How long does it take to refinish kitchen cabinets?

Refinish vs paint vs reface vs replace: days and dollars

For many households, the real price of a cabinet project is the stretch of days without a working kitchen. Each route leaves a different share of the old cabinetry in place, and that share sets the calendar.

A reface is quick because no coating has to dry. A full cabinet refinish is the slowest of the three updates, since the old coating is removed before any colour is sprayed. To see what each route actually changes, read the refinishing and resurfacing comparison.

Refinishing days for small, mid-sized, and large kitchens

The number of doors decides both the price bracket and the working days. These brackets are the published figures for Edmonton.

A condo galley lands near the bottom of the range. A two-storey house in Windermere or Terwillegar with long runs of uppers and an island lands near the top. Every service and bracket is priced in the Edmonton cabinet price guide.

Where the 7 to 10 days go

Each stage has to wrap up before the next one can begin, so the schedule stays full.

1. Scope and estimate. A free consultation, or a set of texted photos, pins down the work, the colour, and the dates before anything starts.
2. Protecting the room. Counters, floors, and appliances go under masking.
3. Pulling doors and drawers. The fronts come off so they can lie flat for spraying.
4. Stripping. The old coating comes off. This stage is what sets a refinish apart from a paint job.
5. Grain filling. Oak grain is open, and filling it stops the texture from showing through the smooth new colour.
6. Primer, colour, and clear coat. Colour is sprayed over primer and sealed with a clear layer. Coatings used are catalyzed lacquer, conversion varnish, or Benjamin Moore Advance.
7. The boxes. The cabinet boxes stay on the wall and are coated in place.
8. Rehanging and final check. Each door, drawer, and hinge is adjusted, and then you walk through the kitchen to inspect the result.

Why some refinishing jobs run past 10 days

• A high door count. Kitchens with 35 to 50 or more doors run 10 to 14 days rather than 7 to 10.
• Going from dark to light. Taking a dark stain to bright white or grey needs a full strip, with pricing from $5,000.
• Honey oak from the 1980s and 1990s. Oak cabinetry from those decades is usually sound enough to refinish, but its open grain has to be filled before colour.
• A second room. Adding a bathroom vanity brings its own schedule: 3 to 5 days for a fully stripped vanity refinish.

Time needed to refinish cabinets yourself

Homeowners can take on a refinish themselves, and many do. Expect weeks of evenings and weekends, not days. Benjamin Moore's cabinet painting instructions show where the time goes: a grease-removing clean, a 100 to 150 grit sanding, primer, a 220 grit sanding, the first coat, another sanding, and the second coat. Primer needs at least 1 hour before it can be sanded, and painted cabinets need at least 24 hours before they go back up, with two or three days recommended.

Now scale that to a whole kitchen. Twenty-five doors mean fifty faces plus all the edges, and every face goes through three sandings and three coats. Stripping to bare wood stacks another full stage on top. The kitchen stays in pieces the whole time, because the doors cannot go back up until the final coat has dried.

In a house built before 1960, test for lead before sanding anything. Health Canada's guidance on lead-based paint notes that homes from that period likely contain it and advises against removing it with sanders or heat guns.

How long do refinished cabinets last in an Edmonton kitchen?

Cabinet Refinishing Edmonton covers refinished cabinets with a 5-year written workmanship warranty on every cabinet surface in the scope of work, starting the day the project is complete. That written warranty is the firmest durability figure on offer.

These are the things that wear any cabinet finish out early:

• Rushed prep. Grease left on doors beside the stove keeps a coating from bonding, which is why professional prep includes TSP degreasing.
• The wrong product. Wall paint is not built for cabinets. Catalyzed lacquer, conversion varnish, and cabinet enamels like Benjamin Moore Advance and Sherwin-Williams ProClassic are made for doors and trim.
• Leaks. Moisture damage from plumbing leaks or flooding falls outside the warranty, so repair a dripping sink trap promptly.
• Impact and settling. Scratches, knocks, and cracks from a house shifting are excluded as well.

Should a covered issue appear, call and explain what you see, with photos if possible. An inspection is booked within 48 hours, and covered repairs cost nothing.