Studies indicate that by 2023, unit demand for kitchen cabinets will rise to over 100 million. When homeowners refinish kitchen cabinets, they breathe new life into a kitchen and increase a home’s value.
You love your kitchen cabinets and they’ve served you well for a long time. But maybe they’re looking a little dull and outdated.
It can be difficult to decide if you want to replace them or just update them with a fresh coat of paint. Whatever you choose, you must know how to hire the right professionals for the job.
You should know what kind of questions to ask when hiring someone. It’s also important to know how to figure out whether a company’s services are worth it.
In this article, you’ll find out everything you need to know about refinished kitchen cabinets. Read on for a complete guide to hiring a professional to refinish your kitchen cabinets!
Signs Your Kitchen Cabinets Need Refinishing
Even if there isn’t any functional issue with your kitchen cabinets, refinishing them can give your kitchen an updated look. You interact with your cabinets every day, so you want them to have a look you enjoy.
Reasons you should refinish your cabinets can be for aesthetic or functional reasons. Signs you should consider hiring a professional include:
- You can see scratches on the cabinets
- The finish has worn off in some places
- The hardware (hinges, knobs, etc.) is loose or missing
- Cabinet doors don’t open and close properly
- The style doesn’t match other recent home renovations
If you notice any of these signs, it’s time to consider refinishing your kitchen cabinets.
It’s not an expensive remodeling project, and a professional can advise you about what will work best in your home. When done right, kitchen cabinet refinishing can make a huge difference in your kitchen design.
Refinish vs Replace
If your kitchen cabinets are severely worn or have extensive damage, it may seem like you need to replace them entirely. However, refinishing may work just as well and the service is much less expensive.
When you make kitchen updates, it’s often the most expensive part of home improvement. A professional can most likely get the look you want in your cabinets without gutting them altogether.
Mechanical issues with your cabinet hardware can get worse over time, however. Refinishing cabinets before hardware degrades too much can save you from the headache and expense of replacement.
Can You Refinish Kitchen Cabinets Yourself?
Anyone handy with home improvement projects may wonder if they can refinish kitchen cabinets themselves. As a DIYer, you may be tempted to save money by not hiring a professional to do it.
But if you don’t have the skill set or time to dedicate to this project, hiring professionals can save you time and money in the long run. Two challenges make refinishing kitchen cabinets difficult:
- It takes a lot of time and effort to properly refinish kitchen cabinets yourself
- The process involves chemicals that are potentially dangerous for your health, so it’s best left to experts with proper training
Another reason to resist the temptation of refinishing kitchen cabinets yourself is that you run the risk of damaging them further. If you don’t do the refinishing properly, it may be more expensive than if you hired a professional in the first place.
Reinstalling the hardware incorrectly can also damage cabinets enough that it becomes necessary to replace them.
Reasons to Hire Professionals
Before you decide to attempt the refinish yourself, consider having a professional do it instead.
Hiring a professional refinishing company in Tampa is the ideal way to restore your cabinets. Whether you’re trying to keep the same look and remove signs of aging or give the cabinets an updated style, a contractor can help.
A professional refinishing company will have the experience and tools to do the job properly. They’ll also have an entire team that can finish the job much more quickly than you can on your own.
In addition to finishing the cabinets faster, you’ll probably be happier with the results from a professional. Hiring professionals can also prevent your cabinets from getting damaged in any way during refinishing.
Avoiding damage is especially important if the restorations are taking place on top of old paint or other finishes. An older finish may not be as sturdy as fresh enamel surfaces may be.
How to Find a Company to Refinish Your Cabinets
When you decide it’s time for your kitchen cabinets to get a makeover, the number of options available might overwhelm you. With all the professional services available, choosing the right one can be a challenge.
Ask for recommendations from people you know who’ve had refinishing done on their cabinets. If you can’t find suggestions there, check online.
Once you’ve narrowed down a few companies, do a side-by-side comparison. Get quotes from at least three different places so you can compare prices, services offered and warranties offered by each company.
Once you’ve compared your top choices, you should be able to select one to hire.
Ask Friends and Family for Recommendations
One of the best ways to find reliable contractors is by asking friends and family. Ask them what they would recommend, and specifically who they have used when they needed any work done on their home.
Its also helpful if you can ask for referrals from friends or family who have used the same company as the one you might consider hiring. People you know will also be honest about their experiences, so take advantage of the opportunity to get unbiased feedback.
A good place to cast a wide net for references is your social media. A quick post asking for recommendations can save you time reaching out to individual people.
Check Online Reviews
If you can’t get any recommendations from people you know, the next best thing will be online reviews. A quick internet search will turn up ratings and reviews from other people who have used a company before.
Look for cabinet refinishing companies that have a good reputation in your community. Check online to see what other people think of them and how they rate them.
Ask About Credentials
You should try to find companies that have a lot of experience. Ask if they’ve done projects similar to yours before, and how long they’ve been in business.
In addition to a company’s experience, ask about their credentials and whether or not they’re licensed and insured. Lastly, make sure the company has been in business for some time and has a good record of customer satisfaction.
You can also ask what kind of training a company’s contractors receive and what skills they’re required to have.
Compare Services
There are several factors that you should consider when comparing service providers. These include:
- quality of work
- quality of materials
- warranty information
Once you’ve narrowed down a few refinishing companies, you should ask them about the services they offer. A good way to gauge what kind of service you can expect is how customer service is when you’re on the phone with the company.
Compare Price
Another way to compare kitchen cabinet refinishing contractors (and one of the most important) is price.
When you’re comparing prices, be sure to take into account the square footage of your cabinets. The price per square foot is often much higher than a smaller kitchen because it takes more materials and labor to refinish larger cabinets.
If you have hardwood or prefinished solid wood cabinets, make sure that each cabinet is refinished rather than just the doors.
Many contractors may only offer overhead pricing for these types of cabinets. Some will not discount their labor costs if they are just refinishing the doors instead of doing the top, bottom, and sides.
You may have the option of hiring someone with an oil-based finish versus a water-based lacquer finish on your kitchen cabinetry. Know that oil-based finishes can cost more than double what water-based lacquer finishes would cost due to their extra durability and longevity.
You should also find out how much longer they last before needing another coat applied. At a minimum, a refinish should last five years, but often last much longer.
The Perfect Cabinets For Your Kitchen
Although having to refinish kitchen cabinets can be a big stressor, it doesn’t have to be. By following our guide and using the tips we’ve given you, you’ll be able to find a company that will do an excellent job and make your kitchen look new again.
Using the internet, you can find countless companies that will refinish your kitchen cabinets. To narrow it down to one, compare services and costs, and take into account feedback from reviews, friends, and family.
At Premier Cabinet Painting and Refinishing, we offer the best in customer service, workmanship, and respect. We’ll have your kitchen cabinets looking like new regardless of the building material.
Contact us today for a free estimate on cabinet refinishing!