Cabinet services

The service you need is decided by the condition of your cabinet boxes, not by how the doors look. Open a door and look at the box: is it square, solid, dry, and does the layout work for how you cook? If yes, refacing or refinishing is the honest answer and will save you many thousands of dollars.

Refinishing keeps the doors and changes the color. It only works on cabinets that can hold a finish — solid wood or a properly prepped surface. Thermofoil and some laminates do not refinish well.

Refacing replaces the doors and drawer fronts and applies new veneer or laminate to the visible box faces. Modernize puts 2026 refacing at $4,000-$9,500, around $6,750 nationally, at $100-$250 per linear foot, and notes it can run as much as 78% less than full replacement.

Replacement is the right call when the boxes are damaged or water-swollen, when you want a different layout, or when you are moving plumbing or appliances. Installed pricing runs about $80-$120 per linear foot for stock, $150-$300 semi-custom and $500-$800 custom, which on a standard 40-foot 10x10 kitchen is $3,200-$4,800, $6,000-$12,000 and $20,000-$32,000 respectively.

How to choose

Judge the boxes, not the doors

Sound, square, dry boxes in a layout that works means you are shopping for refacing, not replacement.

Any layout change means replacement

Refacing cannot move a cabinet, change a run, or add a drawer bank.

Get quotes for both paths

Ask the same company to price refacing and replacement. The gap is the number you are actually deciding on.

Check the material can be refinished

Thermofoil and some laminate fronts do not take paint reliably. Ask before committing to a refinish.

Sequence around plumbing and electrical

If you are moving a sink or adding circuits, that work drives the schedule and often the permit question.

Confirm who does the demo and disposal

It is a real cost and it is frequently omitted from the headline number.