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Swollen Cabinet Door

April 24th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

Do you have a swollen area on a cabinet door? Plastic laminate is the easiest type to repair. Fixing a thermofoil cupboard front that is swelling on the backside is possible. Wood door parts that have swelled can be repaired too. Some Formica kitchen manufactures may want to build a new one entirely depending upon how much damage has been done. Here are a few suggestions for the “do it yourself” home enthused. The first one I have to offer is take the cabinetry part to a professional to have the water damaged cabinet door repair done properly.

Fixing Mica Door That Has Swelled

Sometimes the original mica door that has swelled can be salvaged. If the damage is on the backside, it can be sanded down with a belt sander and laminated over. This will not be a costly repair because the labor required will be rather easy. The materials may be costly if an entire sheet of Formica must be purchased. If the swelling is on the frontside you will have to take the existing piece of mica off and sand down the bulge in the particle board underneath. Study this article about How To Remove Formica From Cabinets, if your planning on doing it yourself. If your mica is not available anymore research these suggestions on Finding Discontinued Cabinet Laminate.

Swollen Thermofoil Door

It’s not possible to repair the front of a swollen thermofoil cabinet door. The back can be sanded down and recovered with a new piece of Formica. You will have to order a replacement if the front has a flaw due to water absorption. If this is the case, hopefully you have the original manufactures contact information. Here is a great article on Replacing Thermofoil Cabinet Doors that will offer suggestions on how to find the manufacture if you don’t have the information anymore.

Real Wood Cabinet Door Water Damage

If your real wood cabinet doors have swollen because of water damage, take them to a professional furniture repair or refinishing company. If you’re not familiar with mixing stain and matching various wood tones, your wasting your time trying to fix a real wood door that has water damage. A professional knows exactly how to get the correct coloration back into the wood. Along with the swelling there is always a certain amount of discoloration that occurs as well.

There can be several complications that accompany trying to repair swollen cabinet parts. Oftentimes there is a water damaged cabinet side or bottom that needs to be fixed along with the door. If your cabinets were fabricated with real wood/plywood then you won’t need to worry about further repair to the cupboards interior surfaces. Most swelling on a thermofoil door happens on the backside unless there was a major flood. More often than not, they are repairable. Remember, save yourself loads if time and hire a pro if you can afford it.

  1. April 28th, 2009 at 00:56 | #1

    I’ve generally found that once cabinet doors have swollen there is little I can do. Then again, I do live in a very high humidity climate. While solid wood shows slight signs of swelling and warping, it is the particle board that causes the biggest headache. Is it actually possible to repair this once it’s shown sign of water damage?

  2. admin
    April 28th, 2009 at 11:51 | #2

    Robert, in many instances it’s possible to repair water damaged particle board. For several years, I worked for an insurance contractor. It was common practice to fix damaged particle board areas that were not disintegrating or decomposing. These repairs would save them thousands of dollars sometimes.

    I have written a few articles relating to some different scenarios that I have dealt with through the years. Here are a few links that may be of interest.
    Repairing Water Damaged Cabinets
    How to Remove Formica from Cabinets

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