The short answer: IKEA doors are built for IKEA boxes
IKEA Canada sells its kitchen fronts for the SEKTION cabinet system. In its customer service answer about new doors on older cabinets, IKEA Canada says three things. SEKTION owners can swap in new doors and drawer fronts. Current doors do not work on the older AKURUM range. IKEA doors are not recommended on cabinets from another supplier. Hinges are sold separately.
For most kitchens, that means a door swap is not a simple purchase. If your kitchen already uses SEKTION boxes, new IKEA fronts are a normal update. If a cabinet shop, a home builder, or another brand made your cabinets, IKEA doors become a fit problem. A door that rubs or leaves an uneven gap is hard to correct once the hinge holes are drilled.
Why IKEA doors often do not fit existing cabinets
Fit comes down to three things: the door size, how the cabinet box is built, and the hinges.
IKEA door sizes are fixed
IKEA Canada lists SEKTION doors and drawer fronts in set sizes, such as 12x30, 15x30, 18x30, and 24x30 inches, plus shorter 15x20 doors. Cabinets built by a shop or a builder are sized to the room, so the openings rarely land on those numbers. A door that is slightly narrow leaves a gap. A door that is slightly wide hits its neighbour.
Face frame vs frameless cabinet boxes
A face frame is a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails fixed to the front of a cabinet box. It hides the box edges and gives the doors a place to attach. Frame pieces are typically 25 to 50 mm wide. Frameless cabinets skip that frame and cover the box edges with edge banding, a style most common in European modular kitchens.
SEKTION is a frameless cabinet system. Face frames are a feature of traditional cabinetry, and plenty of older kitchens still have them. A door sized to cover a frameless box is not sized for a face-frame opening, so the measurements that matter are different.
The hinges belong to the system
IKEA Canada offers six UTRUSTA hinges for SEKTION frames. The 110-degree UTRUSTA hinge with a built-in damper is the one used on regular doors for a soft close. Those hinges are made to mount on SEKTION frames. On another brand of cabinet, the hinge position on the door has to line up with the box it hangs on, and a face-frame cabinet often needs different hardware.
How to check whether your cabinets can take IKEA doors
- Find out who made the cabinets. Look inside doors, drawers, and the sink base for a label. SEKTION owners have the simplest path.
- Look at the front edge of each box. A wood frame around every opening means face-frame cabinets. A door that covers a plain box edge means frameless.
- Check the hinges. Note whether each hinge is hidden behind the door or visible from the front, and whether it fastens to a frame or to the side of the box.
- Measure every door and opening. Record the width and height of each one, then compare the numbers against the sizes IKEA lists. A few odd sizes are enough to rule out a clean swap.
- Count doors and drawer fronts. The count drives the cost of every option below, including a paint job.
Key takeaway: if your cabinets are not SEKTION, treat IKEA doors as a custom project, not a swap. Confirm the frame, the hinges, and every measurement before you order anything.
Best options when IKEA doors do not fit your cabinets
Four routes give your kitchen a new look without tearing out the boxes. The prices below are professional ranges for Sherwood Park and Strathcona County.
Paint the doors you already have
Cabinet painting keeps your doors, boxes, and countertops. Doors and drawers are removed and sprayed in the shop, and the boxes are finished on site. Kitchen cabinet painting in Sherwood Park costs $2,800 to $6,000, and most kitchens take 3 to 4 days.
Refinish wood cabinets
Cabinet refinishing strips the old finish, fills the grain, primes, sprays a new finish, and adds a clear coat. Honey oak and golden oak cabinets are common in 1980s and 1990s homes, and solid wood boxes from that era are usually sound enough to refinish. Refinishing costs $5,500 to $14,000 and takes about 5 to 7 days.
Reface with new doors sized to your boxes
Cabinet refacing puts new doors and drawer fronts on your existing boxes, made to your openings instead of a catalogue size. Refacing in Sherwood Park costs $13,000 to $26,000, and the timeline is set at the quote.
Order custom-sized doors yourself
Some door makers build fronts to your measurements. Pricing depends on the maker and is not part of the ranges on this page. You still handle the hinges, drilling, finishing, and adjustment.
IKEA doors vs painting, refinishing, and refacing: cost in Sherwood Park
| Option | Sherwood Park price | What changes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| IKEA SEKTION doorsDo it yourself | Set by IKEA | New fronts and hinges on SEKTION boxes. | Kitchens already built with SEKTION cabinets. |
| Cabinet painting3 to 4 days | $2,800 to $6,000 | New colour on your doors and boxes. The door shape stays, vs refacing, which changes it. | Solid doors with a shape you still like. |
| Cabinet refinishingAbout 5 to 7 days | $5,500 to $14,000 | Old finish stripped, grain filled, new finish sprayed. | Oak and other wood cabinets with a worn finish. |
| Cabinet refacingTimeline set at quote | $13,000 to $26,000 | New doors and drawer fronts on the boxes you have. | Sound boxes with a door style you want gone. |
| New cabinets4 to 8 weeks of construction | $20,000 to $40,000+ | Demolition, new boxes, countertop refitting. | Layout changes or damaged boxes. |
Painting saves roughly 50 to 70% compared with new cabinets. For a full breakdown by door count, read how much it costs to paint kitchen cabinets. If you are weighing new doors against a full tear-out, the guide on whether it is cheaper to resurface or replace kitchen cabinets compares both.
When a DIY IKEA door swap makes sense
A DIY swap is worth doing when your cabinets are SEKTION boxes in good shape. IKEA Canada describes new SEKTION doors and drawer fronts as a way to update the style, and several companies sell fronts made to fit SEKTION boxes. Budget for hinges, handles, and the time to adjust every door so the gaps line up.
On any other cabinet, the job is bigger than it looks. You measure every opening, match or replace the hinge hardware, drill new hinge holes, and fill or hide the old ones. One misplaced hole shows on the face of the door, and IKEA Canada notes the door warranty could be void.
If the boxes are solid and only the look bothers you, painting or refinishing gets the result without chasing fit. Cabinet Refinishing Sherwood Park prepares a detailed written estimate covering prep, product, and labour, with no hidden fees, so you can compare it against the cost and time of a DIY door order.