If your kitchen cabinets are scratched and beat up, what are your alternatives? Not long ago, the only alternative to changing cabinets was painting cabinets – a reasonable substitute, but difficult when you’re faced with largely unpaintable material like hydrofoil cabinets. Now, cabinet remodelling and cabinet replacement are equally viable options when your cabinets are looking worse due to wear and tear.
Refinishing kitchen cabinets has been around for a long time—essentially, its wood veneer on steroids—but cabinet remodelling as a cottage industry is new. Because cabinet remodelling is a close replacement for replacement, the differences tend to blur. The main difference is that remodelled cabinets look new, but the cabinet boxes, and therefore the entire cabinet layout, are not new.
What is that?
source: pinterest.com
Kitchen cabinet remodelling consists of two main components: installing new drawer fronts and doors; Cladding of the cupboard boxes. Also, new cabinet hardware is usually installed. If you have a bad drawer or multiple drawers, the company may be able to replace the entire drawer.
Existing cabinets are removed. Experienced installers adjust and precisely align your base cabinets. This is an important job to make sure the counters stay level enough that the eggs don’t roll. Misaligned sockets can cause the meters to break years later. Doors and hardware are installed.
| Renew closets | Replace cabinets | |
| What is it | Cupboard boxes are veneered, new doors installed and door fronts replaced. | Existing cabinets are completely removed and new cabinets installed. |
| Can you do it yourself? | Difficult for a DIYer as veneering has a learning curve. | Easier than rework, but still difficult to correct. |
| professional work | Only a moderate number of companies rework cabinets. | There are far more people and companies installing new cabinets than redesigning them. |
| costs | Post-processing is about 40 to 50 percent less than replacement. | Expect to pay around $12,000 to $20,000 for contractor cabinets. |
| when recommended | Best if the closet boxes are in good working order and cost is an issue. | Ideally when remodelling the entire kitchen or if the cupboards are in poor condition. |
Do-It-Yourself Installation
source: hgtv.com
While there are companies that sell refinishing materials and equipment to the general public, cabinet refinishing requires techniques and tools that most Dyers don’t have.
Cabinet swapping is partly about the heavy lifting of wall cabinets, but mostly about levelling base cabinets with precision. Professionals always do a better job than you, but you can save money by doing it yourself.
Professional installation
Fewer companies are reworking cabinets than replacement cabinets, although the balance is slowly shifting as more homeowners discover rework. Franchises like Kitchen Tune-Up offer touch-up services across the United States. Cabinet refinishing is a niche industry. So don’t expect general carpentry or handyman service to be able to offer this service.
From hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s to local kitchen remodelling centres to individual contractors installing for a set price, there’s no shortage of cabinet replacement companies.
Costs
source: pinterest.com
The cost of a kitchen cabinet makeover in a 10ft by 10ft kitchen ranges from $7,000 to $10,000. The cost of renovating cabinets in a full kitchen is between 40 and 50 percent less than the cost.
Costs range from $15,000 to $20,000 for budget contractor cabinets.
When is it recommended?
- When the closet boxes are in solid form
- When cost is an issue
- When remodelling versus building a new home
- If you like your current kitchen layout
- If you are building a new house, kids play house, evicting your kitchen, or building a new extension with a kitchen
- When creating a new kitchen layout
- If cupboard boxes, drawers, or doors are in poor condition
- When remodelling the entire kitchen
How eco-friendly is it?
source: wisewoodveneer.com
The only items that are landfilled are cabinet doors and drawer fronts, making cabinet remodelling an eco-friendly option.
Often every piece of the cabinets – from boxes to hardware – is dumped. However, it is possible to donate good cabinets to recycling centres like Habitat for Humanity’s Re-Store.
