Home > Cabinet Resurfacing > Refacing Kitchen Cabinets Cost

Refacing Kitchen Cabinets Cost

December 28th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

It is true, refacing a set of kitchen cabinets will cost less than replacing the cupboards. There are several reasons for this. To make it simple, there’s a lot less labor involved in covering over the old surface of your cabinetry. The difference in materials costs is minimal when the two options are compared to one another.




The style of cabinets that you have in your home could affect the labor cost significantly. Not all cupboards need to have all of the face edges refaced. This concept applies to the European style cupboards designs. Many customers elect to NOT have the edges of the boxes laminated because they are only seen when the doors are opened. Depending upon the size of your kitchen this could save you a thousand dollars or more.

If you have face-frame cabinets you will have no other option other than covering over the entire face of all of the cabinets. The reason for this is that the door margins are wider than the European design.

Most companies do not reface the existing doors. It is not cost effective to laminate over the existing plastic because it actually takes longer to do this in comparison to laminating a new door. Many companies don’t actually build their own doors either. They are ordered from large suppliers in custom sizes to fit your cupboards.

While you are discussing the possibility of having your cabinets re-laminated, it is a good idea to get optional estimates on building new drawers and repairing water damaged sink cabinets. This is also a good time to talk to your sales person about changing the design of your kitchen. Obviously there are limitations as to what can and cannot be done. However, it is possible to mix in some new cupboards and alter some of the existing ones.

I have always recommended replacing the cabinet hinges. Perhaps in an extreme case this is not necessary, but for most cabinet remodels it is a must. The additional cost for doing this can start at around two hundred and fifty dollars. This includes the labor cost of course for switching them out.

The cost of refacing your kitchen cabinets can dramatically increase in proportion to how many extras you add into the design. For instance, adding roll-out drawers, pull-out trash cans, spice shelves and appliance garages can add upward to a thousand dollars or more. I’ve actually seen customers add over fifteen hundred dollars to the job just by requesting to have pull-out drawers made for all of the cabinets.

Now if you decide to have your countertop resurfaced, you will have to pay a plumber to re-install the sink.

If you are getting new appliances, the cabinets may need to be altered in order for them to fit and operate correctly. As an example, if you have an older hood and you want to install an over the range microwave, you will probably need to have the hood upper cabinet altered. The reason for this is that there is a minimum distance that the bottom of the appliance must be from the top of the range.

It is for certain that you will be purchasing new handles or knobs for the cupboards. These items range from fifty cents a piece to fifty dollars a piece. The average size set of kitchen cabinets usually has about fifty doors and drawers that need to have new hardware installed on them.

The finished quality of refacing your kitchen cabinets will only be as good as the laminate is underneath. If you have a lot of loose areas now, eventually more will come loose. Even though resurfacing your kitchen cabinets will make things look better, there’s no way of preventing the old surface from loosening. This doesn’t apply to all kitchens though. You should only be concerned if you already have loose areas on your cupboards.

Categories: Cabinet Resurfacing
  1. December 28th, 2010 at 13:19 | #1

    It is much more cost effective to reface your cabinets, however, be careful to ensure that your cabinet doors have a strong base to stand on, or your efforts and money will go wasted. You should not refinish any cabinets that aren’t strong and sturdy.

  2. June 22nd, 2012 at 23:49 | #2

    An outdated kitchen cabinets can make kitchen look out of style, but even the ugliest of cabinets can be refaced as long as they are still in good structural condition, so it can stand for years.

  1. No trackbacks yet.

*