Kitchen cabinet refacing or refinishing is the best option to go for if you are okay with the space arrangement of your existing cabinetry.

In both cases of refacing or refinishing we are not changing the drawer allocations or cabinets.  In refinishing you are changing the finish of the face of the drawers, cabinet doors on your kitchen cabinetry.  While in case of refacing you are replacing the drawers and the doors. In other words, refacing is replacement and refinishing is obviously changing or applying new finish only.

The material of the Cabinetry could be particle board, plywood or wood.  Accordingly, the Finish could be veneer, stain or paint.

Refinishing is generally one-third of the cost of replacement of the full cabinet and refacing could be half the cost of replacement of cabinets in full.

If your drawer faces and cabinet doors are in good condition with no cracks, no damages, no dents and the hardware is also working good then you can just go for refinishing which saves lot of money. In case of refacing or refinishing it is important to identify defects and any repairs required to your drawer boxes or cabinets. You should do a basic inspection yourself to evaluate your cabinetry and find out the extent of repairs required.

The basic inspection is a visual inspection you can do it yourself.  Now what do you look for in the visual inspection?  You should look for the following listed defects:

• cracks
• laminate peel off
• dents
• water damage
• warping
• loose Hardware
• sharp edges
• unused or untreated screw holes
• damaged base of the cabinets
• gaps between top of the cabinet doors and the ceiling
• alignment of the doors

The advanced inspection includes:

• fixity of the cabinets to the wall
• alignment and fixity of the shelves
• proper working of the hinges and the drawer slides
• arrangement of exhaust hood and cut outs in cabinetry
• caulking / sealants where required

You can take help of the mill worker or cabinetry contractor to help you identify defects before you begin the renovation and to ensure nothing is missed out.

Important tips while refinishing or refacing:

• If painting the cabinets, use glossy paint. Glossy or semi gloss is more durable and easier to clean.

• Never use latex primer. Oil based primer is ideal for the wood surfaces. Oil primer gives a harder face, stronger bond to paint and effective sanding.

• By having a valence on the doors that means doors little longer at the bottom, will help to hide any non rectifiable deficiencies at the bottom of the cabinets. The valence can also help concealing linear LED under the cabinet if you are planning to install one.

• Also, by installing a rubber or vinyl base at the cabinet base will help cover any defects in the base and protect the base.

• The functionality of hardware is most important and appearance too. You can choose either knobs or pulls but the finish you choose will make a difference. The choice of finish is: Brass, Iron, Nickle, Chrome, Copper, Bronze and Rustic.

• Think about a small portion with open shelving as a change. Remove one or two cabinets and install glass shelving to add the beauty of your kitchen.

• With little more cost addition, you can add new power receptacles on top of cabinet face itself which will make the use of blender, mixer etc. more flexible.

• In case of refacing, while changing the doors anyways, you can think about replacing with glass panels with wood frame. Also called open frame kitchen cabinets.

Cost to refinish average size of kitchen can be around $ 1500- $ 3500

Cost of refacing average size of kitchen can be around $ 3000- $ 6500

Cost of entire new kitchen cabinetry can be $ 6000 – $ 15000

The above costs do not include countertop costs. If you want to compare and budget your entire kitchen remodel with other component costs please look in to the cost guide here, https://www.boodovaa.com/showcase/how-much-a-kitchen-remodel-cost-in-greater-toronto-area/