Thinking about redoing your kitchen? Not sure whether to refinish, reface, or replace your kitchen cabinets? Many homeowners and even general contractors don’t know much about recent advancements in cabinet refinishing technology and as a result, have replaced cabinets at a much higher cost when they could have just had them refinished. Traditional cabinet refinishing has required a lot of labor and a huge mess, involving removing the cabinets, sanding them, and then reinstalling the cabinets. Cabinet refinishing can take place within your home. Your cabinets don’t need to be removed, the process takes just 3-5 days (2-3 hours each day) to complete. Best of all, it costs at least 50% less that replacing or refacing your kitchen cabinets.
Most people understand what replacing their cabinets mean, but refacing is another matter.
A cabinet refacing involves upgrading the faces of every finished surface on your kitchen cabinets. Upgrading can be accomplished through several methods. Cabinet refacing would be suitable option for homeowners who don’t want to change the layout or design of their kitchen. Instead, they want to alter the design or shape of their cabinet doors. Lower-end cabinet refacing process involves changing every cabinet surface to a laminate. Cabinets that have undergone such a process tend to have a good appearance in photos. However, the finished product will actually look cheap and feel inferior to the wooden doors and panels it covers. Many of the kitchen cabinets built 20-30 years ago used materials and construction methods that are far superior to those used today. The older cabinets had boxes that are very sturdy. Moreover, real hardwood was used for the doors, boxes, and drawers. The new cabinets and facing uses laminate style of finishing. This also means that low quality products have been used for doors, gable ends, boxes, styles, etc. Thus, kitchen cabinets refaced in such a manner are usually less durable and enjoy a shorter life span.