Tom Grochowski, designer

With kitchens continuing to be the central hub of the household, homeowners are looking for a cost-effective way to enhance their living experience. Families may rule out a remodeling project and many are embracing cabinet refacing as a fast, clean and affordable alternative.

Since 1984, Let's Face It, Quality Cabinet Refacing, has been serving the entire Delaware Valley as the premier cabinet restoration company. With cabinet refacing, the process includes using the existing cabinet framework (if structurally sound) and replacing the doors and drawer fronts with designer-quality products. The process is meant for families to be able to have that remodel experience while not having the stress and worries of uprooting their family or making a major dent in their pocket.

Services go beyond just refacing, and homeowners can work with Let's Face It for granite countertop installations, additional cabinetry installations, flooring, tile backsplashes, lighting and more. "All these things are meant for us to provide the customer a one-stop shop so they can go directly through us and not have to worry about another contractor and other people coming in and out. We handle the whole project from start to finish," says Tom Grochowski, a designer with Let's Face It.

House & Home spoke with Grochowski about the time and cost savings associated with refacing.

Based on your experience in kitchen construction, what is the general cost difference between remodeling a kitchen versus refacing the kitchen?
It's a very common question a lot of people want to know; refacing can be about half the price or less. Generally it can be 40 to 60% cheaper to reface than to replace the entire kitchen. For example, someone's complete new kitchen remodel quote could be around $60,000; Let's Face It could offer better quality designer doors and finishes at a cost of approximately $25,000, and include countertops, a new backsplash, sink and plumbing.

A lot of times when people remodel, they don't realize that through the process they will probably have to replace the floor and the countertops; with refacing, you can focus on one component.

Is your company able to offer customers options on replacing some cabinets or adding cabinets in the refacing option?
It's a great thing we can do. We maintain a full-custom wood shop and can add in cabinets, we even can add an island and alter the designs in the kitchen. We can add in new cabinets or replace just a few that are not usable or damaged and need to be replaced, but then reface the rest of the kitchen. We can match all the materials and colors and design to be identical and you'd never know the difference. We also custom make our own cabinets, that detail is one of our expertise.

Generally, what kind of timetable can customers expect for a refaced kitchen versus a remodeled kitchen?
When we are just doing cabinets it can usually take about four to five days to reface the kitchen. If we are adding countertops and backsplashes and more, generally can be a two-to three-week project. When you do a remodeling project with our other division HomeTech Renovations, it can be about six to 10 weeks to fully demolish or remodel the whole kitchen. The timetable is a big difference and that is what is attractive to a lot of people.

Consumers are looking to upgrade their cabinets, so why not paint them?
Many people think of painting, and that they're going to be keeping their doors—we don't paint the existing doors or the ends or the face frames, because in essence we believe that should be done in a professional finishing room. When you put on the new door (and style!) and new products, everything should be made in a controlled environment.

It is also a several coat process with finish and protection on the doors that can be done in the factory as opposed to a professional painter coming out and painting cabinets. So that's not something we offer, and it's not something we do as painting cabinets on site probably means the paint will chip in a short time. In short, a first quality paint job is not much different in cost as a complete cabinet refacing that will offer updated custom sized doors with all new soft close hinges and decorative hardware.

Why should customers choose Let's Face It for this type of project?
We have our own employees with local presence and a great working relationship and vast experience, which benefits the customer. There aren't too many people involved and everyone, from Barb the office manager to Ken our project manager and myself- everyone knows the project. Customers know all of us and that their project isn't something that gets sent down the hall to someone else that we don't know. We own the project and communicate and coordinate accordingly.

Let's Face It (A HomeTech Company)
1013 N. Bethlehem Pike | Lower Gwynedd, Pa.
(215) 343-2600 | LFIKitchens.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 22, Issue 6 (March 2022). 
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