Using wood veneer to reface cabinets

Question:

I am hoping to reface my kitchen cabinets with red oak veneer and replace the doors. I was thinking of using 3″ wide pre-glued red oak edge banding for the narrow slats and framing surrounding the doors. It seems like a reasonable and cost effective way to accomplish that task. I would think that 22.2 BFV would be a good solution for the cabinets sides.

My two real questions are:

1. Are these good material choices for a project like this, and
2. Which specific BFV oak variety could I expect to be a good match to the red oak edgebanding and make attractive cabinets?

I appreciate any help and advice you can offer. Thanks, Ash

Answer:

The two different veneers you have mentioned would be good choices for exactly the purpose you have laid out. The only thing you may want to consider is that with the edgebanding being a continuous roll, there will be finger joints every four to six feet on average.

You can work around these but you will have to account for some waste. Another option which is preferred by cabinet re-facers would be the 3M Pressure Sensitive Veneer which has a 3M adhesive backing and is 2′x8′. You might want to consider this for the face frames and still use the BFV for the sides.

Whichever of these products you choose will work fine. We would probably tell you to go with flat cut red oak on the sides for best visual appearance. [2006]

Oakwood Veneer Tech Support