Should You Reface or Replace Your Cabinets?

Are you updating your kitchen and trying to decide whether you should reface or replace cabinets? As a trusted kitchen remodel company in Los Angeles County, Payless Kitchen Cabinets can help explain the process, benefits, and disadvantages of each choice. Keep reading to discover everything you should know so you’ll feel empowered in choosing between refaced cabinets and replaced cabinets.

All About Cabinet Replacement

Cabinet replacement involves removing all your existing cabinets and installing new ones and is often a more extensive process. But when you use an experienced kitchen designer, it can provide a greater return on your investment.

Understanding the Cabinet Replacement Process

What happens when you replace your cabinets? At Payless Kitchen Cabinets, we use the following process:

1. First contact: We’ll have you fill out our simple online questionnaire that takes your contact information and asks you to briefly describe your project. From there, we’ll promptly reach out and schedule a phone consultation.
2. Phone consultation: During your free phone consultation, we’ll learn more about your project and obtain an idea about what we should look at during your in-home consultation. We’ll schedule the next phase of the process with little delay.
3. In-home consultation: During your free in-home consultation, we’ll take measurements and get all the details we require to bring your dream cabinets to life.
4. Price quote: Once we have all the information we need, we’ll give you a guaranteed price quote so you can make an informed decision and never experience an unwelcome surprise.
5. Installation: We order the cabinets directly from the factory so you obtain the best price. Our licensed and certified installers offer a triple guarantee so you’ll never worry about the quality of the product or workmanship as we remove your old cabinets and replace them with your new ones.

Benefits of Replacing Cabinets

What benefits do you receive from replacing your cabinets?

• Flexible design: When you replace your cabinets, you can incorporate a wide variety of design choices. For example, you can completely change what wood you use for your base cabinets rather than just change their color.
• Optimized function: If you don’t think your old cabinets have the best layout, you can improve your kitchen cabinet organization by replacing them. You can give yourself more space or change the type of cabinets you use so you have better access to all your dishes and equipment.
• Improved home value: In general, replacing your kitchen cabinets increases your home value much more than refacing them. This happens because you’re usually updating the look and using higher-quality materials.
• Great life expectancy: Because you’re upgrading to more modern materials that don’t have any wear or tear, you’re increasing the life expectancy of your cabinets.

Disadvantages of Replacing Cabinets

While replacing your cabinets provides some considerable benefits, you should weigh its disadvantages as well. Consider the following before deciding whether you should replace your cabinets:

• Increased cost: Fully replacing your cabinets requires a significantly higher investment than refacing them, but consider how much you’re increasing your home value.
• Slower completion: Replacing your cabinets can take up to six weeks even without complications. It’s not always best for homeowners on a tight timeline.
• More waste: Replacing your cabinets often produces more waste because you remove your old ones. We can’t always recycle older cabinets because they often have chemicals like formaldehyde.
• Additional costs: Replacing your cabinets often requires installing new countertops, which adds additional expenses. However, this can also increase your home’s value even more!

All About Cabinet Refacing

When you’re deciding whether to reface or replace cabinets, you’ll likely find refacing a good option. Refacing means you replace the doors and hardware on your cabinets but leave the base part.

Understanding the Cabinet Refacing Process

What happens during your refacing project? We use the same steps as when we replace your cabinets, including multiple free consultations and a guaranteed price quote.

Benefits of Refacing Cabinets

Why do many homeowners choose to reface their cabinets rather than replace them?

• Lower cost: The cabinet refacing costs require a significantly lower investment than the replacement process. If you don’t have a lot of money to invest, this can get you by.
• Less waste: Because we’re only removing and disposing of the cabinet faces, refacing your cabinets offers a more environmentally friendly solution.
• Faster completion: Refacing your cabinets usually takes three to five days – much faster than several weeks!

Disadvantages of Refacing Cabinets

The cons of cabinet refacing includes the following:

• Design restrictions: When you reface your cabinets, you won’t have as many design choices, and you can’t improve a subpar layout.
• Less added value: Refacing your cabinets doesn’t add as much value to your home, making it a lesser investment.
• Short-term solution: If your base cabinets are old or damaged, adding new doors won’t fix the underlying problem. In this case, refacing your cabinets is like putting a bandage on a deep wound rather than getting stitches and the problems will only get worse over time.

Choosing Between Refacing or Replacing Cabinets

Whether you replace or reface your cabinets depends on a variety of factors. When you are deciding which service will produce the best results for your kitchen, ask yourself the following questions.

What Are Your Goals?

Ask yourself what you’re hoping to gain from redoing your cabinets. If you want new cabinets because you need a more functional kitchen, then refacing them won’t help you obtain a more optimized layout. 

If your goal is improving your home’s value, you’ll have to balance that with your available budget, as both refacing and replacing cabinets increase your home’s worth. In this case, ask Payless Kitchen Cabinets about our financing options.

If your cabinets just feel outdated and you want to update how they look with new hardware and doors, you’ll likely find refacing them an adequate solution.

What Is Your Budget?

While we offer financing options, you shouldn’t spend beyond your means to replace your cabinets. Carefully consider your budget and examine what options you have to pay for services. 

In general, refacing your cabinets can save you between 25% and 50% over replacing them. However, remember that it also won’t grant you the same return on your investment.

What Condition Are Your Current Cabinets in?

If your base cabinets don’t have damage or are less than 20 years old, you won’t need the increased durability you’ll obtain through replacing them. However, if you notice significant wear and tear, rot, water damage, or cracks in your base cabinets, simply refacing them can waste your money. During your consultation, the experts can examine your cabinets and determine whether you’d benefit more from refacing them or replacing them.

Are You On a Time Crunch?

If you don’t have much time for your kitchen remodel, you may opt for the much faster kitchen replacement. For example, imagine you’re moving in one month and want an offer on your house before you leave. You won’t have time to wait for six weeks while you replace all your cabinets.

However, if time isn’t a factor in your decision, consider how much value you’ll obtain from new cabinets, provided you can wait patiently while we finish the process.

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We Create the Best Cabinets

You can now decide whether to reface or replace cabinets in your kitchen. Whether you’re wondering how cabinet refacing works, how long cabinet refacing lasts, or the risks of DIY cabinet refacing, Payless Kitchen Cabinets can help. We bring considerable knowledge, skill, and experience to every job. We also work hard to keep our prices competitive.

To schedule your first consultation, fill out our online form or call (866)-482-0919 today.