Refacing vs. new custom cabinets: what's right for a Gaspésie kitchen in 2026?

What refacing actually is

Cabinet refacing (also called cabinet resurfacing or "relooking") keeps your existing cabinet boxes and replaces only the visible surfaces: doors, drawer fronts, and trim. Exposed box sides get a new veneer or film.

The practical process:

• Remove existing doors and drawer fronts
• Apply a surface covering on exposed cabinet sides (thermoformed film, wood veneer, or melamine)
• Install new doors in your chosen style (shaker, flat slab, raised panel, etc.)
• Replace hardware (hinges, drawer slides, handles)
• Time on site: 4 to 5 days for a standard kitchen

Cost in Quebec: $6,000 to $15,000 for a mid-size kitchen. The Quebec average is around $8,900 based on 2025-2026 market data. By material: melamine starting at $250/door, thermoplastic $500-$750, polymer $450-$600, solid wood $850+.

Good refacing transforms a kitchen without touching plumbing or electrical, and without changing the existing layout. The visual result can be convincing.

When refacing is the right call

Refacing works well in four specific situations:

• ›Tight budget (under $10,000): It's the only option that delivers a fully refreshed kitchen in this range.
• ›Short occupancy horizon (less than 5 years): Selling in 3 years? Refacing improves perceived value without over-investing.
• ›Boxes in good shape: If the cabinet carcasses are solid, no mold, no delamination, and level, keeping them is rational. The box is 40-50% of the cost of new cabinets.
• ›Layout staying the same: You're not moving anything, not adding an island, not changing drawer placement. Refacing locks in your existing footprint.

If all four apply, refacing is probably the right decision. Arguing otherwise would be dishonest.

The Gaspésie coastal climate reality

This is where the math shifts for homeowners in Gaspésie.

Refacing keeps the cabinet boxes you already have. That is the heart of the question: the durability of a refaced kitchen depends on the condition of the box you keep, not just the new front laid over it.

Gaspésie isn't Montreal. The coast brings pronounced humidity cycles: morning fog in summer, condensation on cold surfaces in winter, fast swings between heated interiors and cold exterior air. A box that has already been through several coastal winters may have started to move. Laying a new front over it doesn't change the state of the structure underneath: you refresh the surface, not the box.

What you see on an aging box kept under a new front:

• Swelling at joints (visible at door corners and lock edges)
• Film delamination at corners and condensation zones
• Progressive separation at the cabinet base, near the countertop
• In advanced cases, moisture tracks inside the cabinet box itself

A new custom cabinet starts from a new box, built to your dimensions, in the finish you choose. You control the state of the structure, not just the surface. The boxes are built from stable materials and the surfaces sealed, which lets them age well in the coastal climate.

This isn't a global indictment of refacing. It's a question of structural integrity in a specific climate.

The long-horizon math

The numbers below aren't accounting precision. They illustrate the order of magnitude.

The annualized cost is nearly identical. But the right column hides a structural difference: at year 35, the custom scenario leaves you with an intact asset whose resale value is preserved. The two-refacing scenario leaves you with an 8-year-old kitchen beginning to show substrate wear.

In the real estate markets of Rimouski, Bonaventure, Chandler, Gaspé, and Carleton-sur-Mer, a custom kitchen with artisan finishing is a visible selling point in listing photos. A recent refacing reads as neutral. A well-maintained custom kitchen stands out.

If you've lived in your home 20 years and plan to stay 15 more, the math tilts toward custom.

When new custom cabinets win

• ›You're staying more than 10 years: Past 10 years, solid-wood amortization becomes competitive and you don't face another renovation cycle.
• ›You want to change the layout: Move a cabinet, add an island, reclaim dead space, integrate a built-in fridge. Refacing can't do any of this. Custom build gives you a blank slate.
• ›You want a kitchen with a signature: A custom kitchen stands out through its finishes and its exact fit to your space. You choose the surface, from textured melamine to solid wood, and every box is cut for your room. Refacing reuses the fronts available on the boxes already in place.
• ›You don't want to do this again in 12 years: A well-built custom kitchen is the last kitchen investment you'll make. Some of our projects from 1994 are still in service.

Frequently asked questions