What to do with your kitchen?

When to Tear It All Out, when to Reface, when to Refinish.

One of the major considerations when looking at upgrading or updating your kitchen is which of the “Big Three” you’ll pursue. 

At the top of the budget, the kitchen tear out ranks #1 in both cost and impact on your home—the kitchen can be out of service for weeks or months. On the plus side, layout, cabinet style and materials can be changed, in addition to adding new features, like “soft close” doors and drawers, and so much more. The possibilities are as endless as your budget.

For a step down in budget, refacing is an option. Refacing is a job where typically a contractor comes in, removes all the doors and drawers, removes all the hardware, hinges, drawer glides, and discards them.  With refacing, you have the ability to choose new door fronts and materials, from recessed panel to flat panels and from oak to bamboo and everything in between. The remainder of the cabinets are then usually covered to match the doors in both material and color.  Refacing will typically save between 25 and 50% of a full tear out. The big limitation is that the layout cannot be changed without extra cost, as the existing infrastructure remains the same.

If the cabinets are in good condition, but the actual finish is the problem, your cabinets can be refinished, either in its existing stain or color, or the colors can be changed, providing a new and updated look for the least amount of money. In addition, refinishing is the least disruptive of the three, often requiring only a few days.

Many kitchens have a good layout and decent or fine cabinetry. Over the years, everything from general use, cooking oils, children, pets, and general grime take their toll on the finish. All this and repeated cleanings eventually wear through the clear coat put on by the manufacturer.

Modern refinishers have updated systems for refinishing. Companies use a sandless or mostly sandless refinishing process that utilizes a degreasing process rather than sanding, for a more consumer friendly job. Color is filled in as needed, with a coat of sealer and coats of finish applied.

For a more dramatic refinishing job, you can do a full color change, bringing a new beauty to your kitchen that can rival a refacing job or even rival a full tear out. This involves a sprayed on new finish, in a color of your choice. You can stay with a wood grain look, or even go with a painted look, both sprayed on for a more professional finish.

 My name is Brian Sullivan, from NHance Wood Renewal. We can refinish your kitchen cabinets with our No Dust. No Mess. No Odor.® system. 

I’d be happy to meet with you to discuss the possibilities and can be reached at 860-437-0890.