Cabinet Refacing: The Alternative to Kitchen Splendor

Today I am glad to have Will Jerome from Granite Transformations as our guest blogger.  Will, thanks for taking time to give us your take on cabinet refacing.  Take it away Will:

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Rickety, run-down, and ready to be replaced. Many of us could probably describe our kitchen cabinets that way, though most of us just sit back and watch the wear and tear unfold. I mean, who wants to go through the hassle of finding a home remodeler, have them come in and render your kitchen useless for the foreseeable future, and ending up with a big fat dent in your wallet? Deciding the best way to go about kitchen remodeling can be a tricky task, one filled with anxiety, excitement, and indecision.

Source: Granite Transformations

Most cabinet replacements can cost anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000, depending on the scale and the material cost, of course. The hidden element in this high-cost, demolition derby of a decision is the time it will take for the task to be completed – preventing you from going about your day-to-day as you normally would. Obviously, all forms of home remodeling come with some modicum of inconvenience, but it shouldn’t have to be overwhelmingly so. Full cabinet replacement can take as long as a month – that’s a lot of eating out, and a lot of extra expenses on top of the already costly cabinets.

I introduce to you an alternative way to freshen your kitchen with the look of new cabinets while skipping all of the inconvenient demolition and replacement: cabinet refacing. Cabinet refacing is the practice of overlaying wood panels on top of your present cabinets. On its face (no pun intended) it may seem like a low-budget solution to a high-end desire, but it’s anything but. Cabinet refacing incorporates the same wood used in typical cabinet replacement, in some cases an even stronger composite of several woods, so in that regard there is no sacrifice of quality.

Source: Granite Transformations

The process is fairly simple: a team of technicians will come in and measure the cabinets you’d like refacing, wherever they may be in your house, and will make sure that the material you’ve chosen is available. After that you can sit back and spend some final, solitary time with your cabinets of soon-to-be old.

The technician will return when you’ve scheduled bearing the newly fabricated cabinet overlays you’ve chosen and briskly install them. No sawdust on the floor, no cracks in your molding, and no break in you kitchen’s functionality.  In less than two days (and it would only take that long if you had an enormous amount of refacing done) you’ll have beautiful new cabinets that look as good as anything that needed demolition. You’re wallet will thank you, too.

So let’s briefly review:

Cost: Replacement – 5 figures.  Refacing – A fraction of that!

Look: Replacement – Fresh and brand new.  Refacing – Fresh and brand new.

Resilience: Replacement – It’s plain old wood, it still cracks and absorbs water.  Refacing – Resists stains, water damage, and cleans with simple soap and water.

So what’s it going to be? The inconvenient, pricy, cabinet replacement…or the easy, relatively inexpensive, gorgeous and long –lasting refaced cabinets? Yeah, it’s a pretty easy decision. Good luck remodeling!

About the author:  Will Jerome is the head blogger at Granite Transformations.  Check out Will’s musings at the Granite Transformation’s Blog.