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Thermofoil cabinet doors: what they are and who they suit
A thermofoil door is a vinyl foil pressed onto a routed MDF core, so the face and the profile are one piece with no joints. It arrives finished, with nothing to paint or stain, in 29 foil colours or bare MDF. Ours are made to your sizes in 1/16 inch steps and ship in about two weeks.
| Thermofoil | Paint-grade wood | |
|---|---|---|
| Arrives | Finished. Nothing to paint | Primed or bare; you or a finisher paints it |
| Surface | One piece, face and profile together, no joints | A frame and a panel, with joints that can move |
| Colour | 29 foils, or bare MDF | Any colour you or your painter can mix |
| Repair | Replace the door; foil matched if still in range | Touch up or repaint in place |
| Suits | Rentals, flips, a kitchen that has to look new and cost less | A specific colour, or a forever kitchen |
What is a thermofoil cabinet door?
A sheet of vinyl foil, heated and pressed onto a routed MDF core, so that it takes the shape of whatever profile has been machined into the board underneath.
The part that matters is what it is not: it is not a frame with a panel sitting in it. The face and the profile are a single piece. There is no joint between a stile and a rail to open up as the seasons change, because there are no stiles and rails.
It arrives finished. There is nothing to paint, nothing to stain, and no drying time between delivery and hanging the door.
Who should buy thermofoil?
Landlords, flippers, and anyone who needs a kitchen to look new without the cost of a wood one.
That is the honest positioning and we would rather say it than dress it up. If you are refreshing a rental between tenancies, turning a property round, or replacing tired doors across several units, thermofoil does the job that matters — the kitchen reads as new — at a lower cost than painted timber, and it arrives ready to hang.
If you are building the kitchen you intend to live with for twenty years, and you have a colour in mind that is not in the range, a paint-grade wood door is the better answer. We sell both, and we would rather point you at the right one.
Does thermofoil peel or lift near heat?
This is the question people arrive with, because it is the known failure of cheap thermofoil, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a reassurance.
Where a foil door fails, it fails at an edge. Steam finds a seam — most often on the back edge, where a cheaply made door has the foil joined — works its way underneath, and lifts it from there. Once it has started it does not stop.
Ours are made as a single wrap with no seam on that edge, which is the same fact as “the face and the profile are one piece”: there is no join for steam to get behind. The foil is a heavier gauge than the standard, the core is a moisture-resistant board, and the press and adhesive are specified accordingly.
What we will tell you is how the door is built. We are not going to promise you what it will look like in ten years above a dishwasher, because nobody honestly can, and a promise like that is worth nothing at the point you would need it. Judge the construction.
Can I get one door replaced later?
Yes, if the colour is still in the range — and that caveat is the reason to read this paragraph rather than skip it.
We can make a single door at any time and match the foil. What we cannot control is the foil supplier, who discontinues colours on their own schedule. If a colour has gone, it has gone, and the nearest match is a different door.
So on a large order, buy one spare door and put it in a cupboard. It costs a fraction of the order, and it is the difference between a five-minute fix and rethinking a kitchen because one door met a removal van. Anyone running several units should be doing this as a matter of course.
How are they bored for hinges?
Exactly the same as a wood door. A 35mm cup set 3mm in from the edge, which is the standard concealed hinges are designed around.
All three options are open to you: bored for press-in hinges with two 8mm dowel holes, bored for screw-in hinges with the cup alone, or blank if you are doing your own. The MDF core changes nothing about the boring, and it machines cleanly — arguably more predictably than timber, which has grain and the occasional opinion about where it wants to split.
If you are reusing your existing hinges, measure the boring on a door you already have and send those numbers with your sizes.
What sizes can I have?
Any. Every door is cut to the size you give us in 1/16 inch steps, from 5 by 8 inches up to 49 by 96, with a two square foot minimum per door.
That is the whole point, and it is what separates this from a fixed-size supplier: you are not choosing the nearest size and filling the gap. A door taller than 50 inches takes a centre rail, and above 24 inches wide or 60 inches tall we do not warrant a door against warping — worth knowing before you order a pantry door, not after.
Thermofoil doors are 3/4 inch thick, the same as a shaker door, so nothing about your hardware or your reveals has to change.
What about the glass-front doors?
Some thermofoil styles are divided-lite frames — the ones described as 4, 6 or 8 lites. They are cut and rebated ready for glass and ship without it.
You take the door to a local glazier, who cuts to the opening and fits it. It is routine work, it is inexpensive, and doing it locally beats shipping glass across the country and hoping. Ask them to cut to the rebate rather than to a drawing.
How long does it take?
About two weeks from order to shipped, the same as everything else we make. Nothing is held in stock, because nothing is a stock size — the door does not exist until you order it.
Frequently asked questions
Is thermofoil the same as laminate?
They are close cousins. Both are a surface applied to a board core. Thermofoil is a vinyl foil heated and pressed so it follows a machined profile, which is why a thermofoil door can have a shaped face where a flat laminate cannot.
Can thermofoil doors be painted?
Not usefully. The foil is the finish, and paint does not bond to it reliably. If you want a colour that is not in the range, order a paint-grade wood door instead and have it finished properly.
How many colours are there?
29 foil colours, or bare MDF if you would rather finish it yourself. Order a sample before committing to a kitchen’s worth — a colour on a screen and a colour in your own kitchen light are different things. Sample boxes are mailed out the same day you order.
Are thermofoil doors durable enough for a rental?
That is the use they suit best. They wipe clean, the surface is one piece with no joints to collect grease, and if a tenant damages one you can replace a single door rather than a run.
Do thermofoil drawer fronts match the doors?
Yes, made from the same foil in the same batch where they are ordered together. Order them at the same time rather than later, for the same reason you would buy paint for a room in one tin.
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