Cabinet Refacing
New doors, new drawer fronts, new hardware and a finish you actually chose, all over the cabinet boxes you already own.
What Refacing Means
Refacing replaces every surface you see and leaves the structure you do not. New doors and drawer fronts in the style and finish you select. Matching veneer over the cabinet boxes and face frames. New hinges, new drawer glides, new hardware. When it is done, the kitchen reads as new cabinetry, because everything your eye lands on is new.
What stays is the part that costs the most to replace: the boxes, the countertops, the backsplash, the plumbing and the electrical. Nothing gets torn out, so nothing has to be rebuilt. Most families keep using the kitchen while the work happens.
We have been building custom cabinetry in Auburn Hills for over 40 years, which means we know exactly what a cabinet box looks like when it still has decades left in it and when it does not. That judgment is the whole value of refacing, and it is the first thing we give you.
What Is Included
Every door and drawer front is replaced with a new one in the style, wood species and finish you choose from the showroom. This is where the character of the kitchen actually changes.
The exposed boxes, face frames and end panels are covered in veneer or laminate that matches the new doors, so there is no visible line between what is new and what stayed.
Worn hinges and old roller glides are replaced with concealed soft close hinges and full extension slides, plus the knobs and pulls you pick. Doors that close quietly are half of what makes a kitchen feel new.
Choosing
Three different projects get confused with each other constantly. Here is the honest comparison, including the cases where refacing is the wrong answer.
| Refinish or Repaint | Reface | Replace | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What changes | The color of the existing doors | Doors, fronts, veneer, hinges, hardware | Everything, including the boxes |
| Layout changes | None | None | Any change you want |
| Relative cost | Lowest of the three | Middle | Highest |
| Typical timeline | Shortest | Days | Weeks |
| Best when | The doors are solid and you only dislike the color | The boxes are sound and the layout already works | The boxes are failing, or the layout does not fit how you cook |
| Door style change | No | Yes, any style we carry | Yes, any style we carry |
Straight Talk
How It Works
Come see and handle actual door styles, finishes and hardware at 1908 N Opdyke Road. Photos of your current kitchen on your phone are enough for a first conversation.
We measure every opening and inspect the boxes, the face frames and the sink base. This is where we confirm that refacing is the right call for your kitchen.
You choose the door style, wood or finish, and hardware. We put the full scope and the schedule in writing before anything is ordered.
Old doors and hardware come off, veneer goes on, new doors and drawer fronts are hung and adjusted. We leave the kitchen clean and the doors aligned.
The boxes in a well built kitchen usually outlast the doors on them by twenty years. Refacing is just admitting that out loud.Advanced Cabinetry Inc.
Answers
Most refacing projects are measured in days rather than the weeks a full cabinet replacement takes, because the boxes, plumbing, electrical and countertops all stay where they are. The exact timeline depends on the size of the kitchen and the door style and finish you choose, and we confirm it in writing before any work is scheduled.
Refacing almost always costs less than new cabinetry because you are not paying for new boxes or for the demolition and reinstallation that comes with them. It typically costs more than painting or refinishing, since you are getting new doors, new drawer fronts and new hardware rather than a new coat over the old ones. We price all three so you can compare them side by side.
Sometimes. The deciding factor is the condition of the boxes, not the material they are made from. If the boxes are square, solid and dry, refacing is on the table. If they are swollen at the sink base, sagging, or pulling away from the wall, we will tell you that refacing is money spent on a bad foundation.
Not meaningfully. Refacing works within the footprint you already have. If you want to move a run of cabinets, change cabinet heights, add an island or open a wall, that is a kitchen remodel rather than a refacing project.
Yes. The same approach applies to vanities and linen cabinets, and it is often the fastest way to update a bathroom without touching the tile or the plumbing. You can see the rest of our bathroom work on the bathroom cabinets and remodeling page.
Yes. A good share of our refacing work is on cabinetry installed by someone else, sometimes decades ago. Bring photos of your kitchen to the Auburn Hills showroom and we can tell you quickly whether the boxes are worth keeping.
Where We Work
We reface kitchens and baths throughout Oakland County from our Auburn Hills showroom.
Cabinet Refacing
Bring photos of your kitchen to the showroom, or have us out for a measure. Either way you will get a straight answer before you spend anything.
(248) 377-0707