, there will never be any problems. I can say that with total assurance because the kitchen I refaced for the book is my own, and after 20 years, not one square centimeter of veneer has come loose. The spring hinges on the doors have lost their springs. A lazy Susan shelf is broken. One drawer slide no longer works smoothly. But the oak-veneered face frames are still in great shape.
I was 39 years old when I wrote Refacing Cabinets. I had worked in the building trades for 20 years. Ten of those years I was self employed as a home remodeler, focusing on kitchen and bathroom remodeling. I remodeled hundreds of kitchens and bathrooms. Probably 1/4 of the kitchens were refaced, and those were near the end of my remodeling career (which lasted only three more years after the book was published). Then I moved on to other things. These days I have created a unique mail order business called Planet Whizbang. Check it out sometime.
So, there’s some background on my cabinet refacing book and myself. Now, as for this web site, I have created it for the purpose of promoting some nifty tools for refacing that I developed way back when. You’ll find them down the right side of this page. Just click on the pictures for all the details.