Kitchen Cabinets: Deciding Whether to Replace or Reface

Is it time to reface your cabinets or replace your cabinets? Many homeowners will turn to cabinet refacing as a way to give their kitchens a whole new look without splurging on a complete remodel. You can spend less and still have a great new kitchen but only if your cabinets are in good enough shape to be refaced or refinished.

Any cabinet that has serious functionality or structural problems is not going to be a good candidate for refacing and you will only have the cabinets you really want by replacing them entirely. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here just yet. Let’s examine the factors you need to take into account as you determine whether you should replace or reface your kitchen cabinets.

Refacing Your Kitchen Cabinets

When you have the cabinets in your kitchen refaced, you are focusing on the doors and drawer fronts to give them an entirely new appearance. That might even include adding new hardware to the cabinets whether you decide to focus on the hinges, the pulls, the handles, and more.

Another thing to remember is that painting the cabinets isn’t refacing. You are installing brand new facades to all of your kitchen cabinetry to refresh the aesthetic and update your interior décor. However, there are some things you need to consider first.

The Condition of Your Cabinets

First and foremost, you must determine the condition of the cabinet before you spend a dime on having them refaced. This means you need to check for any visible damage that might currently exist. Any deficiencies in structural integrity must be addressed ahead of any refacing work. If the cabinet boxes have cracks or holes in them, you do not want to reface them. There’s no reason to do so since you’re not going to put all of your resources into making broken cabinets look brand new.

If your cabinets have damage in any form, you will need to repair it first. That includes making sure they are fully functional. Do the cabinet doors open and shut completely? What about the drawers, do they open and close without any hindrances or obstructions? You must test out all of your cabinets to ensure they all work properly and you don’t have any doors or drawers stuck open or being prevented from shutting in the manner through which they have been designed.

Time to Replace

If any portion of your cabinets are showing significant damage and refuse to open and shut as they are meant to do, you may need to completely replace your cabinets instead. Even the smallest forms of damage can become much bigger problems in a relatively short period of time. You don’t want your cabinets to degrade and become completely useless for storing all your pots, pans, plates, utensils, and small appliances.

Your budget may also have a lot to say about whether or not you replace or reface, but just remember, you don’t want to spend a lot of money on refacing cabinets that need to be repaired. Do the repair work first and if that eats into your finances, wait to save up and have the refacing done later on.