Cabinet Refacing Cost Calculator
What refacing actually costs: new door and drawer fronts plus a veneer over your existing boxes, priced by the linear foot of cabinet run — then hardware, add-ons and a contingency on top, from the prices you enter.
Refacing a 25 linear foot run at $250.00 a foot is $6,250.00 in new fronts and veneer; with 30 pieces of hardware and your add-ons the planning total is about $7,139.00. Refacing keeps your boxes and layout — if the boxes are sound and you only want a new color, refinishing is the cheaper path; replacing the cabinets outright is a remodel, not this line item.
Calculator inputs
Refacing keeps the cabinet boxes you already have and replaces what you see: new door and drawer fronts, plus a matching veneer or skin over the exposed box faces and end panels. The layout does not move, the counters stay, and the kitchen is usable through most of the job — which is why it lands between a repaint and a remodel on both cost and disruption.
Refacing is quoted by the linear foot of cabinet run, not by the door, because the work is a materials-and-fit job across the whole run. That is the main line here. But a reface quote often leaves two things on the side that land on your bill anyway: hardware (a knob or pull on every piece, and hinges on every door) and add-ons like soft-close, new end panels or crown. This tool keeps all three visible so the total is the one you actually pay.
Not sure refacing is the right job? If the boxes are sound and the doors are fine, sanding and recoating them is far cheaper — compare the two paths side by side on the cabinet refinishing cost tool, or price a straight repaint on the cabinet painting cost tool.
Formula
The run drives the fronts; the piece count drives the hardware:
fronts = run_lf × $/linear foot
hardware = (doors + drawers) × $/unit
total = (fronts + hardware + add‑ons) × (1 + contingency%)
- run_lf — linear feet of cabinet run getting new fronts and veneer; measure base and wall runs and add them.
- hardware — a knob or pull per piece plus hinges on the doors; set it to 0 if you are reusing what is there.
- add-ons — soft-close, end panels, crown or light rail, glass inserts.
Worked example
A 25 linear-foot run refaced at $250 a foot, with 30 pieces (20 doors + 10 drawer fronts) of $8 hardware, no add-ons and a 10% contingency:
fronts = 25 × $250 = $6,250
hardware = 30 × $8 = $240
total = ($6,250 + $240) × 1.10 = $6,490 × 1.10 = $7,139
So roughly $7,100 for the reface as planned. The fronts are the job; the hardware is a few hundred dollars that is easy to forget until the invoice arrives.
Measure first, avoid re-orders
Measure the run, not the doors. Refacing is quoted per linear foot, so the number that moves your quote is the length of cabinet run — measure the base run and the wall run along the wall and add them. The door and drawer count matters for hardware, not for the fronts.
- Check what the per-foot price includes. Some quotes cover fronts and veneer only; end panels, crown, light rail and soft-close hinges are often priced separately. Put whatever is excluded into add-ons.
- Refacing needs sound boxes. Water-damaged, sagging or delaminating carcases will not hold new fronts — that is a replacement, and a remodel budget.
- Refacing does not change your layout. Moving cabinets, new counters or a different footprint is a kitchen remodel, a much larger project than this line item.
- Pre-1978 kitchens. If existing finishes may contain lead, disturbing them is governed by the EPA RRP rule — use a certified firm.
Reference table
Labeled cabinet planning bands — a sanity check only. You enter your real per-unit price; cost swings with door style, spray vs brush, the number of coats, degreasing and how much boxes/frames work is included.
| Basis | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Paint, per door or drawer front | $50.00–$100.00 |
| Paint, per sq ft of cabinet face | $30.00–$60.00 |
| Reface, per linear foot of run | $150.00–$350.00 |