Kitchen Cabinet Refacing, Replacing, or Refinishing: Which is Best?

Written by Posted On Thursday, 05 July 2018 11:21

Changing the style of your kitchen cabinets and adding new hardware can transform the look and feel of your living space and make your home more enticing to potential buyers.

When it comes to options for renovating your kitchen cabinets, there are three to choose from: refacing, replacing, and refinishing. This guide will help you understand the difference between these three options and when to choose each.

Cabinet refacing: Costs and procedure

Kitchen cabinet refacing, or resurfacing, involves replacing the old cabinet faces and drawer fronts with solid wood replacements, or else covering them with a material such as laminate or wood veneer. A matching laminate or veneer is then attached to the existing cabinet boxes. Optionally, new crown molding may be installed.

Cabinet refacing is the most cost-effective fix when your cabinet faces are rotting, cracked, or warped, with the underlying structure still intact. It's also the best choice if you're not happy with the physical design of your cabinet faces.

The average cost for cabinet refacing is around $6,700, according to HomeAdvisor. Low-end kitchen cabinet refacing jobs, which typically use laminate, start around $1,400. High-end jobs, which use wood veneer, cost approximately $13,800.

Cabinet replacing: Costs and procedure

If your kitchen layout needs a complete overhaul, or if the underlying cabinet boxes and frames are badly damaged, then you'll need to spring for a cabinet replacement.

Replacing your kitchen cabinets is an involved project that can take weeks – and it's not cheap. You'll likely need to budget for additional costs such as installing new countertops, backsplash, and/or flooring, as well as electrical and plumbing work. The average cost of a kitchen remodel is around $22,300.

Cabinet refinishing: An affordable alternative to refacing or replacing

If your old kitchen cabinets have suffered minor wear but are otherwise in good condition, then kitchen cabinet refinishing offers the most cost-effective alternative to having your cabinets refaced or replaced.

Nowadays, professional cabinet refinishing contractors can achieve beautiful results without stripping the cabinets down to bare wood. Instead, the old finish is gently buffed or sanded to prepare the surface to adhere to the new finish. Then, a stain, solid color, or clear finish is applied, depending on the desired result.

Because the finish is usually sprayed on, the appearance of the natural wood grain is preserved. The result is a high-end look that's easily distinguishable from regular paint jobs or DIY kits. Most jobs take just a few days to complete.

The average cost of kitchen cabinet refinishing is $2,600 – less than half the average cost of cabinet refacing, and a fraction of the cost of cabinet replacing. High-end refinishing projects cost up to $5,700.

Cabinet refinishing tips

If you opt to have your cabinets refinished, choose a company that specializes in kitchen cabinet refinishing. A residential or commercial painting service isn't going to cut it for this home improvement project: The products used by professional cabinet refinishing companies are different than regular paint, which tends to flake or break down quickly when applied to kitchen cabinets.

Thermofoil and laminate cabinets are not ideal candidates for refinishing, as the finish won't properly adhere to these surfaces. Also, keep in mind that if your cabinets are already painted a solid color, such as red, you won't get ideal results from a stain without first stripping the paint.

Style options for refinishing your kitchen cabinets

Whether you're after a classic look or something more contemporary, you can achieve it with your kitchen refinishing project. Most professional cabinet refinishing services offer a choice of three different style treatments:

Stain your cabinets a darker, "natural" shade. Tired of your yellowing or faded oak or maple cabinets? Using a stain, you can change them to a rich, natural shade of mocha, espresso, cherry, black, or walnut.

Paint your kitchen cabinets an entirely new color. If you choose to go with a solid color, your options are endless – from contemporary whites, greys, or off-whites to bold or pastel hues such as cranberry, mint green, royal blue, or two-toned. Some professional cabinet refinishing services offer an optional antiquing effect for added depth.

Restore your old cabinets to their original shine. If you're already happy with the color of your kitchen cabinets, then restoring them is a budget-friendly way to spiff them up with a hardy new coat of finish. Professional cabinet refinishing services will clean away built-up grime and reduce the appearance of damage caused by wear, moisture, and harsh cleaning agents.

The choice of whether to reface, replace, or refinish your kitchen cabinets comes down to your budget and style preferences and the condition of your existing cabinetry. While the choice is ultimately yours, a professional kitchen cabinets consultant can offer practical and creative advice to help you reach a confident decision.

Author bio: Chloe Brittain writes about kitchen renovations for Not Just Paint, a Calgary cabinet painting company. She also transcribes interviews for journalists and other media professionals. Follow Chloe on Twitter: @opaltranscripts.

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries