Most Oakville homeowners naturally want to know precisely what happens and when. And that’s fair. Cabinet refacing isn’t a project you tackle every year, so the timeline can feel a bit mysterious. that. Here’s a breakdown of how we actually handle the entire process, right from the start to the finish line.

Step one is measurement day. Our expert comes right to your home. They measure every single door and drawer opening. These measurements need to be precise. Even a couple of millimeters off can cause real headaches with the fit later. During that same visit, you’ll pick your door style and the exact colour you want. Everything gets locked in. We don’t start anything until you’re completely happy with your choices.

Step two is what we call the waiting period. Building custom doors and drawer fronts takes about four weeks. Good news here: your kitchen stays completely usable during this time. Nothing changes inside your home. You cook, you clean, you use your cabinets exactly as you always do. We really see the relief on people’s faces when we explain that part. It’s a huge weight off their shoulders.

Step three brings us to installation week. This is the only period where you’ll lose full access to your kitchen. It typically runs for about five days. On day one, we remove all your old doors and drawer fronts. Our crew then sets up containment barriers, puts up plastic sheeting, and gets ventilation fans going. This protects the rest of your home from dust and fumes. We keep things tidy.

Days two and three are all about preparing your cabinet boxes. This involves thoroughly degreasing every surface. Then we sand down the frames. We also make any small repairs needed. This surface prep is the core foundation of the entire project. Skip it, and the finish just won’t hold up. Many people don’t quite realize this is where the real, hard work truly happens. It’s what separates a quick paint job from a lasting finish.

Days four and five are our spray days. The cabinet boxes receive multiple coats of our professional-grade finish. We allow proper cure time between each coat. If you’re going to be home during this phase, you’ll want to plan on hanging out in another part of the house. The fumes from our solvent-based products really need good ventilation. And they need time to clear out completely. Your safety is key.

This is where many Oakville homeowners can get a bit mixed up. They hear “cabinet refacing” and immediately imagine a completely brand-new kitchen. It’s a common thought. But cabinet refacing actually keeps more of your kitchen than it changes. Your existing cabinet boxes stay right where they are. Your internal shelves stay put. And the basic layout of your kitchen won’t shift an inch. We’re keeping the core structure.

Think of it like this. Cabinet refacing is like giving your kitchen a fantastic new outfit. But it’s for the same, solid body underneath. The bones of your kitchen remain.

Those cabinet boxes, the ones securely bolted to your walls and floors? They’re staying put. If they’re sturdy and structurally sound, and most are, there’s simply no good reason to tear them out. That’s the entire idea behind cabinet refacing. We save the good foundation of your kitchen. And then we completely upgrade all the visible surfaces. But if those boxes have serious water damage, or they’re warped, or if the particle board is actually falling apart, refacing won’t fix those core issues. We definitely see this more often than you’d expect in some older Oakville homes. Especially those around Bronte Creek or along Lakeshore Road. Kitchens from the 1980s and 1990s have often taken decades of wear and tear, and sometimes the damage is just too far gone for a reface alone. We’ll tell you upfront.

Your countertops also stay unless you choose to replace them separately. The same goes for your backsplash. And your sink, all your plumbing, and your flooring. Cabinet refacing just doesn’t touch any of that stuff. Our focus is strictly on your cabinet surfaces. It’s our specialty.

Here’s another big thing that stays the same: your kitchen’s layout. Cabinet refacing won’t let us move a cabinet from one wall to another. We can’t add an island where there wasn’t one before. And it definitely won’t transform a tight galley kitchen into an open-concept space. If you need those kinds of layout changes, that’s a full-on renovation project. That’s not what refacing is designed for. It’s a different beast entirely.

And what about the inside of your cabinets? Still the same shelves. Still the same shelf spacing. And the same drawer boxes, unless you decide to add specific upgrades. A lot of people just assume that new doors automatically mean new insides too. They don’t. All that interior hardware, your shelf pins, any existing organizers, all of it carries over from before. We’re not gutting the interior functionality.