Has anyone been satisfied with CABINET REFACING?
Question:How much for an average kitchen did you pay?
Did the veneer peel off?
I'm saving my "boxes" because I've been told they're solid wood construction and the new cabinets are weaker, is this generally so?
Thanks
Answers:
Many new cabinets have melamine insides and are not of solid wood construction, particularly in tract homes. Builders often opt for hardwood outside with melamine insides of kitchen and bathroom cabinetry to save on costs. There is a secondary market for used solid wood cabinetry, so saving them could bring you some bucks.
I've had many clients opt for refacing rather than replacement of their cabinets. Depending on the company you contract with, the number and size of the cabinets you reface, it can cost as little as $3,000 and as much as $10,000. But it is generally 1/3- 1/2 of the cost of replacement. Again, it also depends on the quality of materials you choose. I have seen poor installation of poor material take a hit to a corner and a chunk of the refaced surface has snapped off. But, generally speaking, you get what you pay for and if you use a nationally known company and quality materials, refacing should last the life of the cabinets.
I have been designing and making kitchens for the last 10 years. I have done resurface jobs, really high end custom work, and the cheapest of the modular cabinet world as well. It has been my experience that unless you love everything about your existing kitchen (including your counter-top) you will typically spend just as much for a resurface as you will for a brand new low to mid end kitchen. In the few thousand kitchens that I have done so far I have replaced everything from what you are describing that you have to really really bad resurfaces. Not to say that it cannot be done right, but cabinet shops typically do not want to mess with a resurface job, so it usually gets left to handymen (typically a bad choice) and finish carpenters (a little bit better choice). It is wonderful that at the time your cabinets were built it was economical to build them out of solid wood, but a good melamine box will never fall apart unless it gets wet.
good luck
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