refacing kitchen cabinet
Hi,
We would like to upgrade our eichler kitchen but on a tight budget. Since the layout of the current kitchen is good (remodeled in 80s), we are thinking probably just refacing the cabinet by replacing the doors/drawers/hardware (handles etc) - of course in keeping with the Eichler aesthetics. About the countertop, we currently have corian (including a seamless sink) which is in pretty good shape but have some stains (a few are pretty dark) and scratches. I understand that it should be fairly easy to refurbish corian and make it look like new.
By refacing and refurbishing, I figure we could save a bunch on remodeling the kitchen (still need to replace the floor, eletrical/lighting, appliances etc).
I've heard a lot of talks on this board about custom made or modular cabinet, but never heard any talk about refacing. I'm curious has anyone done refacing and how are the results?
Do you have any recommendations about contractors who specializes in refacing/refurbishing (we are in south bay area)? - I get ads from KitchenWorks all the time but have no idea if they are good or not.
We did have KitchenWorks out to give us an estimate for refacing. Our original kitchen layout was not quite as perfect as we would have wanted, so we requested a few changes here and there, which really drove up the cost. At least in our case, it was cheaper to completely remodel the kitchen rather than have the cabinets refaced and new countertops installed.
If your original cabinets are good, refacing may be a good solution for you.
Please note that KitchenWorks is very hard sell ("If you sign today, we can give you a 10% discount!").
Do your research. Replacing your cabinets may come at a similar cost to the refacing. And, remember, that if you do reface, what you have under the new doors are your old (20 year old now?) cabinets.
Good luck with whatever you decide, and please keep us informed on what you do.
Jeff
Hi,
You'd be better off with a small Cabinet shop that does custom work; Basicall, Refacing is just that; you still have the original boxes that are simple shelving units, with updated hardware and doors. It is fairly obvious to me whenever I see a reface job; (I've torn out over 20 of them) and it changes the look completely without changing the function of the Kitchen. Each refacing is basically a custom job; it has been my experience to go with a small custom cabinet shop that produces quailty work without connsiderable overhead (i.e. sales staff; project managers etc.).
The cost will be the same or less for a much nicer job.
I know a guy that may work in Sunnyvale. Good Luck!
Renman,
I'd be very interested in getting the name and contact info of the guy you mentioned. Would you send it to JIONGCHEN AT YAHOO DOT COM. Thanks in advance!
Jiong
Hi,
I know a neighbor of mine who is a frequent contributor to the board, Cathye, has had her cabinets refaced (with formica, I think). As I recall, she is very happy with the results.
Maybe she will jump in with a recommendation. If you don't see a post from her in the next couple of days, you might try getting her email from her profile (or earlier posts) and dropping her a line.
Good luck,
Jake
