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.
- Painting your cherry cabinets
- Save money by remodeling your kitchen cabinets
- Painting maple cabinets white
- Should I paint my cherry 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.
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!
