Cabinet refacing keeps the cabinet boxes — the carcasses — and replaces the doors, drawer fronts, hinges, and visible surfaces, so the kitchen looks new without any demolition. If your boxes are square and the layout works, refacing shortens the schedule, cuts dust and disposal, and can bring a dated 1970s kitchen up to date with a fraction of the disruption of a full replacement.

What is cabinet refacing?

Cabinet refacing replaces the visible parts of cabinetry — doors, drawer fronts, face frames, and trim — while leaving the box structure in place. The contractor either covers existing faces with a thin veneer (thermofoil, stained wood veneer, or painted MDF) or installs new slab or Shaker doors along with new hardware.

It is not the same as repainting. Repainting is a finish applied to the doors you already have; refacing usually replaces those doors outright, which is why it can change a door profile and a color at the same time.

How does the refacing process work step by step?

A typical refacing sequence runs in five stages:

1. Inspection. Check the carcasses for water damage, sagging shelves, or misaligned frames.
2. Demo. Doors and drawer fronts come off; the boxes stay.
3. Prep. Repair or reinforce face frames, then skim or sand as needed.
4. Install. Attach new veneers or hang new doors, fit new hinges, and replace hardware.
5. Finish. Touch-up paint or sealants, final alignment, and a walkthrough.

Is refacing cheaper than replacing cabinets?

Yes, when the boxes are sound. Think of it as a ladder. Repainting the existing doors is the lowest-cost refresh if the doors themselves are in good shape. Refacing sits in the middle: you replace doors, drawer fronts, and hardware but keep the boxes. Full replacement costs the most because it adds demo, disposal, and often a new layout and appliance work.

Where your project lands depends on door material, hardware, and how many doors you replace. One caveat for New York: material and labor here run higher than national averages, so treat any ballpark figure you find online as a floor rather than a ceiling, and get itemized contractor quotes for your own building.

How long does a refacing project take?

If the cabinets are in good condition, expect a short schedule. Measurement and shop drawings take a few days, fabrication or the veneer order another week or two, and the on-site install is usually measured in days rather than weeks. The timeline stays much shorter than a full gut and replace because you avoid drywall, plumbing, and extensive electrical work. If the boxes have structural or moisture damage, the timeline grows.

Can I refinish or redo kitchen cabinets myself?

You can repaint or install new doors yourself, but refacing — veneer application or precision door fit — usually calls for a pro with a cabinet shop and woodworking tools. DIY repainting is the easiest way to refinish kitchen cabinets on a budget if you have the time. For renters, a peel-and-stick backsplash and new hardware are low-risk options that still produce a large visual change.

Interior designer Tatiana Chechina reaches for refacing whenever the carcasses are solid: it preserves the built-in proportions of the original cabinetry and avoids the mess of demo while still producing a genuinely updated kitchen.

Lead paint: what to settle before anyone sands a door

If your building went up before 1978, repainting deserves one extra step before it starts. Sanding and scraping old painted cabinets is exactly the kind of work covered by the federal EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule, and any firm you hire to do it in pre-1978 housing has to be an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm. That obligation sits on the contractor, not on you, and you cannot waive it on their behalf — a painter who offers to skip it is offering to break a federal rule at your address.

Doing the work yourself is treated differently. The EPA exempts homeowners working in their own primary residence, but the exemption falls away if you rent the apartment out, if a child under six lives there, or if someone in the home is pregnant. Much of Manhattan’s housing stock predates 1978, so this is worth confirming before the sander comes out rather than after.

Repaint, reface, or replace: how the options compare

Permits, codes, and co-op or condo requirements

Cosmetic refacing on its own does not require a DOB permit, because you are not touching structure, plumbing, or electrical. That changes the moment the scope does. Moving a gas line is plumbing work and requires a Licensed Master Plumber and a plumbing permit. New wiring, a new circuit, or a new box requires a Licensed Master Electrician and an electrical permit. Altering a load-bearing wall requires a filing with the DOB.

The building’s own approval works on a different trigger, and this is where refacing projects get caught out. What starts the building’s process is hiring a contractor, not whether the work is structural. Replacing cabinet doors and fronts falls squarely inside what most co-ops and condos handle through a decoration agreement or minor alteration agreement — a shorter document than a full alteration agreement, often signed off by the managing agent rather than the full board, but a real approval nonetheless. Expect the building to want your contractor’s certificate of insurance naming the corporation and the managing agent, a scheduled service elevator, defined work hours, and an agreed route for debris removal.

Check with your building manager before you sign a contract, not after. The COI alone can take a contractor several days to produce, and no reputable building will let a crew past the service entrance without one.