CABINET PAINTING COST VS. CABINET REPLACEMENT – THE PROS AND CONS.

So you’re thinking about remodeling your kitchen, and while looking at your cabinets, you aren’t sure if you want to replace the cabinets or would painting the cabinets suffice. 

This question comes up when you like the layout just fine, but the cabinets are a little outdated. Seems like you should just be able to paint the cabinets, right? How difficult would it be to paint the cabinets if we could save money on the remodel right? 

Well, the logistics of cabinet painting and getting the desired results may outweigh the savings in the cabinet painting cost.

In this article, we are going to share why painting your cabinets doesn’t save you much money and what to think about when deciding for your remodel.

CAN YOU PAINT YOUR CABINETS INSTEAD OF REPLACE THEM DURING A REMODEL?

Yes, you can paint your cabinets…… but there are a series of trade-offs and issues that you must accept before moving forward with this plan. After 20 years in construction and remodeling, I’ve had this conversation with numerous clients. This article is my best attempt to explain those trade-offs and issues with cabinet painting costs and logistics so that you can make the right decision for yourself and your family. 

CONCERN 1:  CABINET PAINTING COST

Initially, painting your cabinets will have a lower ticket price than a full cabinet replacement. But, it won’t be as much of a savings as you think.  Here is why.

To get a quality end result, you need to do many prep steps prior to actually painting your cabinets. If you skip them, you can end up with a poor finish, flakey cabinets, overspray, sticky doors, and an overall less aesthetically pleasing result to your remodel. So you don’t want to skip these prep steps. 

The prep you do prior to painting makes a huge difference in the outcome of the paint job.

To give you a frame of reference, here is the process in a cabinet shop to ensure newly bought cabinets look as they do.

Process a Cabinet Shop Takes

• The cabinet shop purchases prefinished products for the inside cabinets (generally speaking, a clear coated plywood).

• This means only the frames and door fronts need painting. The door fronts are then painted in a booth with a special type of paint specific to the cabinets. This keeps the cabinets smooth and lacking in brush strokes or defects in the finish.
• The cabinet doors are all painted separately from the cabinet framing. Only once they are painted, do they mount the faces to the cabinets.
• This is done this way to eliminate overspray. 
• All of this is done in a controlled environment designed for this process. 

If you are going to paint cabinets in your house and want similar results as you see on new cabinets,  you will need to complete a similar process. 

So how do you paint your cabinets in your home or hire a contractor to do it for you?

• First, you must create a sealed environment in your house by making dust walls and taping around the edges to ensure dust, debris, and air movement doesn’t occur while painting.

• Then you will remove all of the cabinet doors, remove the hardware, label them, and send them to a Painting company to sand off the existing finish and paint the doors. You can not just paint over the existing finish, as the paint will not stick to it. 
• Sanding is a fairly laborious process and requires three different grits of sanding to achieve the smoothness required to achieve the proper finish. This is expensive and time-consuming, and most general contractors are going to subcontract this out and add a markup to the cost. 
• Now it’s time to mask the insides of all the cabinets off. This process is also quite time-consuming. You do this so that you don’t end up with paint on anything other than the cabinet faces as you desire.
• Finally, it’s time to prime. Primer is specific paint that helps the actual paint bond to the wood. Don’t skip this step. Most people will then roll the paint on using a ¼ inch Knapp weenie roller from here using a latex enamel paint different from normal home paint.
• Once you prime, wait for a day, apply another coat, and then paint again, you need to wait for the paint to dry before applying the next coat. 
• Once that is done, you remove all doors, reinstall the hardware, and remount the cabinet doors on the newly painted faces. 

This whole process is being done in a pre-finished space so additional precautions should be taken in order to not damage anything. 

As you can see, the cabinet painting cost may initially be less than new cabinets; it’s a much lengthier process. One that will also cost in contractor costs and time.

The bottom line is,  let’s assume you would spend 30k on brand-new cabinets. You might be able to save 20 percent on painting your existing cabinets, but will the results be worth the $6000(ish) savings in the long run?

OUTSIDE OF CABINET PAINTING COSTS, THE ADDITIONAL CONCERNS OF PAINTING THE CABINETS WOULD BE:

• the finishes would not be as good
• the durability of the paint might not last as long
• it will be a much larger hassle and time commitment in your home.

CONCERN TWO: ADDING NEW  COUNTERTOPS TO THE EQUATION 

Another common question I receive is : 

Can we add new cabinets to our existing ones and paint the old ones to match the new ones? Then add a new countertop?

For the save money part, see above.

When you add cabinets to the existing format, the primary problem will be the quality of the finish of the new cabinets vs. the old/painted ones. Your cabinets will not match. Try as you might, they will look different, and if you are spending a lot of money on a kitchen remodel, will you be happy with this very visible difference in your kitchen?

When you add the countertops to the equation, there are other potential problems to consider. When you add new cabinets with the goal of putting a countertop on them, the cabinets may not be fully flat or level.

We can usually work with the discrepancy if you have laminate or tile countertops. But if you are putting it in stone, you will have more problems on your hands.

 

In general, for stone countertops to work, you need to be +/- 1/8” within level for the stone countertop to work. You must reset your cabinets if you are unlucky enough to have this problem. If you don’t do this, you’ll likely see visible shims from cabinet to countertop. 

CONCERN 3-  FINDING A CONTRACTOR TO DO IT FOR YOU.

Many general contractors will not provide this service because of the abovementioned problems. Experienced contractors know that the quality will likely not match what you are hoping, and they will end up with an unsatisfied client, which we all want to avoid.

 Most cabinet companies will not sand and refinish old doors. Because of this, the best option is to hire a paint contractor. They will not add cabinets or remove countertops, so if you want this service, be ready to manage your project.

I caution you to be wary of overpromises from subcontractors.  And under no circumstances hire a Craigslist Joe. Make sure anyone you hire has a business license, as this is a complex problem that will already have difficulties when working with an experienced business. We regularly deal with people burned by shotty subcontractors or Craigslist hires.

CONCERN 4- CAN I FULLY REPLACE JUST THE CABINET DOORS AND LEAVE THE FRAME THERE? 

While this sounds like a “meet in the middle” type of fix, most cabinet companies won’t do this.

 The reason is that there are so many different cabinet companies, and they all have different offsets and/or overlays for their cabinets. Cabinetry, in general, is a very custom thing industry-wide, and there are no universal standards for overlays.

Cabinet companies make their money by being extremely efficient in what they do and creating their own standards. Which they rarely veer from. An entirely new set of issues arise by asking them to replace doors on existing cabinets, so cabinet companies often won’t touch it.

 The other issue is that every cabinet contractor has their own stain and paint mixes. It is extremely difficult to match old cabinets; if you’re even slightly off, it is obvious. Many a cabinet company has tried to do this but ultimately lost money by attempting it and, as a result, removed it from their service offerings. 

CONCERN 5- I  WANT NEW HARDWARE INSTALLED WITH SOFT CLOSE FUNCTIONS ETC.

Now this option has a possibility! But your options may be limited. I

f you have older cabinets that are 20+ years old, the function of the cabinet often won’t work with soft close functions or will always show the old hardware marks/holes. You can replace like with like here, but if you’re trying to go from visible to hidden hardware, it is likely a no-go. 

SO, DO YOU HAVE TO DO NEW CABINETS?

No. It is your remodel and, at the end of the day, your choice. But what seems like a simple savings of 20% will create a cascade of other issues that may not be worth it.

Most contractors will try to sell you new cabinets because it is predictable from finish to functionality.

The contractor wants you to be happy with your end result, and the more unknowns added to a project, the more likely the client will end up unhappy. From a contractor’s perspective, it only takes one major loss or upset customer to make this option undesirable.

At the end of the day, the minimal savings you keep for painting will likely result in a higher headache for you in the process, a less desirable finish, and likely will affect how much you can sell your house for when you put it on the market.

AT NORTH SEATTLE HANDYMAN, WE WORK WITH OUR CLIENTS TO ENSURE YOU GET THE RESULTS YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT. BECAUSE OF THAT, WE WILL ALWAYS SUGGEST A CABINET REPLACEMENT OVER CABINET PAINTING. IT MAY MEAN THE REMODEL COST IS A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT WE KNOW THAT OUR CLIENTS WILL BE MORE EXCITED ABOUT THE RESULT WHEN THEY HAVE NEW CABINETS.

If you are in the greater Seattle metro area and would like to chat with us about your remodel or handyman needs, you can get a remodel or handyman quote here. We are general contractors with over 80 five-star reviews. Let us know how we can help you!