So it’s probably a question that you really want to know, and getting a straight answer isn’t easy. “How much does cabinet refacing cost?” (and how does it compare to the cost of new cabinets?). Obviously it’s not possible to give an exact price without knowing details, but let me give you some guidelines.
Kitchen Size
Big kitchens with lots of doors and drawers are going to cost more than smaller kitchens, of course. A big kitchen may have 40+ cabinets, 20 drawers, a big island and maybe a butler’s pantry.
Big kitchen – after refacing
A small, galley-style kitchen may just have a dozen cabinets and 4 or 5 drawers. Most kitchens fall somewhere between these two.
Materials
The other factor that influences cabinet refacing cost is the type of material used. At the low end is plastic laminate and RTF (rigid thermofoil) doors. RTF is a fancy name for plastic-covered particle board. It’s the least expensive, but I don’t use it.
In the family of solid wood products, oak is the least expensive, then maple, alder and cherry. I have done a few kitchens with more unusual woods, quartersawn-oak (think Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright) and even walnut.
Quartersawn white oak – beautiful vintage mission look
Finish
The other factor in determining cabinet refacing cost is the type of finish. Solid-color finishes with glaze are the most expensive, followed by solid color without glaze and regular stain. One note, when you use a solid color finish you can use a different grade of wood, which offsets the cost somewhat – but the solid color will still end up being at the higher end of the price spectrum.
Degree of Detail
Some kitchens call for lots of details and moldings. Crown molding, undercabinet molding, fluted columns and corbels under the counter overhang. A high degree of detail can push the cost up considerably.
So How Much Does it Cost, Already?
Okay – let me give you some examples. At the lower end, a smaller kitchen refaced in solid wood, let’s say maple, with trim molding above the upper cabinets might be in the ballpark of 5000 – 6000. A medium-sized kitchen, in an upgraded wood choice or in a solid color finish might be 8000-10,000. And a big kitchen with more details and high-end finishes can get up around 18 – 20K or higher. Just ballpark numbers, of course, but hopefully you find them somewhat helpful.
Other things that will factor in – are we replacing all the drawer boxes and installing new slides, or can we work with the existing drawer boxes? Is there an island and do we want decorative details on the back and sides?
It also depends on the company business model
I have had customers tell me that my price for solid wood refacing was less than a big box store charged for plastic RTF. I think some of that has to do with the layers of markup that are involved when working with a big-box retailer. Store>salesperson>subcontractor>installer, as opposed to our business model with one contact person from initial consultation to completed installation.
Cabinet refacing cost vs. New Cabinets
I get asked this one a lot and it’s a little tricky to answer, but I’ll do my best. The standard answer is that refacing will be 1/2 the cost of new cabinets of similar quality. But when you go to a showroom and see a 10 x 10 kitchen model – the price can seem comparable to refacing. But it’s important to remember that the price shown in the showroom is for those cabinets, sitting in boxes, in your garage. Turning them into a useable kitchen means demo-ing the existing kitchen, possibly moving plumbing, electrical and gas, drywall patching, cabinet installation, dumpster rental, possibly new countertop installation, new sink, faucet, backsplash and painting. So factoring in the complete cost of a tearout and replacement, refacing will probably be less than half the cost. Sometimes a lot less, depending on the countertop situation.
How Does Refacing Affect Resale Value Compared to New Cabinets?
That’s a post for anther day, but HINT: it’s another check in favor of refacing.