Cabinet Refacing vs Replacing • Jacksonville, FL
Cabinet refacing vs replacing comes down to two questions: are your cabinet boxes still solid, and does your kitchen layout already work? If the boxes are sound and the layout is right, refacing changes everything you see and touch — doors, drawer fronts, hardware — while the boxes stay in place. If the boxes are damaged or the layout is the problem, no new door front will fix what is underneath, and replacement is the honest answer.
Liability insured · Jacksonville, FL
5.0 · 37 Google reviewsBraga Remodeling checks the boxes before recommending either path: the sink base, the corners, the drawer boxes and the soffit above. The written estimate names which route your kitchen actually qualifies for, and why.
Overview
Cabinet refacing vs replacing is really a question about what you already own. Refacing keeps the existing cabinet boxes and replaces the visible parts: new doors and drawer fronts, a matching veneer or laminate finish applied to the box frames, and new hinges and hardware. A full kitchen remodeling project removes the boxes entirely and installs new cabinets — which also means the countertops come off, the sink is disconnected, and the layout itself can change. Both routes end with a kitchen that looks new; they differ in what happens underneath and in what problems each one can actually solve.
The box check decides most kitchens. In our Jacksonville jobs, the first cabinet we open is the sink base: years of small, unnoticed drips swell particleboard and soften the floor of that cabinet, and Florida humidity works on every other box in the room at the same time. We check whether the box sides are still square and solid, whether the frames are real wood or a material that is starting to crumble at the edges, whether the drawer boxes slide and hold, and whether the corner cabinets are still usable space or dead space. Solid boxes in Mandarin ranch homes, Southside and Orange Park kitchens often pass this check easily — those are reface candidates. A swollen sink base, cracked frames or drawers that are falling apart point the other way.
The second question is the layout. Refacing cannot move a single cabinet: the sink stays where it is, the range stays where it is, and a cramped work triangle stays cramped. If you regularly wish the dishwasher opened somewhere else, the refrigerator wall worked differently, or the kitchen had an island with storage, refacing locks the old layout in under a new finish. Replacement is the moment to fix it — taller wall cabinets that reach the ceiling, deep drawers instead of hard-to-reach base cabinets, and a layout drawn around how you actually cook. Homeowners in Nocatee and St. Johns with newer kitchens and good layouts are usually reface candidates; homeowners in older Jacksonville homes who have waited years to change how the kitchen works are usually not.
Countertops tie into the decision too. Refacing leaves the existing counters in place, so a kitchen with stone you still like keeps it — or the counters can be replaced separately once the fronts are done. With full replacement, the old countertops almost always come off with the old boxes, so new counters are part of the project whether you planned them or not. That single difference changes the scope — and the sequencing — more than most homeowners expect when they first compare the two routes.
Box condition
Solid boxes reface; damaged boxes replace
Layout
Refacing keeps it exactly; replacing can change it
Countertops
Kept with refacing; usually new with replacement
Storage
New cabinets add drawers, height and organization
Honest Comparison
Refacing replaces every surface you see and touch while the boxes stay mounted. New doors and drawer fronts in a current style and color, the box frames covered to match, and new hardware — with options such as soft-close hinges — give the kitchen a completely different face without demolition of the cabinets themselves.
Refacing is a surface project, and its limits are structural. It cannot repair a water-damaged sink base, straighten boxes that are out of square, add a cabinet where none exists, or fix a layout that does not work. Veneer also has to bond to the existing frame — frames that are peeling, greasy through years of cooking, or made of failing material are poor candidates.
New cabinets reset the whole kitchen. Wall cabinets can run to the ceiling, base cabinets become deep drawers that hold pots without kneeling, and the layout can move — an island, a relocated dishwasher, a wider range opening. It is also the only route that replaces tired drawer boxes, worn slides and dead corner space with modern storage.
Replacement is a remodel, not a facelift. The old cabinets and countertops come out, the sink and dishwasher are disconnected, and the new cabinets are installed and leveled before countertop templating can happen. Until the new counters are in, the kitchen is out of service — that disruption is part of the honest comparison, and the written scope should plan around it.
Humidity and slow leaks decide a lot of Jacksonville kitchens. Particleboard boxes that have absorbed years of moisture under the sink or beside the dishwasher may look fine from the front and still be failing inside. Refacing over moisture-damaged boxes covers the problem instead of solving it — which is why the box check, especially at the sink base and dishwasher opening, comes before any recommendation.
Our Process
We open every cabinet that matters: sink base, corners, drawer boxes and the panels beside the dishwasher. We check for swelling, soft spots, cracked frames and hardware that is at the end of its life.
We ask how the kitchen works today and what frustrates you — storage, counter space, appliance positions. If the layout is the complaint, we say plainly that refacing will not fix it.
We look at the bulkhead above the cabinets and verify what runs inside it before anyone promises taller cabinets, and we confirm whether your existing countertops stay (refacing) or are replaced (new cabinets).
You receive a written estimate for the route your kitchen qualifies for — doors, fronts, veneer and hardware for a reface, or demolition, new cabinets, counters and reconnections for a replacement — with the reasoning in plain language.
Refacing installs the new fronts, veneer and hardware on the existing boxes; replacement installs and levels the new cabinets for countertop templating. Either way, we walk the finished kitchen together — every door swing, drawer slide and soft-close — before the job is done.
Service Areas
The same box-by-box cabinet check is done in Mandarin, St. Johns, Orange Park and Ponte Vedra.
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FAQ
Google Reviews
5.0 average from 37 reviews on Google
“I had a great experience with this construction company. They were honest, reliable, and did exactly what they promised. The team was professional, hardworking, and paid attention to every detail.”
“We had an overall wonderful experience with Braga Remodeling. They were responsible, professional and communicated well throughout the process.”
“Excellent service and outstanding workmanship! The crew was punctual, respectful, and very knowledgeable throughout the entire project.”
Tell us what bothers you about your kitchen — the look, the storage, or the layout. We will inspect the boxes, check the sink base and soffits, and put the right route, refacing or replacement, in a written estimate. Prefer to talk? Call (904) 520-1994 or email braga@bragaremodeling.com.
Call (904) 520-1994