If you’re trying to decide whether to replace or reface cabinets in your kitchen, office, or bathroom, it’s essential to understand your options and their financial consequences. Replacing and refacing cabinets costs thousands of dollars, and it can be hard to make changes if you change your mind partway.

At IE Cabinets, we receive hundreds of inquiries and virtual consultation requests from people looking for cost-effective options that can improve the look of their kitchen without sacrificing material longevity and build quality.

How Designers Conduct Cabinet Refacing

Many first-time homeowners won’t know about cabinet refacing unless they read it on the internet or a friend with homebuilding or architectural experience mentions it. If you ask for a cabinet refacing, laborers will peel off your cabinet’s outer panels and coverings to change your kitchen’s aesthetic. Most people request it to change the look and feel of their kitchen, not because their cabinets are no longer functional.

Cabinet refacing is popular among people moving into a preloved home and homeowners suffering from cracked or scratched cabinets and countertops. It involves a considerable amount of planning and takes a day or two to finish. The designers will:

• Detach your drawers, cabinet doors, and fronts
• Cover their people-facing sides with the material of your choice
• Install new hinges if they find rust on the old ones
• Put in new pulls and handles (unless you request they use the existing ones)
• Put in new crown moldings, glass panels, and lighting features (at your request)

What Is Cabinet Replacement?

Cabinet refacing is similar to putting a new coat of paint on your cabinets but with a more premium and durable finish. Cabinet replacement entails removing all your cabinet doors, fronts, drawers, and drawer boxes and replacing them with new ones. Cabinet replacement can cost two or three times as much as cabinet refacing, and people don’t usually do it unless their cabinets suffer irreparable damage.

Cabinet replacement costs can exceed $15,000. The price tag depends on the type of material you want to use and the size of your kitchen.

Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacing in a Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen cabinets endure the most use and abuse out of all the storage compartments in your home. You expose them to steam, oil splashes, and spills. They can also harbor mildew or pests like mice and bugs, especially if you don’t clean them regularly.

However, damages to kitchen cabinets are mostly surface-level, which refacing can erase. Refacing is 30% to 50% cheaper than whole cabinet replacements in a kitchen remodel. You can reface cabinets with laminate, high-quality veneer, or all-wood veneers.

Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacing in a Bath Remodel

There are no significant differences between the cost of a kitchen cabinet reface and a bathroom cabinet reface, and the same goes for replacement. Bathroom cabinets are generally cleaner because they hold non-food items, such as toothbrushes, towels, and tissue rolls. Cabinet refacing might be more cost-effective for your bathroom cabinets than a replacement.

Call the Experts for Professional Advice

If you want to ask more questions as you decide whether to reface cabinets or replace them, reach out to the experts and gain some professional insight. Call IE Cabinets today at (888) 962-3962 and request a complementary kitchen remodeling consultation.