Cost of kitchen cabinet refacing in 2019
Reports from HomeAdvisor™ note that the average national cost to reface cabinets is $6,684, with the majority of homeowners spending between $4151 and $9238.
Refacing is about 30 to 50-percent less than replacement. Expect to pay about $12,000 to $20,000 for contractor-grade cabinets. Best when the cabinet boxes are in solid shape and cost is an issue. Best when doing a whole-kitchen remodel or when cabinet boxes are in poor shape.
One thing leads to another, which means that cabinet replacement, already a more labor-intensive and expensive proposition than refacing, can run up significantly higher costs.
Cabinet refacing can cost up to 50 percent less than a full replacement because fewer materials are needed. Refacing also means fewer materials ending up in the landfill because when your old cabinets are removed, there's often nowhere else for them to go.
During refacing, the framework of your cabinets (known as the cabinet box) remains intact. Meanwhile, other elements such as cabinet doors, drawer fronts, hinges and handles, will be replaced. You can also choose to install or replace countertops, tile backsplashes, lighting and more as part of your project.
Refacing cabinets is a quick and easy way to change the look of your kitchen without the mess and expense of a complete remodeling. You simply cover the cabinet face frame with self-sticking wood veneer and the end panels with 1/4-in. plywood. Then replace the old doors and drawer fronts with new ones.
How Long Does Cabinet Refacing Last? If your cabinetry is made from solid wood in good condition (i.e. your shelves and frames are still very strong) then you can usually expect a refacing project to last for another 15-20 years before needing a replacement.
Using laminates to reface your cabinets often compromise their durability and reduces their life span. For higher end cabinet refacing services, your cabinets' old doors are replaced by solid wood doors. Wood veneer finishing is also used. These will yield much better and more long lasting results.
A professional cabinet refacing for a typical 10-foot-by-12-foot kitchen starts at around $80 to $100 per linear foot for laminate materials only. Expect to pay the same, $80 to $100 per linear foot, for wood veneer materials.
When refacing, an installer removes the doors and drawers, laminates the existing cabinet boxes in the new color, style and material and then replaces the doors and drawers fronts with all-new. Refinishing requires sanding the existing cabinets, doors & drawers, then reinstalling all of the existing kitchen components.
If budget is your main consideration, refinishing is often the cheaper option. Estimates have shown that refinishing cabinets costs about 2/3 the cost of refacing, and refacing costs about 70 to 80 percent the cost of installing replacement cabinets.
Refacing cabinets is a quick and easy way to change the look of your kitchen without the mess and expense of a complete remodel. However, most DIY approaches involve self-sticking wood veneer or laminates. These will peel and chip over time and once the damage is done, it's difficult to repair.
As mentioned above, when you are refacing your cabinets, you are putting new material on top of the existing cabinet frames and replacing doors and drawer fronts. When refinishing cabinets, all you are doing is changing the finish, or color, of the existing materials.
Choosing How to Recolor & Reface Cabinets
Some contractors reface cabinets by installing freshly painted doors, then painting the boxes to match. This means your cabinets will need to be painted a solid color, without the option of a natural wood appearance. What's more, these painters typically use latex-based paints.
It is vital to ensure you keep your MDF cabinets dry. If exposed to a pronounced amount of liquid or moisture, they could become soggy and begin to disintegrate. At Deslaurier, our MDF comes with a 20 year warranty. But, if cabinets are properly maintained there is no reason they shouldn't last over 25 years.
With proper care of professionally painted kitchen cabinets, you can expect your newly painted cabinets to last 8-10 years. However, there are a few things that can drastically shorten this timeframe, leaving you needing them repainted 3-4 years later.
Can You Just Replace the Cabinet Doors? You can definitely just replace cabinet doors. If you're up for a little bit of work with some basic tools, and maybe a spare set of hands to help, you can even do it yourself.
Can you paint veneer cabinets? You sure can! The key, like for any painted project, is in the prep and choice of primer and paint. Proper cleaning to remove all the grime and dust, sanding the right amount, and using the right adhesion-promoting primer can make a huge difference in the durability of the finish.
Price out replacing your kitchen cabinets and painting will look better and better. The cost to paint a kitchen is typically 1/3 to ½ the cost of replacing. The paints applied to cabinets are also very durable and will last just as long as new cabinets in most cases.
Even cabinets made from lumber products utilizing particle board or other low-quality materials can be refaced. If the face of the cabinet is made from hardwood, it can be sanded to produce a surface that can be repainted.
You can almost always reface cabinets that have already been refaced. The process is relatively the same.
What is the difference between cabinet refacing and refinishing? The real difference between painting (or refinishing) and refacing your cabinets is relatively straight forward. Painting your cabinets gives your existing cabinetry a fresh look, whereas refacing them gives your cabinets almost an entirely new look.