Cabinet Refacing: What is the Average Costs?
Kitchen cabinets should be neat and designed appropriately to make the best kitchen. If you cannot replace them, you can consider refacing them. Refacing kitchen cabinets only change the exterior part, but the cabinet remains intact.
Cabinet Refacing entails covering the outer part of your cabinets with natural wood or plastic laminate or simply replacing the drawer and cabinet fronts. It is incredible to add a brand new look by replacing pulls, knobs, and hinges when replacing. When compared with putting in all-new kitchen cabinets, refacing is more economical.
What are the Benefits of Refacing Kitchen Cabinets?
Other than the economical option, refacing entails various benefits. Furthermore, there are several factors to consider when deciding whether to reface or replace. Here are some of its top benefits:
● Quick & Easy Way of Giving Your Cabinets a New Look
Refacing your cabinets is a quick procedure and gives your kitchen cabinets a new look. You are allowed to choose from the wide range of refacing options that can enhance your room without undergoing the more back-breaking approach of full cabinet replacement.
● Cost-Effective
Cabinet refacing will enable you to save more money since replacing some parts of the cabinet is much more affordable than having an entirely new one installed. Plus, it takes little time to reface, unlike cabinet renovation. The procedure takes approximately three to five days, depending on the full cabinets so you can also save on labor cost.
● Less Hassle
There is little mess and hassle involved when doing cabinet refacing. In fact, your kitchen will still be accessible during the process.
Procedure on How to Reface Cabinets
There are various steps to follow when refacing your cabinets, and they include the following:
The first procedure is removing doors from the cabinet. If the doors are still in good state and shape, they are wiped to clean and sanded. This means deep cleaning to remove debris comprising grease and dirt. Lastly, you need to smooth the surface to finish the cleaning process. This step is essential because dirty doors will not hold new veneers. The cleaning and sanding process enables the veneer to hold on securely.
Secondly, flaws are supposed to be corrected. Any dents and nicks in the cabinets are attended to and fixed accordingly. If they are large, they are repaired with wood filler. Minor flaws are just sanded out from the cabinet.
When you find that the door’s shape is in bad condition, then plywood should be inserted into the surface before the veneer is attached. To work efficiently, the cabinet fronts should be measured accurately for the plywood cut to fit. Plywood, therefore, is glued onto the surface of the cabinet. After it has dried, wood veneer or laminate is then attached to the plywood.
Finally, the end process is installing new hinges, knobs, and latches and then reattaching the doors.
How to Determine Whether Your Cabinets are Good Candidates for Refacing?
If your cabinets have water damage, broken frames, or warped, you are likely to replace them instead. You need to understand that refacing does not function well for all kitchen cabinets but only those that are structurally sound. Cabinets in good working condition should not have mechanical damage or broken parts. If the doors are broken or in critical condition, you might need to replace them.
Suppose you want a hire a kitchen cabinet refacing company. In that case, the workers will reinforce and modify your kitchen cabinet and ensure doors open and close with ease. If you are currently experiencing problems with doors opening and closing properly, then the time to fix them is during the refacing process.
You don’t have to focus only on the state of your kitchen cabinets when making the choice to reface or completely replace your cabinets, but you should also consider if you are interested in changing the kitchen layout. Suppose you are not interested in keeping your current cabinet configuration. In that case, replacing your kitchen cabinets may be a better choice to give you the option to reconfigure your kitchen design and layout completely.
What is the Cost of Refacing Kitchen Cabinets?
HomeAdvisor found that in homes, they spend approximately $4000 to $9000 on refacing kitchen cabinets. This shows about 30% to 50% less than replacing cabinets. When compared, replacing cabinets cost up to $18000 on average. On custom installation, it costs a total of $24000 or even more.
The least expensive option is refinishing kitchen cabinets. It starts from around $1,500 to $4,000. The process entails sanding and coloring the external surface of the cabinets.
When you decide to install new hardware on the kitchen cabinet at the time of refacing, it will cost you an additional $2 to $4 in each knob, hinge, and pull beneath and $20 to $50 for high-end hardware.
What Factors can Alter the scope and Cost of Cabinet Refacing Projects?
There are very many available options in terms of workmanship, colors, and materials. For example, when you prefer wood veneer, you will pay a slightly higher amount than if you opt to use a laminate. The cheapest types of wood are oak, cherry, and maple. Before going for wood, confirm the type of wood you choose to match your desired design and color.
Another factor affecting the cost of kitchen refacing is the number and size of your cabinets. Larger cabinets have more unusual dimensions hence, therefore, higher cost of refacing per cabinet. On the other hand, the smaller the cabinets, the less refacing.
The size of hardware you choose to put on your cabinet and the cost per unit will indicate the cabinet refacing amount. The project will obviously cost more if replacing the drawer, hinges, and knobs. Additionally, the average price of refacing kitchen cabinets can vary greatly based on current labor rates at the time of your project execution.
Final Words
The cost of cabinet refacing greatly differs from one case to another. However, if you prefer to opt for higher-end hardware, you can expect the cost to rise as well. Nevertheless, it is still much cheaper than having new cabinets installed.