Refacing Old Cabinets

16 years ago

Hi,

I wanted to get some feedback from this forum about our kichen remodel. We have a second home and are re-doing the kitchen. I mainly care about the appliances and counter but the part I'm having a hard time with are the cabinets. They're - and I'm not kidding - 70+ years old. The thing is, when we redo the kitchen (and we are on a limited budget) the layout will not change at all and the only issue I have with them are the drawers - they're really heavy. I got quotes for new cabinets and they were all around 10K (not including install) and then I got a quote for new doors and drawers w/ blum soft-close hardware and adding some pull outs and lazy susans for 5K (installed). Our painter is very reasonable and is going to sand and re-paint the interiors. So it seems like this is the best way to go but I still second guess whether or not we should skimp on the appliances and countertop and put in new cabinets because it's the base of the structure. On the flip side, I just watched a "This Old House" segment where they talked about how people are taking out cabinets that were custom built 100 years ago and could last for another 50 years and replacing them with crap that will last 15 years. Ugh... Has anyone else done a kitchen remodel where they kept their really old base cabinets and then upgraded everything else?

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Comment (1)

User
16 years ago
Keeping the cabinets is a no brainer if they are in good condition. But, not all old cabinets were good quality. You just said the drawers were poor quality. That's a frequent indicator as to the quality of the rest of the cabinets. Are the shelves in the bases full shelves? Adjustible? Easy to clean? What about the uppers? Are the shelves in them adjustible and easy to clean? How thick are the sides? Are these old built in place cabinets? How are they attached to the wall?

Doors and drawers will be the most expensive part of a cabinet. Frankly, I'm surprised that you're getting quotes with such a difference in pricing. A good quality budget cabinet line such as American Woodmark would probably run you much less than 10K, and probably be less than your 5K refacing quote. I know this is a second home, but I'd be wary of throwing good money after bad on refacing. Not saying to put in Plain and Fancy for a second home, but there are plenty of good quality budget cabinets out there that would be less than what you've been quoted. And new cabinets would give you the chance to tweak the layout and add more functionality than currently exists.
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