Industry Update 2023

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

Should I Replace or Reface My Kitchen Cabinets?

You love your house.

You love your kitchen.

You love your kitchen cab— What’s that? It’s time for your cabinets to go?

Before you make a decision, ask yourself this: “Should I replace my kitchen cabinets, or reface my kitchen cabinets?”

In order to answer that question, you’ll need to ask yourself a few others:

  • Am I happy with the existing footprint and layout of my kitchen?
  • Do I want to preserve a specific element within my kitchen (granite countertops, flooring, etc.)?
  • Do I want something nice, but need to stay within a tight budget?
  • Are my cabinets still in solid condition?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then kitchen cabinet refacing — the kind provided by Let’s Face It, Inc. — is the solution for you.

If you live in a newer home, chances are the kitchen footprint follows a set pattern, making it hard to do any redesigns without significant changes to the existing space, like knocking out a wall. Changes, in other words, that will make your project even more costly.

Kitchen refacing, however, will let you keep your kitchen intact while getting a new look.

How It Works

Let’s Face It offers wood doors and drawer fronts made by Pennsylvania Dutch cabinet craftsmen. If you choose our work, we’ll tailor your project to meet your specific aesthetic and budget considerations.

Your options range from the more budget-conscious thermofoil product to exotic hardwoods featuring hand-rubbed artisan finishes.

Choose what works for you while electing to preserve an existing countertop, floor, or backsplash. You can get any look, color or feature you want.

When you choose our premium wood refacing process, you’ll be able to pick any color or finish you want. A certified engineer will measure your kitchen to ensure the right fit and finish. We’ll remove your doors and drawers, and replace them with ones handcrafted here in our Lancaster, PA studio.

We use only the finest real hardwoods, and install our doors and drawers with self-closing, fully concealed hinges that will never come apart. After finishing with wood crown and trim moldings, an LFI manager will inspect the work to make sure it’s to our high quality standards.

If you choose thermofoil, we’ll reface your cabinets using a thermally fused membrane material over a substrate on your doors and drawers. The membrane is a moisture resistant vinyl — which comes in almost any color or wood pattern — that is heat shrunk to the wood material underneath.

The process of refacing/restoration is the same as our premium wood refacing, except the thermofoil doors, drawer heads, and face frame materials are used in place of the wood.

Other Advantages

What are some other advantages to refacing your kitchen?

1. You’ll Save Money: A refaced kitchen typically saves the customer 60 percent of what a new kitchen would cost.

2. You’ll Save Time: Restoring a kitchen typically takes a week. Replacing your kitchen can take more than a month.

3. You’ll Have Less to Clean Up: We’re not removing your cabinets or using spray finishes, so there’s not much mess. At the end of every work day, we’ll use an EPA-approved vacuum and wipe down your kitchen, keeping your home clean and safe. And you’ll typically be able to use your kitchen at the end of each work day.

4. You’ll “Go Green”: Refacing/restoring your cabinets is a green alternative to a full replacement. Our doors are made from renewable local lumber and materials. A full replacement eats up more resources. With refacing, your old cabinets won’t end up in a landfill.

When You Have to Replace

Of course, sometimes you do need to replace your cabinets rather than reface.

“If you go to the expense of refacing and still end up with a nonfunctional kitchen, you’ve wasted your money,” Cyndi Cantley, of Cantley & Co., a certified kitchen designer in Birmingham, Alabama, told This Old House.

The website lists a few other conditions where you’ll want to replace rather than reface:

  • Cabinets that are beginning to fall apart or aren’t well built to begin with
  • Metal cabinets that have begun to rust
  • Cabinets that are off-kilter due to floors that are settling, or other larger structural issues

But unless your kitchen is in dire need, refacing it might be the best option. It will allow your home to have a new look, without disrupting the hard work that’s already gone into it.

Let’s Face It, Inc. services the entire Delaware Valley including Montgomery County, Bucks County, Delaware County, Chester County, and Philadelphia. Contact us today to get started, and we guarantee you will not be disappointed!