Refacing. Boxes stay. Exposed faces get new veneer or laminate, doors and drawer fronts are replaced with new ones, new hinges and slides go in. Result looks like new cabinetry. Typically 40 to 55 percent of the cost of replacement.
Spray refinishing. Boxes and doors stay. Everything is degreased, sanded, primed and sprayed with a catalysed finish in a controlled setup. Best value on solid wood doors with dated stain. Typically 25 to 35 percent of replacement.
Replacement. Necessary when boxes are particle board that is delaminating, water damaged, or the layout genuinely does not work. Anything else and replacement is a waste of your money.
We open a door, check the box material, look at the bottom of the sink base for swelling, check whether the frames are square and whether the boxes are screwed together or stapled. Then we tell you. Roughly half the kitchens we look at for replacement should be refaced instead, and we say so even though replacement is a bigger invoice for us.
Because a cabinet door is a high-touch, high-abrasion surface with fingernails and cleaning products on it every day. A brushed latex finish will chip within a year. We spray a catalysed or waterborne alkyd finish that cures hard, and we do it with the doors removed and laid flat, not hanging in place with tape on the hinges.
Refacing a standard kitchen generally runs $6,500 to $14,000. Spray refinishing runs $2,900 to $7,500. New cabinet installation labour starts at $2,400 - see our kitchen installation page. Bathroom vanities, laundry cabinetry and built-ins are priced per unit.
Doors are off for three to five days. Cabinet interiors stay usable the whole time.
Box exteriors yes, with full containment and extraction. Doors and drawer fronts go to a controlled spray setup for a factory-quality finish.
Not the way a brushed latex finish does. We use a catalysed or waterborne alkyd that cures hard specifically for cabinetry.
Small changes yes - removing an upper, adding a filler, converting a base to drawers. Anything structural becomes a remodel.
