Cabinets: Reface, or Replace?

[Club'nBabySeals]

Is there a significant cost/quality difference between refacing existing cabinetry that is in good condition but ugly, vs. replacing said cabinetry altogether?

Moreover, what would one expect to pay for something like this; and what sort of service providers in the area would you recommend--or is it more of a do-it-yourself sort of job?

 

[nightowl]

I just recently asked myself the same questions. My original plan was to just find similar cabinets and add some and then paint all cabinets white and add hardware. My original price to do this buying off the shelf cabinets from lowes was $4000 which included 7 cabinets, a new floor, new stove, new dishwasher, new countertops and all the paint and stuff for the existing cabinets.

Well I soon found out finding matching cabinets wasn't going to happen. Even similar cabinets couldn't be found. So then I went to plan B which was redooring the existing cabinets and buying new custom cabinets for where I wanted more cabinets. Well I soon figured out that the old cabinets would never match the new ones well so I then went to plan C which was buy all new cabinets.

So last week I went to Lowes to get a quote on the cabinet design that I had laid out for my kitchen. End result for 17 new cabinets in Lowes mid-range cabinets was a price of $7300. Of course this doesn't include the new appliances, or floor, hardware, countertops, light fixtures and on and on. I believe my end price for my new kitchen will be about $15,000. That will be doing most of the work ourselves too.

I'm hoping I will love my new kitchen when it's all done though.

Of course this post wasn't much help to you at all hehehe but good luck anyway.

 

[tirdun]

Is there a significant cost/quality difference between refacing existing cabinetry that is in good condition but ugly, vs. replacing said cabinetry altogether?

Moreover, what would one expect to pay for something like this; and what sort of service providers in the area would you recommend--or is it more of a do-it-yourself sort of job?

We've been looking into cabinets for a while, so this is "informed consumer" versus cabinetmaker:

I don't know if you could DIY w/ new cabinets. I suppose if you had good carpentry skills and the tools to do it, but you're risking backing yourself into a corner and paying anyway... Or building crappy cabinets in the most visible room in your house. Remember, there's electrical work (stoves/cooktops/etc) and plumbing to take into account.

It also depends on the quality of your existing frames. If you have pretty solid cabinets and like the layout: consider DIY sanding and refinishing. It's a lot of work, but you can section out parts of the kitchen and work a little at a time. You can also replace doors if you don't like them.

Costwise, it varies a lot. Total linear feet of cabinetry, the quality of cabinets, custom sizing. A countertop can run from $300 to 5,000+ for materials. If you go with a heavy top (granite, marble) you have to consider reinforcing your frames or buying heavy duty ones.

A friend also got new cabinets, realized they didn't have the same bottom size and didn't line up with her tile floors. There's always one more thing.