What You Should Know About Refacing vs. Replacing Your Kitchen Cabinets

The look of your cabinets can literally make or break your kitchen. Beat-up cabinets look shoddy and can make even the nicest kitchen look outdated and rundown. The good news is that you have a few options if your cabinetry is looking worse for the wear: You can either reface or replace kitchen cabinets.

Refacing involves installing new drawer fronts and doors and veneering the cabinet boxes. As the name suggests, cabinet replacement is the process of completely removing the cabinets and installing new ones.

Continue reading to learn a little bit more about each process and how you should determine which route you should take if your cabinets are in poor condition.

When is it recommended?

Choosing between the two options is ultimately up to the homeowner, but we typically recommend refacing your cabinets when the boxes are in good shape and when you have a limited budget. Replacement is often reserved for situations in which the boxes, drawers and doors are all in bad shape or if you’re doing an entire kitchen remodel.

If you’re not remodeling your entire kitchen but are just unhappy with the lack of storage space you have, we advise going with kitchen cabinet replacements. Because you’re replacing all of your cabinetry, you have the option to exponentially increase your storage space.

DIY vs. professional installation

There are plenty of homeowners out there who love tackling DIY projects. Even if their end game isn’t just to save money, they just enjoy the satisfaction of upgrading their homes by themselves. For those folks, we don’t recommend refacing. Cabinet refacing necessitates skills and tools that the average homeowner just doesn’t have.

Replacement, on the other hand, can be a DIY chore in some circumstances. Keep in mind that replacement involves a lot of heavy lifting and taking precise measurements to ensure the job is performed well. It’s typically a better idea to leave replacement to the pros to ensure you get quality results.

Total cost

As we touched on above, refacing is less expensive than kitchen cabinet replacements. Refacing a 10-foot by 10-foot kitchen costs anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000. The price discrepancy comes from the type of new doors and drawers you choose and the size of the cabinets themselves. Choosing more expensive hardware can also increase the price by quite a bit.

Completely replacing your kitchen cabinets can cost as much as $20,000 if you opt for high quality, custom cabinetry. While replacement is more expensive, it may be worth the investment. New cabinets will add significant value to your home’s resale value, which is a big plus for anyone thinking about selling their house soon.

Let Covenant Woodworks tackle the project

If it’s time to replace your kitchen cabinets, then be sure to contact our team at Covenant Woodworks. In addition to cabinet replacement, we specialize in all forms of kitchen remodeling. All of our cabinets are custom-crafted to fit your kitchen’s floor plan, and they’re sure to look stunning in your home.

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