If your kitchen looks tired, there are two ways to change it with cabinetry. Refacing puts new doors, drawer fronts and panels on the cabinet boxes you already have. Replacing means new cabinets: new boxes, new fronts, and a chance to change the layout. We do both from our Burnaby shop, and the right answer depends more on your existing boxes and your layout than on the look you want.
Short answer: reface when the boxes are sound and the layout works. Replace when the boxes are damaged or out of square, or when you want to move the sink, the appliances or a wall. We check the boxes at a free in-home consultation and tell you which makes more sense.
Start with the cabinet boxes
Refacing keeps the boxes, so everything depends on them. Before you decide, look for:
- Water damage
- Swelling in the panels or edges
- Sagging boxes or shelves
- Boxes that are out of square
If you find any of these, refacing is the wrong job. New doors on a damaged box still sit on a damaged box.
Then look at the layout
Refacing keeps your existing layout and box sizes. It can’t move the sink or the range, take out a wall, or add storage the room doesn’t have. If the kitchen works and you just don’t like how it looks, that’s fine. If the layout is what you fight with every day, new doors won’t fix it.
New custom cabinets are drawn for your layout, your ceiling height and the things you need to store, then built one kitchen at a time in our Burnaby shop. For a home you plan to stay in, that fit is why custom cabinets are worth the investment.
Comparing the cost
Refacing usually costs less than new cabinets, because the existing boxes stay and you pay for new doors, drawer fronts and panels rather than a full set of cabinets. Both are priced by quote. For refacing, the cost depends on the number of doors and drawers and on the door style and material. For new cabinets, see how much custom cabinets cost in Vancouver.
Comparing the time
Refacing: new doors and drawer fronts take 3 to 6 weeks to make, depending on the material, and installation takes a few days to a week, depending on the scope.
New custom cabinets: 3 to 6 weeks to build, depending on the material, and 1 to 2 weeks to install. A full kitchen renovation takes 4 to 8 weeks on average, depending on the scope of work.
A quick way to decide
- Boxes sound, layout works, you want a new look: reface.
- Boxes damaged or out of square: replace.
- You want to move the sink, the appliances or a wall: replace.
- You need storage the room doesn’t have: replace.
Not sure which side your kitchen falls on? That is what the in-home consultation is for. Read more about our cabinet refacing service, or see how refacing compares with painting. To book, contact us for a free in-home consultation or call (604) 559-8080, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.