Comparing Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing And Refacing Costs In Chicagoland
What’s The Difference Between Refinishing And Refacing…And How Do They Compare On Price?
It is the rare homeowner who is satisfied with the look of their older kitchen cabinets. Tastes change over the years and what looked good a decade ago now looks dated and dull. The cabinets themselves, however, are often in good shape and well-designed.
In fact, the cabinets from 20 or 30 years ago are often of superior construction to what you can buy today at any price. Happily, you can update the look of your kitchen without getting rid of your old cabinets. Refacing or refinishing your cabinets will give your kitchen a brand-new look at a fraction of the cost of total replacement.
While refacing and refinishing sound similar, they are not the same process. Each will give your kitchen a new look, but only one of the two offers a new feel. Refinishing offers a skin-deep update, while refacing can bring your kitchen’s function up to date.
Kitchen Cabinet Refinishing Overview And Costs
Refinishing your cabinets involves placing a new surface on your old cabinet doors, drawers, sides, and exposed frames. That surface can be stained, painted, vinyl, or a veneer. Depending on the surfacing product you choose, you can create almost any look you want in any color you can imagine.
Refinishing starts around $4,000, depending on the finish you choose and the size of your kitchen.
Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Overview And Costs
Cabinet refacing is a more involved process that allows for greater change, including hardware, doors, drawer fronts, and modernizing the cabinet interiors with soft close rails for your drawers and lazy susans in your cabinets.
Each door and drawer front is replaced with better materials, with the doors being raised panel, recessed panel, or flat panel kitchen cabinets. These new doors are much more resistant to wear and tear, moisture, and grease. Both the doors and drawers will come in a design of your choosing, along with new hardware. The exposed framing is made to match the design or contrast if such is your wish, and even new counters or islands can be installed to complete the new look and feel.
Refacing, being the next best thing to replacement for modernizing your kitchen, costs from $7,000 to $15,000, depending on your choices.
What About Kitchen Cabinet Replacement Costs?
Replacing your cabinets, including any wiring and plumbing that needs to be done, costs at least $30,000, depending on your choices and the size of your kitchen. Custom cabinets would bring that cost above $45,000 with ease.
What Is The Best Bargain?
The price range among your cabinet options will differ significantly depending on the choices you make. Some refinishing products cost more than others, and the same goes for refacing.
Refinishing is obviously the less expensive choice but is also the least complete update. It is less an update than it is a makeover. You will have the same difficult-to-open drawers you had before, but with a new face. Your cabinets will look nicer but will retain the function they had before anything changed. If all you want is a surface-deep alteration of your kitchen’s look, then refinishing is a viable and inexpensive choice.
Refacing can cost as much as double refinishing, but the result is a much more significant change in your kitchen. It will function better, storage will be more convenient and organized, and you will no longer have to fight with your drawers to get them to open and close. You can also expect the new features of your cabinets and drawers to come with warranties. Often the doors and drawer faces will come with a lifetime warranty, if of a good enough quality.
The decision is yours and should be based on your needs. Do you simply want an updated look, or are you more interested in a more modern kitchen? Is your goal short-term, or do you plan to stay in your home for years to come? Let your answers to these questions guide you to the choice that is right for you.
If you feel it is time to update your kitchen in the Greater Chicago area, contact Redo Cabinets to schedule your free estimate. You can check our kitchen cabinets refacing before and after gallery for more information.
