| I am a professional cabinet maker. For the past eight | | | | 1) Remove the drawers and doors that are next to |
| years I have carved a niche in the area of repairs and | | | | your oven when you are using the self cleaning |
| alterations to kitchens and baths. Among the many | | | | feature. When cleaning is in process there is a small |
| request for repairs which I receive, replacing thermofoil | | | | amount of extreme heat that escapes through the |
| cabinet doors is high on the list. First let me say that | | | | edges of the oven door. This will melt the plastic and |
| there are two other popular terms used to describe | | | | cause it to shrink and curl. |
| this style of door, MDF and vinyl wrap. There are | | | | 2) Avoid placing deep fryers directly underneath of the |
| usually two types of damage that are the most | | | | upper cabinet doors. Here again the heat will affect the |
| common with this type of door. The vinyl peels away | | | | edges. |
| from the board due to excessive heat or the plastic | | | | 3) Either pull or push toaster ovens away from the |
| coating begins to loosen because the manufacture | | | | door edges so that the rising heat does not cause any |
| didn't get enough glue on the surfaces of the board | | | | damage to the doors. |
| when the doors were being made. In both of these | | | | A few words about the warranty coverage on |
| cases, the doors are usually beyond repair and must | | | | thermofoil cabinet doors. |
| be replaced. Here's the problem though, many | | | | It's important to know that even though your doors |
| customers have no idea where the actual doors came | | | | may be replaceable at no cost from the manufacture, |
| from. There are literally hundreds of MDF door | | | | you will still have to pay a professional cabinet man to |
| manufacturing companies scattered throughout the | | | | make the exchange. Just as an example, if your |
| United States and Canada. So, here's what I do to get | | | | cabinet man charges $50 per hour from start to finish |
| around this minor set back. Most of the time if I | | | | the cost of 21' of uppers and 21' of base cabinets |
| remove a vinyl wrapped drawer front from the | | | | should cost around five to six hundred dollars. The |
| drawer and look on the back side of it, there's a | | | | company who originally made the doors should cover |
| sticker on it. This label will have the companies name, | | | | all of the shipping costs. So if the cabinet man says |
| date of production, door style and color codes on it. | | | | you will have to pay for having the doors shipped, I |
| Once we have this information we then contact the | | | | suggest calling the company directly and finding out for |
| company to find out if the doors are still under | | | | yourself. |
| warranty. Some MDF manufactures offer a five year | | | | Hire A Professional |
| guarantee against discoloration and de-lamination. | | | | Replacing thermofoil doors should be done by a |
| Please note, heat damaged doors will not be covered | | | | professional. So, "don't try this at home." If you hire |
| with the guarantee. The next step is to request a | | | | someone to do the work for you, it will save you a lot |
| catalog and color samples. Once these materials arrive | | | | of time and aggravation in the end. Professional |
| we are then able to identify the door style, match the | | | | cabinet men have special drilling machines and |
| color and order the replacement parts. | | | | templates that allow them to produce excellent results |
| Tips for protecting your thermofoil doors against heat | | | | when they are replacing MDF doors. |
| damage: | | | | |