frequently asked questions

Most kitchens run 8 to 14 weeks from approved design to installation day. Drawings take the first stretch, fabrication the middle, and finishing the last. At Gresham Door & Cabinet, a single vanity or a set of replacement doors moves faster.

Stock cabinets come in fixed 3-inch increments, so fillers and dead corners cover whatever does not line up. Custom boxes are built to your measured wall, which means the run ends where the wall ends and storage fills the gap.

Plywood is the stronger choice for boxes because its cross-laminated layers resist the seasonal swelling that makes wide solid panels crack or bind. Solid hardwood belongs on the parts you see: face frames, doors, drawer fronts, and exposed ends.

Yes, provided the boxes are square, dry, and solidly attached. New doors, drawer fronts, and matching end panels change the entire look of a kitchen in days rather than weeks, and the interior layout stays exactly where it is.

Maple, poplar, and paint-grade birch take color best because their grain is tight and closes under primer. Oak and ash have open pores that telegraph through paint, so they are better suited to stain or a clear topcoat.

Open a door and push on the box. If the joints stay tight, the bottoms are not sagging, and the layout still works for how you cook, refacing makes sense. Water damage or swollen particleboard points toward replacement instead.

Framed boxes carry a hardwood face frame around the opening, which adds rigidity and a traditional look. Frameless designs skip the frame, so drawers and interiors run nearly the full width of the box and access improves noticeably.

Rough openings need to be framed and squared before we template, and finish flooring height has to be settled since it sets the undercut. Measuring at that point avoids the trimming and shimming that ruins a clean reveal.

Dovetailing interlocks the drawer sides and front with wedge-shaped pins that mechanically lock together instead of relying on staples or glue alone. That joint carries loaded drawers for decades without racking, which is where cheaper boxes give out first.

Usually yes. We take a sample of your existing trim or door to our Gresham, OR shop, identify the species, then mix stain and topcoat until a test panel matches under your own lighting. Age and grain shift results slightly.

Keep the tracks free of crumbs and grit, wipe them dry after any spill, and avoid oiling them since most modern slides are self-lubricating. If a door starts closing hard, the hinge usually needs a quarter turn of adjustment.

After. Templating happens once the boxes are set, leveled, and fastened, because that is the only moment the real surface exists. Measuring from drawings instead invites seams and overhangs that do not match the cabinets once they are in place.

No. Engineered quartz is nonporous, so liquids never soak in and sealer has nothing to bond to. Granite, marble, and quartzite are natural stone and do benefit from resealing roughly once a year to resist staining and etching.

Roughly 10 to 12 inches for 3-centimeter quartz or granite, and about half that for thinner 2-centimeter slabs. Anything past that gets steel brackets or a support panel, especially where people sit and lean on the edge.

Conversion varnish and catalyzed lacquer outperform standard clear coats around sinks and ranges because they cure hard and shrug off moisture and grease. Both can be tinted, so color and durability do not have to be traded against each other.

A damp microfiber cloth and mild dish soap handle almost everything. Skip ammonia, bleach, vinegar, and anything labeled as a degreaser, since those strip the topcoat over time and leave dull patches near handles and above the range.

They last well when the top and bottom edges are sealed and an overhang keeps direct rain off. Species such as alder, fir, and mahogany handle winters in Gresham, OR well, and a fresh coat every few years prevents checking.

It handles the repeatable work: identical door profiles, shelf pin holes, dado joints, and panel cuts held to a consistent tolerance across an entire kitchen. Hand tools then take over for edges, sanding, and fitting where judgment matters.

Empty every cabinet and drawer, clear a path from the door to the work area, and arrange for the sink and range to be disconnected. Plan on eating elsewhere for a few days while the space is out of service.