Blogger Pittsburgh, PA on Aug 26, 2012

Kitchen Cabinets: Reface or Just Buy New?

Does anyone have experience with comparing the cost (and aggravation) of refacing kitchen cabinets versus just buying new? I honestly just install new cabinets and have no experience with only replacing the doors.

I recently priced out the cost of a standard shaker cabinet door for a 36 inch base cabinet and it was $57 for just plain poplar wood. So, two doors would be roughly $114.

The existing cabinets in these photos are laminate and they're in my Sister's newly purchased (35 year young) house from the 70s.

I'm looking for some thoughts and opinions. They are leaning toward buying IKEA cabinets with a shaker style. Thanks :)

Jeff

www.homerepairtutor.com

54 Comments Displaying 25 of 54 comments | See Previous

Home Repair Tutor Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks Shawne for your update, please let us all know how your remodel turns out :)

on Sep 06, 2012 · Like 1
Shawne D Appomattox, VA

I sure will, I'm excited!

on Sep 12, 2012 · Like 0
BONNIE J

a lot of different people involved before your cabinets are in & all finished!

on Sep 13, 2012 · Like 0
Mary I. Pittsburgh, PA

$11,000 to reface and that was with a discount? Sounds like a lot to me. I was going to get an estimate from Home depot the other day. When I was answering the questions, they insisted that my husband to be home when they came. I explained that I make all the home improvement decisions in out home. When they insisted that he be home, I told them I don't deal with anyone that won't work with a woman alone. I've had that problem before and shopped around until I found someone that will speak to me and not through my husband.

on Sep 30, 2012 · Like 1
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Mary Insana That is pretty odd coming from HD. I have far more women clients than Men. To many of them I am the "husband" that can fix all of the things that they can't....LOL

on Oct 01, 2012 · Like 0
Mary I. Pittsburgh, PA

I wish you were near me then ! Here in Pittsburgh I have a hard time finding anyone to do major work without my husbands "consent" lol. He'd rather me take care of those decisions.

on Oct 01, 2012 · Like 0
Home Repair Tutor Pittsburgh, PA

Mary, good for you (I'm referring to your second to last comment). Too many people still feel that women can't do home remodeling or repairs without guys. This is 2012 and guess what, my daughters will definitely be exposed to tiling, drywall, painting, etc. I understand that certain projects may require the help of professionals but anyone can discover the art of home remodeling :)

on Oct 03, 2012 · Like 0
Mary I. Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks Home Repair Tutor :-) I'll tackle just about anything within reason. I usually have about 4 different "projects" going on at once. I contribute that to my self diagnosis of ADD. Right now I am painting the master bedroom . I also have the old wallpaper border halfway down in the master bath to get ready to paint in there. I have the paint colors picked out and large sample squares painted in the kitchen and living room. I am also doing sewing projects for friends. I have an ...»
embroidery sewing machine and will be making Christmas stockings for them to give as gifts. I also make Memory Pillows through word of mouth referrals. They are made from clothing from deceased loved ones. I have 5 of those to have done for Christmas......And I also work part time as a Nanny. PS. I'm 58 years old and have a husband, 16 year old daughter and a 20 year old son in college 3 cats and a dog !

on Oct 03, 2012 · Like 1
Home Repair Tutor Pittsburgh, PA

I'm worn out just thinking about your schedule ;)

on Oct 04, 2012 · Like 1
Shawn H Kent, WA

Any update, Shawne D? I am doing the refacing soon as well but I am currently stuck on what to do with the interior shelves. Do they make an epoxy coating for this purpose?

on Oct 07, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Shelves are easy to upgrade as they are removable. Melamine coated stock works great, you can even get some nice iron on banding for the edges if you like. When I built cabinets I often use that for the interiors and then edge joint a strip of real wood that matches the cabinets to the edge.

on Oct 08, 2012 · Like 0
Shawn H Kent, WA

50% of the shelves are not removable in our kitchen.

on Oct 09, 2012 · Like 0
Shawne D Appomattox, VA

Sooooo, we had our cabinets refaced...twice...and it has to be done again. Mary, I agree, $11,000 was way too much for the headache it has caused. The first crew that came in did about as good of a job as I'm sure a 5 year old could have done (and the time estimate of getting started on the project was 4-6 weeks and it was over 8 weeks later before the first crew came out). So, the first crew had to be fired, new thermofoil was ordered and another week later, the project started again. All ...»
of the work the first crew did had to be removed and the second crew had to start from scratch. I was without a kitchen for several weeks. The second crew did the very best they could but the problem is the product. It is TERRIBLE. The thermofoil scratches if you run your nail over it, when applied, it looks like you can see the glue behind it, the doors, which came direct from the factory, had scratches on them, and when routing the edges, the thermofoil scratched horribly. The manufacturer also sent the wrong drawer fronts (they sent flat--should have been 5 piece). Long story short, I emailed corporate and they are redoing the kitchen again at their cost (to include repairing the counters that were scratched during the refacing and if they can't be repaired, they will replace). They've also pulled the line at least in this area until they can figure out why the product is so completely inferior (at a SUPERIOR price). Unfortunately, I'm not going to end up with the kitchen I have wanted for the last year because the other lines of refacing they carry are very limited in their color choices (I mean, do people still do hunter green cabinets?!). So, I had a white kitchen to start, paid $11,000 to have a gray/green cabinet refacing project done and in the end, I'm going to end up back with a white kitchen. Sigh. Here is a picture of the kitchen. It looks beautiful until you get up close and you can see scratches everywhere. I'll let you know how round 3 goes. Honestly, I would NEVER do refacing again. I think it is cheaper and less time consuming to just replace. First is a before (as the kitchen was when we moved in) and then after.
on Dec 10, 2012 · Like 0
Ron B Pueblo, CO

I totally refaced my cabinets. I made all the frame and panel doors using bead board for the panel and simply patched and painted them all. I even built more cabinets to match using a lower grade plywood. I have had people think I bought them. With a little work you can do it yourself. People are amazed when I tell them I only spent $800 for the whole remodeled kitchen.

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 3
Diane D Columbia, MD

We refaced about four years ago but did the work ourselves. We bought solid maple doors and the rolls of veneer we needed, etc. - on line. We thought the price for the material was very good, we were thrilled with the results, and we're totally satisfied with the durability. But it was all about the labor, which is obviously why it's so costly to have someone else do the work. We spent a few solid weekends plus evenings doing the work. It was A LOT of attention-to-detail labor! I ...»
would do it again under the same specific circumstances. We got pretty good at it by the time we finished.

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 0
MellowMoonbat Peeler

When my relative refaced her cabinets, it meant a veneer was put over the existing doors and drawers. When I had my cabinets updated, I'm not sure if what I did is called refacing. The "skeleton" of the cabinets (shelves, sides, etc,) are very solid and of good quality. It was the doors and drawer fronts that were worn. We hired a carpenter to make new doors & drawer fronts to replace the old ones. Then the old wood was sanded and stained to match the new mahogany color of the new ...»
wood. This turned out great and I could not be more pleased.

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 0
Joy Hendricksen Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Depends on if the current configuration works and how much time & money is available for the project. I love re-using old things especially if one can modernize them a bit. We are adding steel drawers to our old base cabinets.

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 0
Shawn H Kent, WA

My refacing turned out fine. The material is super durable but I didn't go with the Martha Stewart product. Home Depot was super careful about customer service and making sure it went well. I do HATE the high pressure sales of the sub-contractor US Remodelers. So all in all it was a good deal, it looks good and saved me over $6000 for a full remodel.

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 0
Janet D Williamstown, PA

Those Ikea cabinets are sounding really good. Why invest the money refacing, if the outsides are laminate? Not worth it!!!

on Dec 19, 2012 · Like 1
Diane D Columbia, MD

New cabinets would be great - and I've read that many bloggers have been happy with their Ikea choice. One comment, though - if you refaced those "laminate" cabinets, you'd be adding wood veneer to the outsides and the face frames. I had 2/3 original wood cabinets (from 1971) and 1/3 recently added Merillat wood/laminate cabinets. (And yes, I bought a house with a mish-mashed kitchen!) You can use wood doors on the cabinets side or order the plywood panels that are veneered to your finish. ...»
Covering the face frames with wood veneer was the most time consuming part of the project, but it tied everything together. We did add (build) one upper cabinet over the microwave, so it helps to have some DIY experience to do this project. With just the cost of the doors and veneer, etc., we saved a ton - if you don't count our time of course. I researched this for a few years before ordering. That said, in other circumstances, I'd not hesitate to go with full replacement.

on Dec 20, 2012 · Like 0
Shawn H Kent, WA

I did get much better drawers, drawer slides and hinge hardware than I saw on any Ikea product.

on Dec 20, 2012 · Like 0
Carol humphrey Oxford, MA

reface absoulutley...

on Jan 23, 2013 · Like 1
Carol humphrey Oxford, MA

i love this post, thank you so much, so many CHEEP ideas !!!

on Jan 23, 2013 · Like 0
Marie R Jenison, MI

Wow..glad to hear all the advice, too!!

on Feb 11, 2013 · Like 0
BONNIE J

MARY--I UNDERSTAND THEM WANTING U BOTH THERE. HAVING BEEN IN SALES, YOU'D BE AMAZED AFTER GIVING A LONG SALES PRESENTATION HOW MANY WOMEN TELL U THEY HAVE TO TALK TO THEIR HUSBAND 1ST! THE HUSBAND WHO HASN'T HAD THE BENEFIT OF HEARING ALL THE BENEFITS, IN MOST CASES SAYS, ''NO''! SALE LOST AFTER ALL THAT TIME & EFFORT!! SAD, BUT STILL VERY COMMON--THE MAN RULES! SO DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY.

on Feb 12, 2013 · Like 0