Replacing Kitchen Cabinets Rather than Refacing

When it comes to kitchen cabinets, you have a couple options at your disposal if you’re looking for upgrades. Generally speaking, the two primary choices here are either refacing your cabinets or replacing them entirely.

At Swirl Woodcraft, we have a huge variety of kitchen cabinets, from traditional options to modern choices and many more. What are some of the situations where our new cabinet services are preferable to refacing your cabinets? Let’s go over some of the basics here.

Purposes of Refacing

For those who have not taken part in it before, cabinet resurfacing is a relatively simple process that involves leaving the existing framework in place. However, some kind of surface replacement material is used to change the look and feel of the exterior cabinet areas, such as doors and drawer fronts.

And for some projects, refacing is great and all you need. It can be done quickly, usually in just a day or two, and usually isn’t the kind of project that uproots the entire kitchen. For those who enjoy the structure and charm of their original cabinets but want a bit of an aesthetic upgrade, refacing is the way to go.

However, refacing does not cover several structural or layout issues that cabinets might be part of. Our next few sections will go over these and some situations where replacing cabinets is the proper route.

Cabinet Condition

In many cases, the existing cabinets in the kitchen are experiencing one of several issues. These may include:

• Wear or damage: Like other materials, cabinets can wear down over time. This might happen faster if you purchased cheap cabinet materials originally, or if water damage has taken place in your home and affected cabinets. Cabinets that have been damaged too much simply don’t make sense to reface or repair.
• Age: Any cabinets painted before 1978 may be covered in unsafe lead, and not all refacing contractors are licensed to safely remove this before resurfacing. In addition, this process can be costly and take up lots of time.

Structural Issues

In other situations, cabinets may be contributing to structural issues in the kitchen of some kind. One common concern here is floors settling, which leads to walls shifting and cabinets that either hang or sit crooked. In other cases of settling, cabinet doors won’t open or close properly.

Once again, refacing will do nothing for these issues. However, full cabinet replacement can involve professional contractors who can repair your structural issues while installing new cabinets.

Kitchen Layout

Finally, replacing the cabinets is a great way to address kitchen layout issues in an intelligent way. Removing cabinets allows you to make a new layout based on updated needs and desires, and you can then fill in your space as you wish.

For more on why replacing cabinets is often preferable to refacing, or for information on any of our custom cabinetry, speak to the pros at Swirl Woodcraft today.