Should I Refinish My Cabinet Doors or Replace Them?

Are you ready for a change in your kitchen?

Join the club. With so many different ways to improve your home, the one room that gets the most attention and the most money is usually your kitchen.  As you look at your kitchen and debate what should you do, you are bound to ask “should I refinish my cabinet doors or replace them?

So let’s get into what this means and potential cost.

What is cabinet refinishing?

Personally, I  have the habit of saying refinishing cabinets when I should be saying is painting cabinets. Cabinet refinishing used to mean taking your stained wood cabinets, cleaning them then applying a new coat of stain and clear coat. We still get calls for this service. It is a great way to improve the look of your cabinets without breaking the bank on a whole new refinishing project before you sell your home or you just want and like natural wood finishes.

For those that call us to actually refinish their wood cabinets, the usual reason is water damage.  Water and wood cabinets do not play well together. Water along with cleaning chemicals found in kitchens take a toll on wood cabinets and the finishes that are designed to protect them. FYI-the best cleaner for wood cabinets is 50/50 water and vinegar.

Painting your kitchen cabinets

If you have seen or spent any time on our web page and blog posts, you will see quite a few blog posts regarding painting your kitchen cabinets.

These are some of the articles we have as well as the videos you can watch on our YouTube channel (see below)

On average painting your cabinets cost about $110 per cabinet box. This can vary, so please call and or text for pricing.  If you have downloaded our guide, you will read the steps we take in order to paint cabinets and give you a warranty that will outlast your cabinets.

So how do you know if you should refinish, paint or replace your cabinets?

  • Do you like how your kitchen is designed right now?
  • Are there any broken cabinet doors?
  • Do you have solid wood doors such as oak or maple or do you have something else?
  • Are you planning on staying in your home for some time to come?
  • What about your cabinets or kitchen do you not like?

If there is no damage to your existing cabinets and you like the layout then refinishing and painting is a great option! They will look new, updated, and last for years to come.  You can select just a re-stain vs painting as well.

Cabinet doors - cabinet refinishing geneva

If you have a lot of damage to cabinet doors (broken panels, water damage in several areas, gouges, etc.) then you may want to have us take a closer look to see if replacing the cabinet doors may be a better option. There are ways we can get replacement cabinet doors to save the expense replacing your  kitchen cabinets.

How do I get replacement cabinet doors?

1st thing to do is to determine what style of door you want. I tell people to go to Menards and look at door samples.

Then you have to decide solid wood or engineered door panels.  Solid wood doors are different than engineered products such as pressboard and MDF panels. They may or may not be repairable if needed. They paint just as well as a solid wood door, if there is damage, they may not be repairable. Wondering how much it costs to paint cabinets?

When we cost replacing your doors you will be asked or told:

  • What kind of doors do you want?
  • Are you keeping any existing hardware?
  • Do you know what type of hinges you want? for example soft close hinges?
  • Would you like the hinges to be hidden?

Replacing doors can cost about $140-$160 per door, about half that for average size drawer fronts.

The other thing to consider in replacing doors, is the cabinet boxes will still have to be painted or matched to your new doors.

If you want to keep living in your kitchen then these options are the best for you, considering replacing your kitchen will cost 3 times more and take months from start to finish.

If you need an update that can be solved with painting, the money spent on a new cabinets could be better used for new countertops, new sink and faucets, maybe a new dishwasher!

If you decide on refinishing, kitchen cabinets or bathroom cabinets, contact us via email or phone!

Video: Should I Refinish My Cabinets or Replace Them

 How can we help you love the space you’re in?

We look forward to helping you in your kitchen remodeling!! Call or text us and let’s get started today.

shiny red paint spot
Shiney Spots on My Wall

While at a Christmas party last week,  a friend asked why they have Shiney spots on their wall after they just painted.

After some further conversation,  I found that several holes were repaired from Molley bolts that used to be on the wall. Although I did not see any pictures of the walls in question these shiny spots are the result of one or more of these problems.

– when the holes were repaired the repaired area was not sanded down enough
-after making the repairs to the holes the repair was not given a coat of primer before painting
-the use of a paintbrush to paint the repaired areas which can cause paint to give the paint a different sheen than using a roller.
-when clients have existing paint that was used it has often not been mixed enough prior to application.
-finally the age of the paint being used and when it was last painted affect touch-ups.  Paint will fade,  the paint will have a different sheen due to wear,  and due to the usage of a way, there can be dirt or grime that will result in two different appearances from old to the new paint.

 

Hope that answers your question if you have any more contact us!

Get New Cabinets!

As Fall approaches, the most popular call we are receiving is about doing something with Kitchen cabinets.  Customers are tired of the honey oak stained cabinets, tired of the white cabinets that came with the house or want their pantry or island to stand out from the rest of their room.  What are your options?

1st question is, What do you want? The last 2 customers we had were looking to save money in remodeling their kitchen. There was nothing wrong with their cabinets, so the decision was made to refinish oak cabinets to a white glazed look, new tile backsplash, and granite counters. This was 50% cheaper than tearing out a Kitchen and getting all new.

Do you have an island that you want to have a distinct look from the rest of your kitchen? Maybe you have a pantry unit that you would like to make stand out? This can easily be done as a solid color, distressed finish, or restained to another wood color.

We are using ML Campbell industrial wood finishing systems. This is a greenguard certified product. They are low VOC. They are non-yellowing, unlike oil-based products. They are the highest rated to withstand kitchen substances such as juices, vinegar, ketchup, coffee, boiling water, nail polish, naphtha, alcohol, wine, gasoline, TSP, and many more.

Give us a call to schedule a free estimate. Pass this on to a friend to be part of our growing referral program.

I Need to Clean The Paint!

Have you painted part of your home lately? Did you have any drips or splats?  Well if you can believe it, so have we.

We have found that the best thing to use when cleaning up the paint is magic erasers. They will remove paint for up to 7 days after we are done. Try it you’ll like it!

If that doesn’t work, then get out the Krud Kutter. It works and it works well.

For those who have pets, kids or other messy makers, have you had a tough stain on your carpet? If it is a natural stain (not oil etc) then pure hydrogen peroxide is the only thing you will ever need.

Green Paint

The newest trend in paint is going green.  So we have made some moves to get on the no VOC and green paints. Of course, realizing the glowing red on your ears is a reaction to paint is a good reason to switch.

In using the Sherwin progreen we have found that the paint is very sensitive to humidity, and temperature. We had to add water and flow additive in order to keep from getting flashing along our cut lines.  Even with A Sherwin rep with us, the drying time was extremely fast. If you use it, be prepared to paint fast!!

What Is a Good Paint Job Worth?

That depends on you, your budget, what you want in, from or out of your home. Do you want it to look cheap? Do you like seeing nail pops throughout your home? Do you have cracks in the base molding where the caulk has come apart? Do you like to see every brush mark because the last time your walls were painted they used one coat of paint? Would you like you home to look just as good at the model homes you tour? Would you like feel the coziness of a warm color that just makes you feel at home? What else would you like from a coat of paint in your home?

You do get what you pay for. From certified no VOC paints, to quality washable paints we have what you want. We have the good paint. A trained crew that makes things fast, clean, no worries, and quality work. Knowing that you can give us the keys to your home it will be treated better than our own.

How can we help you? What is a no stress decorating job worth to you?

Don’t Buy New Cabinets!

Oak cabinets are beautiful. Oak cabinets are also very common. It is the number 1 complaint we hear from customers on what they want to change in their home.

The easy fix is to paint your oak cabinets. Then they can be glazed or aged to give them an entirely new look. Add a faux finish to a room and you have transformed your room from blah to ahh!

Figure that a professional job to refinish cabinets will be about 1/3 the cost of new cabinets. Without the hassle of losing your kitchen for a month so cabinets can be ordered, then installed, then a week or 2 for a new countertop. From Bathrooms to Kitchen cabinets, we can help you spruce it up.

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