Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

5 years ago

I'm looking to reface these oak cabinets with their dated arch style and big gaps between doors & drawers. The interior boxes are in good shape and replacing them isn't in my budget. I'll be changing out the tile backsplash, sink, faucet and evening out the countertop to one level by the sink. I like the current layout, hence refacing the cabinets

I \am looking for a professional to do the job. Do I need to hire a kitchen designer or contractor for this part? I don't trust myself with the measurements! I have a great person to do the tile and install the sink & faucet, and will use the fabricator where I buy the countertop, so just need to find the right professional to do the cabinet job.

Thank you for the advice,

Featured Answer

User

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Labor is the biggest portion of any job. That’s a job that’s almost all labor. And knowing which products to order.

I supervised the regional refacing through Home Depot. I have seen a Kitchen quoted for 22K that I had sold the previous owner the cabinets for 11K 2 years before. I personally quoted a job at 38K and knew darn well that they could replace the import quality RTA cabinets in that kitchen for 1/4 that. Just go on any flat pack site if you don’t believe me. I’s a highly inflated costs scamorama, and just one of the reasons I don’t do that anymore. Another prominent “bath redo” company that I worked for *started* at $600 a door to field estimate the costs.

Even the local cabinet maker that did this will not do it anymore. The cost difference between his budget product and a reface was under 1K. Even a professional grade paint job for older cabinets runs 5-7K for a smaller space. You can buy stock off the shelf new for half that. Just refinishing the boxes of the old, and buying new doors, adds several more thousands for that. A typically larger sized Houzz kitchen would easily be 12-15K for that. Add in a veneered box service instead of a psinted look, and the costs go up again.

But, I know where I can buy new doors, and am not scared of sandpaper and a spray gun. If someone is willing to do sweat equity, they can DIY everything for under 4K. Big difference between that and 22K. Buy you can still buy off the shelf Diamond Now at Lowe’s cheaper than that. The bottom end is really low.

Doing ANYTHING to old cabinets, means the cabinets have to be good enough quality to justify that labor expense. Because the flat pack import junk is really cheap. It’s why flippers replace old cabinets with that, rather than going through the time and expense of a week’s job with a pro paint job. 2 days of demo and install, and done. Ready for the prefab stone getting cut in the yard by a “carpenter” and a worm drive saw.

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Comments (7)

User
5 years ago
You first need to rethink he whole plan. The doors are the most expensive part of a cabinet. The boxes are the cheapest. Which is why refacing costs more than new budget cabinets. And almost as much as decent mid grade ones. Unless you DIY. Do you have DIY skills? Or are you wanting to pay 20K for a refresh that doesn’t address some core issues?
cat_ky
5 years ago
If you are looking to modernize it, then the light box in the ceiling, needs to be top of your list. I would do that, before changing out the cabinet doors.
Coco460 thanked cat_ky
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Joseph Corlett, LLC
5 years ago
"Which is why refacing costs more than new budget cabinets."

Substantiate your claim please.
Coco460 thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
Coco460
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you Cat_ky. Definitely getting rid of the box lights as well! But what I really need to understand is who to hire to reface the cabinets.

Agree with Joseph....NotMyCircus - would you please explain how refacing of cabinet doors/drawer cost more than replacing cabinet?. Certainly labor is quite a bit higher with replacement, not to mention the amount of time and disruption as I'll be living in the house during the renovation.

Thanks everyone!
Helen
5 years ago
You won't know the price of refacing until you get an actual quote. It is probably less expensive than replacing all of the cabinets especially since that often means one is replacing a lot more than just doors because it is essentially gutting a kitchen and rebuilding it.

I do think that it really depends on the condition of the cabinets and also whether the layout works for you. Depending on the cost differential it may or may not be worth spending money for what is really only a cosmetic fix. For example, your current lower cabinets are not drawers and most people now opt for deep drawers. What are the interiors of the cabinets like - do you have rollout/pull outs on the bottom cabinets?

So some people wouldn't spend a significant amount of money in order to replace doors in a kitchen just because they aren't stylish at the moment since that is doing nothing to enhance the functionality of the kitchen.

But there really is no right or wrong decision. Just that refacing - just like painting - is not an inexpensive fix.
Lisa Reddoch
3 years ago
So what did you opt to do? We are getting estimates right now for refacing.