New Cabinets vs Refacing Your Cabinets
A lot of large companies like Kitchen Mart, promote that refacing your Kitchen Cabinets is better than getting New Ones. We disagree with that narrative and would like to offer our opinion on the subject.
Are new cabinets better than refacing Cabinets?
New cabinets are often better than refacing because they offer complete design freedom, higher quality and durability, the ability to fix hidden structural issues, better long-term value, and increased home value. Replacement provides a fresh start with new materials, hardware, and modern features that your old cabinets don’t have. With new cabinets, you can change the layout, add modern features and increase storage!
What are the typical costs of new cabinets vs refacing?
Replacement offers more design flexibility, a longer lifespan, and better long-term value, potentially making the initial cost difference less significant, though some sources find refacing can cost nearly as much as basic new stock cabinets. Refacing maybe beneficial if you want to save your current countertops.
What are the disadvantages of refacing cabinets vs new cabinets?
Refacing just updates the look by covering old boxes, leaving underlying problems and limited functionality. While refacing relies on the existing, often aging, cabinet structure. Problems with refacing kitchen cabinets often stem from hidden structural issues (like water damage or rot) that aren’t fixed, poor surface prep leading to peeling veneers, inaccurate measurements causing misalignment, low-quality materials that fail quickly, and limited design flexibility, as you’re stuck with your original cabinet layout, potentially masking deeper problems or failing to update functionality.
What is the installation start to finish time difference?
This is harder to answer. New cabinetry can be installed in a few days. But when you factor in removing walls, templating for new countertops, installing new flooring- this can take 2-4 weeks. Refacing might only make a big mess of sanding the old face frames, repainting them or laminating the frames, then installing new doors, moldings, etc. Refacing is a lot of work and can take a week at least to “install”.
New cabinets offer you a chance to change the configuration and the your choice of the type of wood you prefer. Also, our clients can take advantage of all the new products that can be installed inside your new cabinetry. Most times you can keep the same footprint of the kitchen and not have to change the flooring.
The cost difference all depends on who is quoting your project. The well-known companies like KitchenMart who do refacing generally are more expensive than just getting new cabinets. The main advantage of refacing is the cost savings of not having to replace the countertops.
The timeline from start to finish is 15-18 calendar days depending on what we are doing.
