Thinking of remodeling your kitchen by replacing your cabinets? For the budget-minded, refacing the cabinets instead may be a more affordable option than a full-scale remodel.

Cabinet refacing usually involves adding a new layer of laminate or veneer over the cabinet frames, as well as adding new cabinet doors, drawer fronts or entire drawer boxes, and installing new hardware such as latches, pulls and hinges.

Highly rated cabinet refacing companies in the New York City tri-state area say they’ve seen an increased demand for their services due to relatively more affordable cost and quicker turnaround when compared to cabinet replacement.

“Refacing is usually half or even a third of the cost of a whole kitchen remodel,” says Seth Shaw, owner of  highly rated U.S. Cabinet Refacing Inc. in Melville, N.Y. “Refacing can start at $2,000 to $3,000 and go up to $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the size of the kitchen and how elaborate the options the homeowner chooses.”

In addition, Matthew Miglin, owner of Chapelwood Craftsmen, a highly rated kitchen remodeler and cabinet refacing provider in Newton, N.J., says the work typically takes less time than full-scale kitchen remodels. “Most of the actual refacing part of the work lasts about a half day to a full day,” he says.

4 considerations for cabinet refacing:

1. Do you like your existing kitchen's layout? If you’re planning on making major changes to your cabinet layout, such as changing the size or orientation of more than 1/3 of your existing cabinets, Greg Ackley, owner of highly rated Ackley Cabinet Refacing in Ridgefield, Conn., advises that those alterations will typically erode the cost savings refacing can provide. “If you’re not happy with the basic layout, you’re probably better off with replacement,” he says.
2. Can your cabinets be refaced? “The cabinet frames and boxes should be in good condition,” Miglin says. “If the cabinets are falling apart as a whole, then we typically don’t recommend refacing them.” Ackley adds that metal cabinets, popular in some 1940s homes, cannot be refaced.
3. Can you go without the use of your kitchen? Although refacing typically takes less than a week according to Miglin and Shaw, you will be without the use of your kitchen and cabinets.
4. Are you be better off refinishing your cabinets? Like refacing, refinishing your cabinets by sanding them down and adding new stain is much less expensive than replacing them. The same conditions for refacing - such as having a satisfactory layout and forgoing use of the kitchen - apply, but refinishing typically also requires that the existing cabinets be constructed of solid wood or a laminate or veneer that can be sanded to accept new stain.