When to Replace Cabinets

Having functional cabinets is essential, especially in the kitchen where they are used most often. Sitting in the kitchen, they are often exposed to some of the harshest treatment of any place that your home can offer, things like people cutting directly on counter and cabinet tops, kids using cabinets like stairs to climb up on the counter, or maybe you even have of those poor layouts where one cabinet opens right onto another causing scrapes, gouges, or dents. With all the wear and tear they get, a reasonable question to ask a custom cabinet maker is when should they be replaced?

As with most things in life, it depends. One of the first things you should consider is: do they need to be replaced or can they be resurfaced? Professional resurfacing companies can make your cabinets look and act like new again often for much less than replacing the lot. With a variety of techniques they can put a new veneer over them, sand them down, repair and refinish the cabinets, or perform any number of other possible adjustments to make them look like new. But when should they be replaced?

In most cases if they are still doing what they are meant to and work fine it is certainly cheaper to leave them, but perhaps you are planning a remodel? If this is the case, then it makes no sense to resurface as you may well be changing the whole layout of the kitchen. If you are going to change the whole theme, style, and layout, this would be an ideal time to change out those old cabinets and have a new set put in.

Another time you may decide you need to replace them is if they are simply not working for you. Vertically challenged persons often have a hard time reaching upper level cabinets in kitchens and so are unable to make full use of the storage space available to them. If you do not want to clutter up your home with a step stool, an easy solution is to have new cabinets put in that are more accessible to you. This can be done via a redesign of the kitchen or even by lowering the cabinets by several inches so they are more accessible.

The last thing to consider when deciding to replace is the cost. Resurfacing is often cheaper but if it doesn’t do what you need done for your kitchen, then you need to consider the cost of having the project done. Depending on the level of difficulty and the amount of work this can be several thousands of dollars. Making sure you have that in your home budget is important before you move forward with any replacements.

So treat your Victoria kitchen cabinets right and make it useful for you so you can enjoy it for years to come.