What does it really cost to paint your kitchen cabinets?
You may have seen all the pictures of the amazing before and after's.
You may of seen a family member or friends kitchen cabinets freshly painted and wondered what it would cost to have your own painted.
There are many things that go into pricing a kitchen cabinet refinishing project and here are a few that you need to consider.
What is the condition of your exiting cabinets?
Cabinets that are heavily dirty with grease or wax may need more in depth cleaning, which takes more time and more time equals added costs.
Do you oak grained cabinets?
To remove that oak grain in a best case scenario (you may never be able to fully remove the grain) again will take special priming, grain filling and sanding. This also equates to added time and money.
Do you have special pieces such as wine racks?
Wine racks, lazy Susan's and glass fronts will take additional time to prepare and paint.
Are you using multiple colors?
Multiple colors in one kitchen will increase the cost due to the time it takes the painters to switch out materials in their sprayer, added costs for other paint and sundries.
Can they be done onsite?
Can your cabinet doors and drawers be done onsite? If not, they will need to be brought back to our shop , the travel time, and extra work to transport and touch up when back onsite will add extra costs to your project.
These are just a few of the main things that can add extra costs to a project. A professional painter and estimator should be asking you a lot of questions about your expectations and project.
It is important you and the cabinet refinisher are on the same page and everyone is aware what is and isn't being done and what can potentially be additional costs.
A quick repaint?
You may not necessarily want a complete high end cabinet painting job, maybe your cabinets are already painted and you just want them freshened up, or perhaps your selling your home and just want them looking clean.
This should be expressed to your estimator while they are onsite, otherwise ou may get a price for a project you don't even want or need.
What paint coating will be used?
This is an important one, and a question you should be asking your painter.
What primer will be used? What finishes will be used and how many coats of each will you be receiving on your kitchen cabinet painting project?
There are many great coatings out there to be used when painting your cabinets, it is tough to compare them all, most painters will stick to one product they are familiar with that has performed the best for them over the years.
It is however very important your painter is keeping up with all the latest products, trends and has a great relationship with their vendor.
Products and formulas change all the time to match current voc regulations which means a product that was used a year ago may not perform or last as long now.
Buying new cabinets
Why not simply buy new cabinets?
Unless your buying the cheapest grade cabinets you will never be able to match the price of painting them vs replacing them.
To replace your kitchen cabinets with high quality ones and pay to have them installed you may be looking at starting at $20,000
Your standard professional kitchen cabinet painter will be starting around $3000 for a quality lasting job.
How much more significant you wonder IF a professional kitchen cabinet painting company were to do it? Well, your $5,000 kitchen refinishing job will metamorphosize into a cost of $20,000-$35,000 if you decided to remove them all and install new cabinet doors and drawers. That is indeed a remarkable difference.
Is it worth it to paint your cabinets instead of replacing them. And in case it needs to be said again then here goes:
YA, IT’S WORTH IT, BIG TIME!
That’s assuming of course that you’re not a super wealthy insolent spend-thrift with a disdain for money who wakes up every morning looking for diabolical and non-sensical ways to torch your money….or your *husbands* money perhaps?…(but surely I digress). If that’s you though then go right ahead and replace those cabinets instead of refinishing them and by the way, enjoy using the flame thrower on your cash and feel free to use it on the cabinets themselves as they DO have to come down…..one way or the other. Courtesy of Vancouver Kitchen Cabinet Painting
