Cabinet Refacing by Steve’s

When someone enters your kitchen the first thing they notice is your cabinets. They can’t help it. Kitchen cabinets are the largest single component of any modern kitchen and exert enormous influence over how a kitchen is perceived. If your cabinets are a bit worse for wear or feature an outdated style it will have a negative impact on the entire kitchen. But with new kitchen cabinets costing anywhere from $500 to $1,200 per linear foot, who can afford to replace old cabinets these days? Steve’s Cabinet Refacing is the practical way to restore life and stylistic vitality to your cabinets without breaking your bank.

Cabinet Refacing: How It Works

While each cabinet refacing job is slightly different the fundamental beats of the project and the overall goals are the same. Refacing kitchen cabinets typically involves:

• Removing the door and drawer fronts while leaving the cabinet boxes in place.
• Installing a high-quality veneer over the exposed ends of existing boxes.
• Installing brand new doors, drawer fronts and hardware over the boxes.

The new door and drawer covers will be created specifically to match your cabinet dimensions and to reflect the new style direction you want to go in.

Determining If Your Cabinets Are Candidates for Refacing

It might seem like you can put a new face on pretty much any cabinet in existence but that is not really the case. In some instances, the smarter financial call might be to simply replace the old cabinets in their entirety. When assessing whether cabinets are good candidates for refacing we look at several things:

• Box materials and condition - If your cabinet boxes are made of plywood or MDF panels, and those panels are in good condition with smooth exterior surfaces that will accept a veneer, they may be candidates for refacing.
• Face frames - If the frames onto which the cabinet faces are mounted are made of solid hardwood they are likely good candidates for refacing.
• Internals - If the drawers still operate smoothly and if the internal design of the cabinets lends itself to contemporary storage needs the cabinets may be good candidates for refacing.

It is not always necessary to meet all 3 of these criteria and there is certainly some wiggle room in which to operate. But if your cabinets have boxes in good condition, have hardwood face frames and the internals are in good shape they are excellent candidates to be refaced.

The Pros and Cons of Cabinet Refacing

As is the case with most renovation and remodeling projects the homeowner needs to weigh the pros and cons of cabinet refacing before they commit. Here are those pros and cons.

Pros

• You will not have to make any expensive and time-consuming changes to the current kitchen layout. If you like your kitchen the way it is, cabinet refacing is a good way to spruce it up.
• You have a lot of style choices when it comes to refacing. You can even do a modest and cost-effective remodel of the kitchen by changing furniture and lighting fixtures to harmonize with the new cabinet faces.
• Refacing is also the environmentally friendly alternative to installing new cabinets. Many cabinet boxes are fashioned from MDF. MDF contains formaldehyde. If old cabinets wind up in a landfill that formaldehyde will leach into the ground over time. Also, fewer (if any) trees will need to be felled to supply the new faces.
• Finally, refacing cabinets is a lot cheaper than having brand new ones designed and installed. A lot cheaper.

The argument for refacing your cabinets is compelling and for most people, it will be the smart choice. However, everything, including cabinet refacing, has a downside. So let's look at that downside now.

Cons

• Layout changes are not possible. So if you were hoping to make some adjustments to your current cabinet layout during the refacing process please understand that this is not possible.
• Box interiors also stay the same. Cabinet refacing does not address the internal layout of your cabinets.
• While refacing is far less expensive than buying and installing new cabinets it still carries material and labor costs.

Most homeowners who decide to engage in refacing have already accepted that the cabinet layout will stay the same and so will the internal structure of their cabinets. So the first 2 “cons” are not usually an issue. But there is no dancing around the 3rd “con”. Refacing is an advanced process that requires quality materials and highly skilled labor.

Trust the Team at Steve’s

Steve’s has been a vital member of the Colorado business community for nearly 45 years. Our carpet care, upholstery cleaning, air duct cleaning and other services have helped homeowners keep their homes looking and operating great year-round. With cabinet refacing we bring the same commitment to quality work at reasonable prices that we bring to all our other services and our cabinet refacing team has been hand-picked from the best Colorado has to offer.

If you are considering ways to spruce up the kitchen but don’t want to have to take out a 2nd mortgage to do so, get in touch with the team at Steve’s Cabinet Refacing today. We’ll take you through the entire process and let you know if your kitchen cabinets are good candidates for refacing. So give us a call today. It might be the best call you make this year.