Cabinet Refinishing Cost Compared to Cabinet Refacing Cost
Cabinet Refinishing St Louis
Older cabinetry is usually well built, so preserving older kitchen cabinets is an option worth considering. There are two affordable approaches to cabinet refinishing. If you like the color of your cabinets, basic renewal is the most economical approach. A basic renewal restores older kitchen cabinets to their original color, beauty and luster. If you like the style of your cabinets but not the color, a color change transforms older cabinet colors, such as golden oaks and pickled maples, to today’s most popular colors and finishes including cherry, walnut, espresso and painted finishes. Under both approaches, the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are removed and taken to an off-site finishing facility where they are thoroughly cleaned, restained, resealed and topcoated with a durable catalyzed finishes to add many years of service to your cabinets. In addition, worn end panels and kick plates are replaced with new matching wood end panels and kick plates. A variety of new cabinet hardware (knobs, handles, pulls) and matching decorative wood trim such as crown molding, light valance, bead board, base molding can be added to customize your project. The refinishing process is clean and not offensive, as the refinishing work is performed offsite, not in your home. Cabinet refinishing services are priced at about one-quarter of the cost of new replacement cabinets and the in-home work is completed in two to three days.
Cabinet Refacing St Louis
All cabinetry can be refaced (wood, laminate, Thermofoil, even MDF). Worn, outdated cabinetry can be easily transformed to rich cherry, maple, hickory, pecan and alder cabinetry in a variety of door styles and finishes including paints, glazes and distressed finishes. Cabinet refacing will transform your outdated kitchen into a modern, custom looking kitchen.
The refacing process involves replacing the old doors and drawer fronts with new full overlay doors and drawer fronts for a modern, updated look. Four and six-lite mullion doors are also available to accommodate glass inserts. Specialty glass, such as stained glass, can often be reused in the new mullion doors. Cabinet boxes usually remain in place, which is environmentally friendly and preserves existing countertops. Refacing is a good option if you have expensive granite or solid surface countertops that you want to preserve.
During the cabinet refacing process, matching wood veneer is applied to the exterior cabinet frames. Wood veneer is very durable and has been used in the production of fine wood furniture for many years. To ensure proper adhesion of the wood veneer, the cabinet frames are thoroughly cleaned and abraded and commercial waterborne adhesive is applied to both surfaces, to the wood veneer and to the cabinet frames. Since the cabinet frames are the least attractive part of cabinets, when refacing it’s important to use full overlay doors and drawer fronts. The overlay of the new doors and drawer fronts affects how much of the cabinet frame remains showing after the new doors and drawer fronts are installed. Full overlay means that there is very little cabinet frame showing around each door and drawer front (one-quarter to three-eighths inch compared to two inches with standard overlay doors and drawer fronts) creating a modern, seamless appearance to the refaced cabinetry. Exposed end panels, including oversized refrigerator, island and peninsula panels, are covered with matching quarter-inch flat wood panels or three-quarter inch solid wood, full overlay decorative panels for a custom, high end look.
Most of the features available in new cabinetry are also available in cabinet refacing. Soft close hinges, replacement drawer boxes with full-extension soft close glides, pivoting lazy susans and full-extension soft close trashcan units are just a few of the many features available in today’s cabinet refacing. To further customize your refacing project, solid wood trim including upper crown molding, light valance, corbels, table legs and bead board can be added to your refacing project.
As a bonus, certain U.S. cabinet manufacturers also offer replacement doors, drawer fronts and trim in addition to new cabinetry, which allows home and business owners to add new cabinetry to their refacing project. A new utility or pantry unit, a new pullout trash unit, a new all-drawer unit, or all new 42-inch upper wall cabinets can be easily added to the refacing project. The new cabinetry is usually installed during the refacing process.