Cabinet Refacing near you

Refacing is sold under several names and the scopes vary widely, which is the main reason quotes are hard to compare. Establish which of these your quote includes.

Refacing depends entirely on the boxes being worth keeping, so the inspection before the quote matters more than any product choice. Open every door, pull every drawer out, and look at the cabinet under the sink with a flashlight.

Say no to refacing if the boxes are swollen or crumbling from a leak, if a particleboard bottom has lost its shape, if shelves have sagged permanently, if the face frames are loose from their boxes, or if a run has dropped because it was never fastened into framing properly. Say no as well if the real complaint is the layout, if you want deeper drawers instead of doors with shelves behind them, or if the cabinets are so shallow or so tall that the kitchen never worked.

There is a middle path people forget. Refinishing the existing doors, rather than replacing them, is cheaper again and works well on solid wood and paintable surfaces; it does not work on a thermofoil or laminate face, which will not hold a coating. And in a house from before 1978, refinishing means sanding painted cabinetry, which is exactly the activity the federal lead rule governs.

The material chosen for the door and for the face frame covering decides how the kitchen ages, and the two do not have to be the same thing. Solid wood doors with a wood veneer over the frames give the most seamless result in a stained finish. Painted doors are usually medium-density fiberboard, which gives a flat uniform surface with no joints to open. Rigid thermofoil is a vinyl film heat-formed over an MDF core, which is inexpensive and uniform but can delaminate over time, particularly next to a heat source such as an oven or a dishwasher vent. Laminate is tough and easy to clean and reads as a modern flat slab.

The federal rule that touches all of this is EPA's formaldehyde program under Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which covers hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard and particleboard, along with household and other finished goods containing these products. A replacement cabinet door is one of those finished goods. The limits match California's CARB Phase II, compliance is verified by EPA-recognized third-party certifiers, and EPA states that after March 22, 2019 composite wood products must be labeled as TSCA Title VI compliant.

Refacing also brings adhesives into an occupied house in quantity, since contact cement or its equivalent is what holds veneer to a face frame. Ventilate the kitchen generously while the work is happening and for a few days afterward, and ask the crew what they are using and what its label says about ventilation.

Refacing starts with preparation, and preparation means scuffing, sanding and prying at surfaces that in an older kitchen were very likely painted at some point. EPA requires that anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 be certified, and firms may not perform covered renovations without that certification and lead-safe work practices.

This catches homeowners off guard because refacing feels like decorating rather than renovation. It is not the new door that triggers the rule; it is the sanding of the old face frame, the removal of a painted end panel, or the prying off of a painted molding. Kitchens are also among the hardest rooms to contain dust in, because the surfaces people prepare food on are right there.

So in a pre-1978 house, the questions are simple and worth asking before signing: is the firm EPA lead-safe certified, who on the crew is the certified renovator, and how will the work area be contained and cleaned each day. A refacing company that works constantly in older housing stock will have a ready answer.

Refacing is priced by the number of doors and drawer fronts and by how much face frame has to be covered, so the count is the first thing to establish. What moves an American quote from there is the door style and material, whether the finish is painted or stained, how many exposed cabinet ends and refrigerator or dishwasher panels are involved, whether drawer boxes and slides are replaced or reused, whether hinges are upgraded, how much molding is added, the condition of the boxes and any repairs they need first, and whether the house predates 1978 and needs a lead-safe certified firm. Ask for the door and drawer count and a clear statement of what is being replaced versus covered.

LokalMatch is where you start, not who does the work. You describe the kitchen once: roughly how many doors and drawers, the age of the house, what you want the room to look like, and whether anything is damaged. Refacing specialists and cabinet contractors covering your area get the request, and the ones interested reach out to you. They pay for the requests they receive; you pay nothing for the introduction. LokalMatch does not reface cabinets, does not set or suggest prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend the companies that respond, so verifying certification, insurance and the written scope is yours to do.