Cabinet Repair and Refinishing in Lexington, KY
1) Refinishing, Reconditioning, Restoring, Resurfacing, Touch-up, Painting
The similarity in these topics is that all have to do with the color, stain and topcoat.
Refinishing means removing the topmost finish clear-coat and any color or underlying stain and applying a new stain color and finish (clear-coats) in the sheen you select. Refinishing has mistakenly been called “refacing” and it does give your cabinets a new look. However, true “refacing” means replacement of the cabinet doors and drawer fronts (see below). Other processes, however, may also be broadly classified under the term of ‘finishing’, these include: reconditioning, resurfacing, restoring and painting. WE can assist you with any of these processes. You may want to have only damaged sections repaired and reconditioned, blended-in and finished. Or you may choose to have all of the cabinets refinished in another tone or color stain, or painted. Touch-up is defined as matching the color of small surface imperfections to the surrounding area
Reconditioning and restoring are similar. Essentially, with these, we first repair any surface damage and rectify color problems and then spray-on a new clear finish in the proper luster. With any of these processes we also clean or repolish the existing hardware (handle-pulls, hinges) or you can have us replace them with your own new ones or choose from our selections. We rehang the doors and drawers and adjust any faulty operation or replace other parts such as drawer slides or door closure magnets, rollers, etc. And we can do minor structural adjustments or alterations, and permanent unnoticeable repair on cracked wood or broken edges.
Painting cabinets is another economical choice we offer. Painting is simply covering-over with an opaque (non-transparent) finish. Generally, painting is not suggested for covering-over a restorable good grain cabinet wood; staining is recommended. However, if you prefer the solid-color ‘look’, we can professionally spray-paint your cabinets in any color choice to produce a smooth, quality surface without unsightly paint-brush marks. Professional spray-painting costs quite a bit more than brush painting, but the spray method is, by far, the preferred quality choice.
If you are planning on changing the countertop, this would be done after we complete our work on the cabinet finish. Countertop installers then lift-off the existing counter and replace it. Generally, they will do this in only about a half-a-day or so. We do not offer countertop replacement. However, we can make suggestions to you for the best pricing on countertops from reliable, supplier-installers of countertops; available in any surface material you prefer. If you ask, we offer other helpful info, advice and sources for your kitchen project.
2) Cabinet Refacing
Refacing is the replacement of all the cabinet doors and drawer fronts. And you keep the current cabinet boxes you already have mounted on the walls. These boxes are then covered-over with a thin glue-on or self-stick veneer or laminate to match your choice of door & drawer front composition. Refacing can be quite costly and may cost nearly as much as the total replacement of the cabinets (of boxes and all). Refacing is sometimes chosen as a less disruptive alternative to total cabinet replacement. Refacing cabinets often “ties-up” your kitchen for several days.
3) Cabinet Replacing
This is self explanatory, of course: Everything including sink, countertop and all of the cabinets are removed and replaced anew. Cabinet replacement is a very disruptive process but offers the advantage of you being able to add new features and to change the style and layout of the cabinets. The cost is the limiting factor with the average kitchen cabinet replacement running $10,000 to $15,000 or more according to consumer surveys of the actual final price paid for labor and materials. Cost depends on the quality of the replacement cabinets.