Last time we talked about refinishing your existing cabinets. This entailed finishing, not only the face frames and boxes of the cabinets, but also finishing the doors and drawer fronts.

Today we are going to talk about refinishing just the face frames and boxes and ordering new doors and drawer fronts.

With this method, you can save quite a bit of money, but at the same time, get that new updated look that is so desirable. You will have to use some elbow grease to work on the old boxes and face frames, but in the long-run it will be well worth the trouble.

If you decide to paint the face frames and boxes of the cabinets, I recommend that when you order your new doors and drawer fronts, choose a wood such as paint grade poplar. Ordering paint grade will not only save you money, but it will also give you a hardwood to work with.

Hardwood doors and drawer fronts are highly recommended because of their long-lasting durability. When the doors are painted, you will not be able to tell the difference between them and other more expensive hardwoods.

If your face frames and boxes are made out of oak, you will probably want to order oak doors and drawer fronts, but I recommend going with the lower to medium grade species of oak, because once they’re painted, they will look the same as the higher grade of that species of wood.

In some cases it may be that your are existing cabinet boxes and face frames are finished with the stain that you desire to keep. In this case, choose the wood that will match your cabinets. Once the new doors and drawer fronts are stained and finished you’ll end up with the beautiful looking kitchen for far less than the cost of new cabinets.

When it comes to staining and finishing the new doors and drawer fronts, there are several steps you can take and products that you can use, which will save you time and money.

It is recommended that you use an oil-based stain, if at all possible, because it has a tendency to blend into the wood better than a water-based stain. Using a good foam brush to apply the stain is actually an easier method than using a regular bristle brush. The foam brush will not leave brush marks, and you’ll be able to spread the stain more evenly.

Make sure to let the stain dry for at least twenty-four hours before applying a finish.

Using one of the new water-based finishes or water-based varnish will not only cut your trying time becoming coats, but it will also make it easier for you to apply the finish. Rule from is the faster the drying time, the less chance there is for dust to get into the finish.

One last to, the use of a foam brush again will make this job so much easier for you. Applying a water-based finish using a good foam brush can actually have the same look as a good sprayed factory finish. Please remember to follow the manufacturers instructions found on the can when applying these or any type of finish.

I highly recommend Varathane water-based finishes. We have used this product in our cabinet shop for years with superior results. To find out more go to the following website.

http://www.polyclay.com/varathane.htm

The 3rd Annual CITe Seminar

I encourage anyone living in the great Akron area and others to come to this seminar. There will be three websites that will get a complete makeover including optimizing them for more search engine recognition.

When the “dot coms” crashed after 2000 (Y2K), the brilliant future of electronic commerce was tarnished. Behind the scenes, experienced entrepreneurs have been rediscovering and polishing the best ideas.

Today Web-based commerce (sometimes now dubbed “Web 2.0″) is stronger than ever, led by a new wave of firms that are customer-centered and wield the power of evolving Internet ecosystems.

The central principle they have learned is how to generate profit-producing traffic from search engines and affiliates. Through several case studies, tips for web makeover by industry experts, an interactive panel discussion, and a keynote, our seminar will show you how to use these techniques to take your Internet marketing efforts to the next level.

An optional hands-on workshop that follows the seminar will show you search engine optimization techniques in a step-by-step manner.

To find out more go to the following website.

http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/cba/cite/

Today we are going to talk about refinishing your old cabinets. This can be done to update your kitchen or bath cabinets, but the process will take a little work.

There are few options that you can use to refinished old cabinets. One of them would be to simply paint over your existing cabinets. This way you can add brightness or warmth to the room.

There are many different types of methods that you can use. You can simply paint over your cabinets, you can strip the finished off your cabinets and then stain them if you like, you can use special painting products that will add a durable, hard finish to your cabinets, or you can faux finish, texture finish, sponge finish, or use some of the more modern techniques on your cabinets to give them truly unique look.

You can go to the paint department at Lowe’s or Home Depot, and there are lots of ideas about different types of finishes that you can apply. You can even look at videos of exactly what methods are used to apply their finishes. Look for their many demonstrations where, you can learn how to apply these finishes yourself.

One of the most unique finishes that I have found recently, that you can even be used to paint over laminate surfaces, as well as wood, is a product called Cabinet Rescue. With its two hour dry time, and it’s very durable factory like qualities and the ability to be able to paint over laminate faced cabinets and doors, this is truly an amazing product.

To find out more about Cabinet Rescue, go to the following website.

http://www.cabinetrescue.com/

For some time now, I have been telling you. It’s in pieces about Showroom 411.com. So I wanted to give you an official update with this new web site. We are very busy adding content to the administration area of the web site. Because of the comprehensive amount of information, we are putting into this and do to the fact that this site will be so innovative, it is taking the a little longer than we expected.

But as we add the content, we can tell that the final product is going to be something so spectacular, and so very useful that the wait will be well worth it!

Needless to say, everyone who has been working on this web site is very excited about it and we are looking forward to launching it sometime soon.

Stay tuned for more.

Rick

We are getting close to a beta launch date but there is still much work to do. People have asked me who will benefit from Showroom411 and here is what you need to know.

Showroom411 is for anyone who owns a home, likes do-it-yourself projects, has hired or is about to hire a building professional, people who love the audio/video world and really,  just about everyone.

Showroom411 will not only be a huge benefit to homeowners but also to contractor’s and other building professionals. With the high cost of running a business these days and with the amount of time we have to sacrifice in keeping our clients happy, finally there will be a website that can potentially save building professionals thousands of dollars each year and free up hours of precious time.

There is nothing like it and as a building contractor who has been using the techniques that Showroom411 will offer, I can tell you honestly that you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

There is more to come soon!  Rick

It’s time for another update!

Showroom411 is continuing to make great progress. We are still loading the website lots of great content.  It is amazing how much time it takes to build a website this extensive.

Our hopes are that you will like it so much that you will want to tell everyone about it.  If you are working with a contractor at this time or are going to be in the near future, you will want to tell your contractor about Showroom411/Pro. 

So hold on,  it is coming soon and it will be worth the wait. More later.

Rick

Enter the Kurzweil – National Federation of the Blind Reader

In spite of all the different types of scanning devices that read printed material and convert the material to speech, along comes a new device that makes it even easier to use.

What sets this unique reader apart from the others is that it is a hand unit. You simply hold the Reader’s camera over the print and snap a picture. In just a matter of seconds, you will be able to hear the contents of the printed page in a clear synthetic speech.

The website for this Reader lists several features and they include the following.

1. Reads most printed documents, from letters and memos to pages in a book

2. Reads address labels and package information and instructions

3. Reads and entire page or a few lines for identification

4. Stores thousands of printed pages with easily obtainable extra memory

5. Transfers files to desktop and laptop computers or Braille note-takers

6. Reads documents from computers or other devices

This can be a life changing device. Imagine all the possibilities and hundreds of ways you can put this very special device to use.

To find out more about the Kurzweil National Federation of the Blind Reader go to the following website.

www.knfbreader.com

Eye-Film