To Paint or To Replace?

To Paint or To Replace?

“The cabinets are in decent shape, they are just ugly and a little worn, why don’t we just paint them?”

Over the last few years, thanks to the lovely folks over at the internet, cabinet painting has become very popular. It is a fast and easy way to make your cabinets look fresh again, but is it really a good use of your funds? Before you decide there are some things to know about giving your cabinets a face lift.

Methods to updating your cabinets

Painting/ Resurfacing

• This process includes removing all your doors and drawer faces from the cabinets. Sanding down all parts of the cabinets, then applying a new finish. The finish can be a paint or a stain.

Refacing

• When refacing a cabinet, all doors and drawer faces are removed from the cabinet and replaced with new, updated, doors. The existing face frames are painted to match the new doors.

New Cabinets

• Remove all of your cabinets and replaces with all new cabinet boxes and doors.

How Much am I saving?

There are a lot of companies out there painting cabinets, and they all promise you a great deal, but most of them should stick to painting drywall. To properly paint your cabinets, everything needs to be sanded down, primed, then painted with a non latex paint. This is a time consuming process, but the life time of the work will double when doing it correctly. Not all cabinets paint the same. Depending on the species of the wood, especially on oak cabinets, the grain will still show through the paint. When getting quotes, you’ll see pricing all over the place. Your brothers, uncle’s, nephew can get it done for you for around $2,000, or you can find a cabinet finisher that can complete the project for $5,000-$8,000. Yes, this option will save you a few thousand, but the finish will typically only last you about 5 years when done correctly.

When you breakdown the cost of a cabinet, the doors make up about 80% of the cost. When comparing the price of refacing to brand new cabinets, the price difference is not that great and in some cases more than new cabinets. The most appealing part of refacing is the turn around time and how non invasive it is. Depending on the extent of the project, some companies allow you to keep your items in the cabinets while they reface them. They can typically finish the project in 1/2 the time of a full kitchen remodel.

It looks Good Right?

I believe the term is “putting lipstick on a pig.” Yes your cabinets look good, but you still have the original boxes, drawer boxes, drawer glides, door hinges, and pull outs. These have all reached the end of their life span and are falling apart. The doors and drawers are not soft close, and they are more than likely falling off the tracks. Even when adjusted and secured, the particle board boxes are disintegrating and will end up puling out again. Over all if you are looking to flip a house or get it on the market real quick, painting could be a good option. If you are looking to update your kitchen for you to live in and enjoy, the best option to go with is a full replacement of your cabinets. With new cabinets, you will get plywood boxes, soft close doors and drawers, as well as all new pull outs that are designed to your needs.

They have lived their life, its time to let them go.