Refacing Kitchen Cabinets Vs. Replacing
Has anybody done refacing kitchen cabinets before? I have been looking on internet that explains if you are happy with your kitchen layout, it is cheaper and faster to do the refacing instead of replace the entire kitchen cabintets. Companies such as Home Depot or Sears will do such kind of job.
I would lkie to know if the refacing really saves money and returns good looking result?
thanks
Refacing vs replacing will definitely save money. The time factor will vary. It doesn't really take much time to gut an existing kitchen of cabinets and c/tops. And likewise, it doesn't take much time to install new cabinets and tops. On average, a good installer can tear out and replace cabinets with new in 2 or 3 days . A good refacing mechanic can accomplish the task in about the same time. So what comes into play is the expense you have for the new doors and drawer fronts and laminate to resurface the old boxes-versus new cabinets. Depending where the job is being done would determine for me whether I decide to reface or replace. In places such as south florida, there are a ton of laminate shops where you can get doors and fronts made pretty cheaply. In Pittsburgh, they would have to be ordered through some supplier, so I rarely decide to reface.
Overall, I would say, six of one, half dozen of the other.
One thing I will tell you from experience (I worked for them) Sears will charge you an arm and a leg +some fingers and toes to do either one, so try to find a different source for this work either way.
Dave
We had plain brown, ugly cabinets in a house we rehabbed for ourselves.
Rather than reface, we did high gloss, bright color paint and changed the hardware from brass to stainless steel.
We also changed the lighting in the room, which was a huge improvement. The light really sets off the cabinets.
Took about three days, less than $1000. The changes are incredible and the kitchen is our most complimented room due to the colors.
thank you for the replies
i thought about painting cabinets before, but i am afraid that brush stroke will be seen
Use a primer, then a high gloss paint and finish with shelac and you'll never see brush strokes.
You'll only see strokes if you half-**s the job.
Good luck.
laminate counter tops that have uglied out and or are no longer in style can be spray refinished in a matter of hours for a lasting change that looks quite nice and is great on low to mid range rehab projects.
We just had 20' done for about $200 and it was done in a couple of hours.
[addsig]
If you buy off the shelf cabinets at lowes it will still be cheaper than refacing by the time you add in custom made doors. You can buy the whole cabinet for less then the doors.
I'm currently in the process now of painting some nasty brown cabinets. Primed them white and went over that with a high gloss white. We'll finish it off with another high gloss color ( one of the contrasting colors from the flooring) on just the cabinet doors and drawers. We've done this one time before and it was the one room that received all the compliments. I've never done the shellacing afterward. Do you encountering any yellowing effect?
CnChomes 8-)
I've done a lot of this and there are so many avenues one can take. I've refinished high end wood cabinets by sanding, restaining and poly to painting low to midrange cabinets.
I'm currently redoing a small mid-range kitchen in a Townhome where the cabinet boxes are in good shape but the doors are that mid 80's white laminate formicaish junk. The doors are breing replaced with a nice raised panel maple and the boxes will be painted white for a two tone effect where the maple adds warmth rather than the all stark white look. Add to that crown moulding at the tops and wainscotting on all the sides with corner and shoe moulding and polished nickel pulls. Total cost about $1000 and the results will be stunning.
Painting cabinets (and doors) works very well but most people choose the wrong paint and primer and wind up with lousy results. They try and use a latex primer and a latex topcoat. Big mistake. To get quality results that look fantastic and can take a beating you must use oil. I don't know why but many folks are scared to death of oil based products.
I like to spray, and I've even done cabinets with excellent results using one of those cheap Wagner Power Painters from Home Depot. The beauty of a nice oil based Alkyd Enamel semi-gloss is that even if you use a brush, it flows smoothly and lays down nice so when it dries, the brush marks virtually dissapear. That does'nt happen with latex.
I use Kilz original for the primer and Sherwin Williams ProMar200 oil based enamel for the topcoat. The results always look like it was done in a shop with very expensive equipment. And when it cures, you can hit it with a hammer and it will only dent.
Quote:
Painting cabinets (and doors) works very well but most people choose the wrong paint and primer and wind up with lousy results. They try and use a latex primer and a latex topcoat. Big mistake. To get quality results that look fantastic and can take a beating you must use oil. I don't know why but many folks are scared to death of oil based products.
Oil is not the end all answer for achieving spray like results.
Try one of these: Ben Moore's Waterbourne Satin Impervo or Sherwins Waterbourne Pro-Classic
Both are latex that is designed to lay down with a brush achieving better results than can be achieved using oil and a brush. When back brushed properly the results mimic a sprayed finish.
and they are latex, imagine that!
I haven't personally tried the newest waterborne latex enamels form Sherwin and Benjamin but I hear they're very good. Latex has come a long way in the last few years but I like to stick with formulas that have withstood the test of time. Painting is so labor intensive that I don't like to experiment. I also like to use the products the the professional builders and painters are using in my area. For woodwork, they are still using good quality oil products.
However, the if the EPA gets their way, oil will soon be a thing of the past. Apparently, the volatile organic compounds in oil based paints are melting the ice caps and causing the earth to warble in its orbit. Their push to do away with the Alkyd species has met with quite a bit of resistance however.
What is happening is that the new VOC regulations are starting to diminish the quality of oil based products while the waterbased latex continues to improve. With some brands they may be on par. Of course the last time I was duped, I let a Kelly Moore sales jockey sell me on their tuff-as-nails waterbased acrylic enamel that was supposed to be "on par" with oil (whatever that means). The stuff sure was expensive so I was convinced. However I was sorely dissapointed with the adhesion qualities and long term durability... but that was 5 years ago.
In any event, waterbased latex paints will be all we have to work with in the future. I hope the quality continues to improve.
I agree. Oak is Oak... it aint cherry.
That being said, I got excellent results sanding and restaining my oak cabinets in my own home. After 20yrs, they began to yellow a bit but they were high quality custom built. My delimma was wether to rip them out and replace them (for about 15k) with cherry.
I decided to refinish. I got excellent results sanding, using 2 coats of oil based minwax golden pecan and 3 coats of poly. The color was very rich and rivaled the warmth of cherry. Add to that granite countertops, stainless appliances and lots of other little goodies like recessed lighting etc. etc. and the results were well worth the effort at a fraction of the cost.
By doing the work myself, I basically got a 30k kitchen for about 10k.
[ Edited by spinwilly on Date 01/24/2005 ][ Edited by spinwilly on Date 01/24/2005 ]
Yeah, what is with the sickly yellow tint of all 15-20 year old oak cabinetry? Is it a symptom of the stains used during that time frame?