Cabinet Refinishing in Ladner and Delta: What to Know

If you live in Ladner or elsewhere in Delta and your kitchen cabinets look tired, you may not need to tear them out to get a fresh kitchen. Cabinet refinishing keeps your existing doors, drawer fronts and boxes and changes the colour and finish. For a kitchen with a layout that still works, it is a practical way to update the room without a full renovation. Here is what to know about cabinet refinishing in Ladner and the rest of Delta.

Live in North Delta, Ladner, and Tsawwassen? See our cabinet refinishing and refacing services in Delta for local details, neighbourhoods we serve, and how to book a free in-home quote.

Kitchen Makeovers is a family-owned company based in Aldergrove, and we have been refinishing and refacing cabinets across the Lower Mainland since 2009. Here is what Ladner and Delta homeowners should know before booking.

Is your kitchen a good fit for refinishing?

Refinishing works best when the cabinets are structurally sound and you are happy with the layout and door style. If your home has solid wood cabinets in oak, maple or cherry that were stained a darker tone years ago, the boxes often have plenty of life left. It is the colour that feels dated.

Signs refinishing is a good match:

• Cabinet boxes are solid, with no sagging shelves or water damage
• Doors are flat and not swelling, cracking or peeling
• You like your current door style and layout
• You want a lighter, brighter or more current colour

If your doors are swelling, damaged, or you want a different door style, refacing is usually the better fit. It keeps your cabinet boxes and adds brand-new doors and drawer fronts, with the frames finished to match and a written 5-year warranty on the new doors. We can look at both options in one visit.

How the refinishing process works

Our cabinet refinishing process is split between our shop and your home:

1. Removal. Our team removes the doors and drawer fronts and takes them to our shop.
2. Shop finishing. Doors and drawer fronts are prepared and sprayed with an industrial two-component coating, then bake-cured. This factory-grade process is what gives the finish its durability.
3. Frames in your home. Our crew prepares and finishes the cabinet frames in your kitchen.
4. Reinstallation. The finished doors and drawer fronts come back and are reinstalled.

All of this is done by our own team of 30+ in-house employees, with no subcontractors. Estimators, prep, the spray team, installers and service all work for the same company. Our how it works page walks through each step in more detail.

How long it takes, and living with it

Expect about four days of work in your home, with a 7 to 10 day gap while the doors are in our shop. During the gap your cabinets are open, so it helps to pack the things you use every day into a bin or two and leave the rest on the shelves.

Because the doors are sprayed in the shop rather than in your kitchen, there is less dust and noise in your home. That matters if you work from home, have young children or pets, or live in a townhouse where neighbours share walls. Your countertops, floors and appliances stay where they are, so the kitchen stays usable for much of the project.

Choosing a colour that works with what you keep

Refinishing changes the cabinets, not the rest of the room. Your countertops, backsplash, floors and appliances stay, so the new cabinet colour has to sit comfortably with finishes you are not replacing.

Take a kitchen with dark stone counters and a tile backsplash in warm brown tones. Bright white cabinets can look stark against those finishes. A soft cream or warm off-white often ties everything together better, and a deeper tone on the island can add contrast without fighting the counters.

Natural light plays a part too. Look at samples at different times of day, held next to your counters and floors, before you decide. A colour that looks perfect on a small chip can read quite differently across a full wall of cabinets.

What else can be added at the same time

A refinish is a good moment to fix what does not work in your kitchen. Options that can be added include:

• Custom-built organizers, such as garbage and recycling pull-outs, spice and pantry pull-outs, tray storage and blind-corner solutions, all with soft-close
• Custom carpentry, such as an island, ceiling-height cabinets or converting doors to drawers, with the carpentry portion usually taking a day or two
• New countertops, coordinated through FloForm

If your plans involve moving a sink or other plumbing changes, you will need a licensed plumber, as we do not do plumbing work.

Getting a quote for cabinet refinishing in Ladner or Delta

Every kitchen is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all price. To get a rough idea first, try our kitchen cost calculator. You can also read what other homeowners have said in our Kitchen Makeovers reviews. We are rated 4.9 stars on Google from 500+ reviews and have been voted Best of HomeStars 10 years running.

When you are ready, book a free in-home quote. We will look at your cabinets, talk through refinishing and refacing, and give you clear, line-item pricing. Financing up to $100,000 is available through Financeit for eligible projects, subject to approval.

Frequently asked questions

Do you work in Ladner and the rest of Delta?

Yes. We serve homeowners across the Lower Mainland, including Ladner and the rest of Delta, from our base in Aldergrove. Book a free in-home quote and we will arrange a visit to your home.

Can I use my kitchen during cabinet refinishing?

For the most part, yes. Your counters, sink and appliances stay in place. The cabinets are open while the doors are in the shop, and there will be some days when our crew needs the space to work on the frames.

What warranty comes with cabinet refinishing?

Refinishing comes with a written 3-year warranty. If you choose refacing instead, the brand-new doors carry a written 5-year warranty.