Removing old face frames

[Tom Hintz]

In a weak moment I agreed to re-do the kitchen cabinets which, as the plan is now, involves removing the old face frames. Has anyone done this and if so, should I go ahead and hate myself now?

[MikeMcCoy]

I've done it twice Tom. The first time it turned out really good and came off fairly easy. That first time is what led me down the path to doing the second. That one was a different story so you may wind up really pleased with yourself or........

[Tequila]

I've done it once on a few cabinets. I got lucky since they were attached with pocket screws. The only trouble was making sure I got all the screws out. Once I did, the frames popped off withjust a little pressure from a small crowbar.

Biscuits or a glue joint would probably be much more difficult to separate, but I guess you won't know for sure until you try...

[dkhoward]

I have done several. The ones where the frame is nailed or screwed on only worked well. The ones that were glued on, whether screwed or nailed, were a real pain. One was a total mess and I ended up having to rebuild a couple of the boxes they splintered do bad.

[cabinetman]

In a weak moment I agreed to re-do the kitchen cabinets which, as the plan is now, involves removing the old face frames. Has anyone done this and if so, should I go ahead and hate myself now?

Whether you should hate yourself is a matter of why you are removing them. If it is to replace them with different ones, then your concern is damage to the cabinets. In any case, care should be taken and their removal should include to first try to determine how they are attached, and then cut with a utility knife carefully around the back edge to get a clean line where they meet the cabinet. From there it's unscrewing, or lifting, or tapping, or chiseling, to get them off.