How much does it cost to refinish cabinets vs buy new in Edmonton in 2026?
Cabinet Refinishing Edmonton works from 2026 pricing published by the contractor who does every job. The table lines up the three ways to reuse your cabinets against a full rebuild, showing both the dollar gap and the gap in days without a usable kitchen.
| Reuse or rebuild | Edmonton cost | Length of job | Money kept vs new |
|---|---|---|---|
| PaintFresh colour on existing doors and boxes | $3,000 to $8,000 | 5 to 10 business days | Roughly 50 to 70 percent |
| RefinishStripped, filled, sprayed, sealed | $4,000 to $10,000 | 7 to 10 business days | Roughly 60 to 70 percent |
| RefaceFresh fronts plus veneered boxes | $6,000 to $15,000 | 3 to 5 days | Roughly 40 to 50 percent |
| Buy newTear-out and rebuild | $15,000 to $40,000+ | About 4 to 8 weeks | Nothing kept |
Take a mid-sized Edmonton kitchen with 20 to 35 doors. A refinish there is $6,000 to $8,000, a paint job is $4,500 to $6,500, and a reface is $8,000 to $11,000. Even the top of those brackets stays under the lowest price for new cabinets. Each bracket is listed in the Edmonton cabinet price guide.
Why a rebuild costs so much more
A replacement bills you for the whole structure a second time. Expect about 4 to 8 weeks of tear-out and building: old boxes are pulled, new boxes are set, and the countertops, plumbing, and appliances are disconnected and fitted back in around them. Through most of that stretch, cooking at home is off the table.
Painting, refinishing, and refacing leave the boxes where they are. The money goes to the surfaces people see rather than to removing cabinets that still work. The same reason brings the kitchen back into use in days instead of weeks.
Does refacing cost less than replacing kitchen cabinets?
Refacing is the nearest substitute for new cabinets, since it is the only reuse option that delivers a different door design. An Edmonton reface costs $6,000 to $15,000 and is finished in 3 to 5 days. The comparison figure for new cabinets is $15,000 to $35,000 or more, with about 4 to 8 weeks of work, so refacing lands roughly 40 to 50 percent lower.
A reface brings new doors and drawer fronts, veneer over the box faces, soft-close hinges, and new pulls. What it cannot change is where a cabinet sits. Putting the sink into a new island, building a pantry wall where the table is now, or raising the uppers all need new boxes. Door profiles and extras are on the Edmonton refacing service page.
A four-question test before you buy new cabinets
Walk your own kitchen with these questions in order. The first one that produces a clear answer is your answer.
- Are the boxes sound? Look under the sink for swollen or soft panels. Push down on shelves to feel for sag, and see whether any face frame has come loose from the wall. Damaged boxes mean those cabinets get replaced, because a new coating or new fronts need a solid frame.
- Does the layout work? If cabinets need to go somewhere else, replace them. If they are in the right spots, move to the next question.
- Do the doors suit you? If the door design bothers you, or thermofoil is peeling, bubbling, or yellowed, reface.
- How is the coating? Doors you like with a chipped, worn, or too-dark coating call for a refinish. Doors you like with an intact coating and a dated colour call for paint.
Bottom line: Sound boxes plus a layout that works means painting, refinishing, or refacing will always undercut new cabinets. Save replacement for failed boxes or a kitchen that has to be rearranged.
Best ways to update cabinets without buying new ones
The right update depends on the part of the kitchen that bothers you most. All three below leave the boxes on the wall.
A colour that feels dated: paint
A cabinet paint job is $3,000 to $8,000. Surfaces are cleaned with TSP, primed, and sprayed in Benjamin Moore Advance or Sherwin-Williams ProClassic. Laminate and melamine get a bonding primer before colour. See cupboard painting in Edmonton for the full scope.
Wood that is worn or too dark: refinish
A refinish is $4,000 to $10,000 and covers stripping, grain filling, priming, sprayed colour, and a clear coat. Kitchens in 1980s and 1990s homes often have honey or golden oak with solid wood boxes still sound enough to refinish. Converting a dark stain to a light colour is priced from $5,000. The process is on the cabinet refinishing service page.
A door design you want gone: reface
A reface is $6,000 to $15,000 with shaker, flat panel, raised panel, or modern slab doors. Crown moulding costs $800 to $2,000 more, and solid wood adds 15 to 25 percent.
Planning new counters as well? Read the guide to new countertops on old cabinets before you set the order of the work.
Three cases where new cabinets are money well spent
Replacement costs more, yet in these situations it is the sensible spend.
- Cabinets are moving. Relocating the sink, adding a plumbed island, or removing a wall changes where boxes need to sit.
- Water has reached the boxes. A sink base that has swollen or started to delaminate cannot hold a new coating or a new door well.
- The frames are giving out. Sagging shelves and loose frames throughout the room call for replacement, not a surface fix.
When damage is limited to one or two boxes and the rest are solid, ask about the whole room before deciding it all goes. The written estimate spells out what can be reused.
Refinish or replace advice near me in the Edmonton area
Cabinet Refinishing Edmonton offers free consultations in Edmonton, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Leduc, Beaumont, and Fort Saskatchewan. Text 587-855-4920 a photo of one door and one of the inside of the sink base, and a price range with a suggested route comes back. A 5-year written workmanship warranty covers every job. Towns are listed on the Edmonton region coverage page.