“Should I Refinish My Cabinets Or Replace My Cabinets?”
It seems like we’ve had a lot of potential clients contact us recently to have their cabinets refinished – sometimes with paint, sometimes with stain. When we ask what they’re looking for, it’s always something completely different than what they already have. For instance, if their cabinets are mahogany, they want to sand down the doors until you can’t see the grain at all, and then paint them light gray. Or, if their cabinets are white pine, they want them to look as if they’re really walnut. Really, anything to avoid paying for entirely new cabinets to be installed.
At Liberty Paint & Construction, LLC, our professional painters always aim to give our clients exactly what they want, but this level of cabinet refinishing comes at a price. Refinishing cabinets isn’t just slapping up a new coat of paint or stain, as many homeowners believe; rather, it requires extensive prep work, which includes:
Whew! That being said, depending on the size of the project, refinishing cabinets can take anywhere from 2 days (our bathroom), to a full week (a kitchen project we just completed, with island). And 7 days of quality labor is not cheap. Oftentimes, after they see our quote, many homeowners question whether or not it would be better to just replace their cabinets entirely. If you’re at this point – wondering whether you want to refinish your cabinets or replace them – then keep reading…
Cost
The average cost of complete cabinet installation is $4,631, and more often than not, that doesn’t include the cost of cabinets. For stock cabinets in a standard sized kitchen, you’re looking at paying between $4,000-$5,000; for custom cabinets, you’re looking at 4-5 times that, from $16,000-$20,000.
Now, you might read on some sites that the average cost to reface or refinish your cabinets runs between $900 and $1,500, but what these sites don’t tell you is that that’s the cost for just 6 cabinets. Not cabinet units, but cabinet cubbies. That’s about how many cabinets you’ll find in a standard sized bathroom. It’s these sites that are causing many homeowners to search fruitlessly for that company with the low price they were promised online. The true cost of getting your cabinets refinished is anywhere from $900 (again, a small bathroom) to $8,000 (a typical kitchen).
Some Things To Consider Before Replacing Or Refinishing Your Cabinets
Before you make the final decision regarding replacing or refinishing your cabinets, ask yourself the following questions:
Should Your Replace/Refinish Your Cabinets Yourself, Or Hire A Professional?
We do not recommend installing your cabinets yourself, as this is at least a two man job and requires a lot of skill and no how to hang each unit just right.
Now, whether or not you want to refinish your cabinets yourself is up to you. If you’re pretty handy and have confidence in your refinishing skills, then doing it yourself wouldn’t be a bad option. However, you just want to be sure you have the time to tackle such a large project, as refinishing cabinets takes full 8-hour days to do it right. And, like I said earlier, refinishing all of the cabinets in a standard sized kitchen can take up to a full week. That being said, there are some perks to refinishing your cabinets yourself. For starters, you have full control over every part of the process. Second of all, it’s a lot cheaper to do it yourself.
Refinishing your cabinets is a huge job, one that many homeowners don’t feel comfortable tackling alone. If you don’t think you have the time, patience or skill to redo your cabinets correctly, then we suggest hiring a professional. Mistakes on cabinet remodels do not just go away, and really bad mistakes can result in having to purchase new cabinets anyways. Furthermore, hiring a professional painting company to come in and do the job for you guarantees that the job will be done right, and that the finished product will be a lasting one.
Refinishing Options
If you do decide to refinish your cabinets instead of replacing them, there are a variety of ways in which you can do them. Wood cabinets can be painted or re-stained. They can be given an entirely need style with new hardware too (i.e. pulls and hinges). There are many options, and sites such as Pinterest or home improvement magazines can give you plenty of options if you’re drawing a blank.
If you are interested in getting your cabinets refinished, contact our professional paint and remodel company today to set up your FREE ESTIMATE.
It seems like we’ve had a lot of potential clients contact us recently to have their cabinets refinished – sometimes with paint, sometimes with stain. When we ask what they’re looking for, it’s always something completely different than what they already have. For instance, if their cabinets are mahogany, they want to sand down the doors until you can’t see the grain at all, and then paint them light gray. Or, if their cabinets are white pine, they want them to look as if they’re really walnut. Really, anything to avoid paying for entirely new cabinets to be installed.
At Liberty Paint & Construction, LLC, our professional painters always aim to give our clients exactly what they want, but this level of cabinet refinishing comes at a price. Refinishing cabinets isn’t just slapping up a new coat of paint or stain, as many homeowners believe; rather, it requires extensive prep work, which includes:
- taping off and covering all surfaces that aren’t to be painted;
- removal of hardware and doors;
- plastic-ing off entrances to other rooms if a new wood stain is to be used, and if the project is to be completed entirely indoors (something we have to do if the project is being completed during the wet months and there is no garage or shop to work in);
- sanding;
- cleaning up the sawdust before painting so as to avoid getting sawdust stuck in the new paint finish;
- painting/staining, double coat;
- putting on a protective seal (necessary if cabinets are in the kitchen, bathroom or a room in which there will be a lot of moisture);
- and reattaching the hardware and doors.
Whew! That being said, depending on the size of the project, refinishing cabinets can take anywhere from 2 days (our bathroom), to a full week (a kitchen project we just completed, with island). And 7 days of quality labor is not cheap. Oftentimes, after they see our quote, many homeowners question whether or not it would be better to just replace their cabinets entirely. If you’re at this point – wondering whether you want to refinish your cabinets or replace them – then keep reading…
Cost
The average cost of complete cabinet installation is $4,631, and more often than not, that doesn’t include the cost of cabinets. For stock cabinets in a standard sized kitchen, you’re looking at paying between $4,000-$5,000; for custom cabinets, you’re looking at 4-5 times that, from $16,000-$20,000.
Now, you might read on some sites that the average cost to reface or refinish your cabinets runs between $900 and $1,500, but what these sites don’t tell you is that that’s the cost for just 6 cabinets. Not cabinet units, but cabinet cubbies. That’s about how many cabinets you’ll find in a standard sized bathroom. It’s these sites that are causing many homeowners to search fruitlessly for that company with the low price they were promised online. The true cost of getting your cabinets refinished is anywhere from $900 (again, a small bathroom) to $8,000 (a typical kitchen).
Some Things To Consider Before Replacing Or Refinishing Your Cabinets
Before you make the final decision regarding replacing or refinishing your cabinets, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are your existing cabinets in good condition? If the answer is no, refinishing them is not going to help, and will actually be a waste of your time and money.
- What material are your existing cabinets made from? If they’re wood, you can redo them any which way you like. However, if they’re particleboard, Thermofoil or laminate, refinishing your cabinets will be a waste before either the paint will peel or refinishing them will cost more than the actual cabinets themselves.
- Do you like the current layout of your cabinets? If the answer is yes, then no need to mess with a good thing. If not, and you plan on moving them around anyways, you’re going to pay the installation price whether you refinish your existing cabinets or replace them.
- What is your budget? This is probably the first question you should ask yourself, because it will either eliminate a lot of options, or open up some options you hadn’t thought about.
- Is time a factor? Do you want your cabinets done by the time you host your son’s first birthday party this weekend, or are you looking to get the project done within the month? Your answer to this question may just eliminate refinishing your cabinets entirely.
Should Your Replace/Refinish Your Cabinets Yourself, Or Hire A Professional?
We do not recommend installing your cabinets yourself, as this is at least a two man job and requires a lot of skill and no how to hang each unit just right.
Now, whether or not you want to refinish your cabinets yourself is up to you. If you’re pretty handy and have confidence in your refinishing skills, then doing it yourself wouldn’t be a bad option. However, you just want to be sure you have the time to tackle such a large project, as refinishing cabinets takes full 8-hour days to do it right. And, like I said earlier, refinishing all of the cabinets in a standard sized kitchen can take up to a full week. That being said, there are some perks to refinishing your cabinets yourself. For starters, you have full control over every part of the process. Second of all, it’s a lot cheaper to do it yourself.
Refinishing your cabinets is a huge job, one that many homeowners don’t feel comfortable tackling alone. If you don’t think you have the time, patience or skill to redo your cabinets correctly, then we suggest hiring a professional. Mistakes on cabinet remodels do not just go away, and really bad mistakes can result in having to purchase new cabinets anyways. Furthermore, hiring a professional painting company to come in and do the job for you guarantees that the job will be done right, and that the finished product will be a lasting one.
Refinishing Options
If you do decide to refinish your cabinets instead of replacing them, there are a variety of ways in which you can do them. Wood cabinets can be painted or re-stained. They can be given an entirely need style with new hardware too (i.e. pulls and hinges). There are many options, and sites such as Pinterest or home improvement magazines can give you plenty of options if you’re drawing a blank.
If you are interested in getting your cabinets refinished, contact our professional paint and remodel company today to set up your FREE ESTIMATE.