Cabinet Refacing in Atlanta, GA
Most of the kitchen cabinet complaints Atlanta homeowners have are about the doors and the drawer fronts, not the boxes behind them. The boxes in a kitchen built in the 1990s are often structurally sound even when the doors look dated, which means a full cabinet replacement is not always the right answer. Atlanta Cabinet Works does cabinet refacing in Atlanta, GA when the boxes are in good enough condition to keep.
- Itemized written quotes
- Measured before ordering
- Semi-custom to full custom
About our cabinet refacing
Refacing replaces what the eye sees: the doors, drawer fronts and the veneer on the face frame and exposed box sides. The kitchen layout stays exactly as it is, because the boxes do not move. This makes refacing a faster and typically less expensive path than full replacement when the existing boxes are sound, the layout works and the buyer wants a different look without a full renovation.
Why Atlanta Cabinet Works
How We Work
One conversation in your home, one measure, one written quote, then an install date.
Which Kitchens Qualify for Refacing
Cabinet refacing depends on the structural condition of the existing boxes. A box that is plumb, square and solid at the joints is a good candidate regardless of its age. A box that has been softened by water, shows swelling along the bottom rail or the floor, or has delaminating surfaces at the interior is not a refacing candidate, because the new doors and veneer will not stay flat against a compromised substrate.
The most common disqualifying condition in an Atlanta-area kitchen is water damage at the sink base cabinet. A slow leak under the sink that went undetected can soak the particleboard box floor and the adjacent side panels. The swelling and delamination that follow may be subtle on the outside while the interior shows significant structural failure. The sink base is inspected first because it fails most often.
A general threshold used in the trade is that if more than 20 to 30 percent of the boxes need structural repair before the veneer can be applied, the total cost of that repair work typically approaches the cost of full replacement, at which point replacement becomes the better investment. The qualification check involves opening every door, pressing on the face frame joints and the interior panels of each box, and confirming that every hinge plate is anchored to solid material.
What Refacing Replaces and What It Keeps
Refacing replaces the doors, drawer fronts, hardware and the veneer on any cabinet surface that is visible from the kitchen floor. That includes the face frame on framed cabinets, the exposed side panels on any cabinet that runs against an open wall rather than another cabinet, and the finished end of any peninsula or island run.
What refacing keeps is the box itself: the four walls, the floor, the back panel and the interior shelving. The existing layout, including the number of openings, the door swing direction and the hinge location, stays as it is. A cabinet that holds three drawers keeps three drawers. A bank of doors that opens to the right stays opening to the right. The new door style and finish can change completely, but the structural carcass behind them does not.
Refacing works with both framed and frameless construction. On a framed cabinet, the face frame receives a thin veneer layer and new door hinges are drilled to match the new door style. On a frameless cabinet, the box face itself receives the veneer and the new doors mount on European cup hinges drilled to the new door specification. One firm limitation: adding new cabinet openings or moving boxes to a different wall is outside the scope of a refacing project, because the scope is defined by the existing box locations and opening sizes.
Refacing Cost per Kitchen
Cabinet refacing in Atlanta typically runs roughly $4,500 to $10,500 for a standard kitchen with 20 to 30 linear feet of cabinet runs, depending on the door style, the veneer material, the number of drawer fronts and whether soft-close hardware is added to the existing hinges and slides. Kitchens with more linear footage or more complex door profiles run toward the higher end of that range.
Full cabinet replacement for the same kitchen typically runs an estimated $10,000 to $30,000 or more, depending on the cabinet grade, door style and whether the project includes new countertops, plumbing or electrical changes. Refacing generally costs 30 to 50 percent less than replacement for the same kitchen footprint, because the boxes, countertops, plumbing and rough-ins all stay in place.
What moves the refacing price: the total number of door and drawer fronts, the door style (a shaker profile with a center rail costs more than a flat slab door), the veneer material, soft-close hinge and slide upgrades, crown molding or light rail added to the existing box tops, and whether pull-out trays or interior organizers are included in the scope. These are estimates, subject to change, and the final price is set in the written quote after the kitchen has been measured and the condition of each cabinet box confirmed.
How Long Refacing Takes
A standard kitchen refacing project runs two to five days from start to finish for a kitchen with 20 to 30 linear feet of cabinets. The first day typically covers removal of the old doors and drawer fronts, surface preparation and application of veneer to the face frames and exposed box sides. New doors and drawer fronts are pre-ordered to match and arrive ready to hang once the veneer work is complete.
By comparison, a full cabinet replacement in a similar kitchen runs two to four weeks. The existing cabinets must be demolished and removed, walls may need patching before new boxes can be set, and the new cabinets arrive on the manufacturer's lead-time schedule before installation can begin. Countertops in a replacement project are templated after the new boxes are set and then fabricated, adding another one to two weeks to the total timeline.
The shorter refacing timeline matters for homeowners who use their kitchen daily and cannot manage a weeks-long disruption. During a refacing project the existing boxes stay in place and the countertops are not disturbed, so the kitchen remains partially usable through most of the work.
Lead time for refacing is primarily the door fabrication schedule. Most refacing doors are ordered and arrive within two to four weeks of the site measure, so the total time from measure to project completion is typically three to six weeks.
The same kitchen, refaced
BeforeAfterThe process
From first call to installed cabinets
Four steps, and you make a decision at the end of each one before the next begins.
Call or send the form
We call back, talk through the room and what you want from it, and set a time to visit.
Measure and design
A field measure, then a layout with door style, finish and hardware you can see before you commit.
Written quote and order
An itemized quote with the lead time on it. Cabinets are ordered against the measured drawing once you sign.
Delivery and install
Boxes are checked on arrival, set level and scribed to the walls, doors adjusted, then a walk-through with you.
More of What We Build
Questions
Cabinet Refacing: Common Questions
How do I know if my cabinets are candidates for refacing?
Open every door and press on the interior surfaces of the face frame, side panels and the floor of the sink base. A solid, plumb and dry box is a refacing candidate. Soft spots, swelling at the bottom edge, delaminating interior surfaces or hinge plates that have pulled loose from the box material mean the box should be replaced rather than refaced.
Can I change the cabinet layout during a refacing project?
Refacing does not change the layout. The boxes stay where they are, and the number and size of the openings remain the same. Adding a new cabinet, moving one to a different wall or merging two openings into one requires partial or full replacement. If the kitchen layout is the main problem, refacing is not the right solution.
What door styles are available for a refacing project?
Refacing works with the same door styles available in new cabinet construction: slab, shaker, raised panel and inset. Each door is a new manufactured panel sized to the existing opening, so any style that fits the opening is an option. Finish choices include painted wood and MDF, stained wood and thermofoil wraps, depending on the supplier and the project budget.
Does refacing include new hardware and soft-close hinges?
Soft-close hinges and drawer slides can be added as part of a refacing project, installed at the same time the new doors are hung on the existing boxes. Pulls and knobs for the new doors are typically selected at the measure visit and included in the project scope. The existing hinge mounting locations on the box can be reused or re-drilled to match the new door style.
Can refacing fix cabinets where the doors do not close properly?
Doors that do not close correctly typically have a hinge adjustment problem or a box that is slightly out of plumb, both of which are correctable within a refacing project. A hinge can be adjusted or replaced. A box that is slightly out of plumb can be shimmed during the refacing process. A box that is badly racked or structurally compromised needs to be replaced rather than refaced, which the qualification inspection will identify.
Talk to us about cabinet refacing
Tell us about the room, in Atlanta or anywhere in the service area, and we call back to set up a visit.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.