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Canyon Country / Santa Clarita / California
Kitchen Cabinets in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita
New boxes or new fronts. The room decides which.
Cabinets set the look, the storage and much of the budget of a kitchen remodel. We connect Canyon Country homeowners with a CSLB licensed contractor who looks at the cabinets you have, tells you whether they are worth keeping, and quotes the job in writing.
- CSLB licensed contractor
- Free home visit
- Quoted in writing
Replace or reface: the first question
There are two ways to get cabinets that look new. You can pull the old boxes out and install new ones, or you can keep the boxes and put new doors, drawer fronts and hardware on them. From across the room the two can look almost the same. Inside, and on the quote, they are very different jobs.
Which one fits depends on what is already on your walls. That is the main thing the contractor checks at the home visit.
- Reface when
- The boxes are square, solid and dry, the layout already works, and you mostly dislike how the kitchen looks. New doors and fronts over sound boxes is usually far less work and far less mess.
- Replace when
- The boxes are sagging, water damaged or coming apart, the shelves bow, or the layout is the real problem. If the sink, the range or the fridge is moving, the boxes almost always go too.
- Mix the two
- Keep the uppers and replace the lowers, or reface most of the run and add new boxes where an old one failed. A contractor who has seen the room can tell you whether a mix makes sense.
What the contractor looks at
At the visit the contractor opens doors, pulls drawers and looks under the sink. They check whether the face frames are square, whether the boxes are fixed to the wall properly, and whether there is water damage in the sink base, the cabinet that sits under the water lines.
They also ask what bothers you. Not enough drawers, corners you cannot reach, uppers that stop short of the ceiling, a pantry that swallows things. Those answers shape the quote as much as the measurements do.
Choices that change the quote
Once you know whether the boxes stay or go, a handful of choices set the rest of the price. You do not need answers to all of them before the visit, but it helps to have thought about them.
- Doors and finish
- Shaker, flat slab and raised panel doors, painted or stained. Painted doors show chips more, stained doors show wear less.
- Drawers instead of doors
- Deep drawers in the lower cabinets hold pots and plates better than shelves behind doors, and they cost more per foot.
- Uppers to the ceiling
- Taking the uppers all the way up gives more storage and ends the dust shelf on top. It costs more and needs a step stool for the top row.
- Inside fittings
- Pull outs, trash drawers, corner carousels and tray dividers. Small things that add up on the quote.
Custom cabinets, semi custom or stock
Custom cabinets are built for your room, so an odd corner, a soffit or a wall that is not quite square stops being a problem. Semi custom lines come in more sizes and finishes than stock. Stock comes in fixed widths, and the contractor closes the gaps with filler strips. In an older, smaller kitchen, the extra sizes in semi custom or custom often win back storage that fixed widths waste. Each step up costs more and usually takes longer to arrive.
Whichever you choose, the written quote should name the cabinet line, the door style and the finish, not just say cabinets.
Who can do cabinet work
A cabinet only job can be done under a C-6 Cabinet, Millwork and Finish Carpentry license. When cabinets are part of a bigger remodel with counters, plumbing and electrical in it, a B General Building or B-2 Residential Remodeling contractor usually runs the whole job. We give you the license number of the contractor we connect you with so you can check the class yourself on the state license lookup.
Source CSLB license classifications
Questions people ask first
- Is refacing cheaper than new cabinets?
Usually, because the boxes stay and there is less demolition. It only makes sense if the boxes are sound and the layout already works, which is what the contractor checks at the visit.
- Can I keep my counters and only change the cabinets?
Sometimes with refacing, since the boxes and counters stay put. Replacing the boxes almost always means the counters come off, and stone counters rarely survive being removed.
- How long does a cabinet job take?
It depends on whether the cabinets are stock or made to order, and on what else is in the job. Ask the contractor for dates in the written quote.
- Do I need a permit for new cabinets?
Swapping cabinets alone often does not, but moving plumbing or adding circuits does. Mobile homes in a park follow state rules instead of the City's, covered under mobile home kitchen remodels. The contractor should say which permits your job needs in the quote.
- Who installs the new cabinets?
The licensed contractor we connect you with. On a cabinet only job that means a contractor holding the C-6 cabinet class. On a bigger remodel it is the same contractor who runs the rest of the kitchen.
- How are kitchen cabinets installed?
The old cabinets come out, the walls and floor are checked for level, the uppers usually go up first, then the base cabinets are set, leveled, shimmed and fixed to the studs. Counters are measured only after the bases are level and fixed.
- What do new kitchen cabinets cost?
No published survey breaks out what cabinets alone cost. They are usually the largest single line on a kitchen quote, and the price moves with stock, semi custom or custom, the door style and the inside fittings. Ask for the cabinets to be priced as their own line.
- What color kitchen cabinets won't date?
None is safe forever, because cabinet color trends turn every few years. Pick the finish you like living with. Painted doors show chips more over time, and stained wood shows wear less.
- Can refacing be done while I use the kitchen?
Mostly yes. The boxes stay in place, so the sink and counters usually keep working while doors, drawer fronts and veneer are replaced. Ask the contractor what will be out of use and for how long.
More for your Canyon Country kitchen
- Kitchen countertops in Canyon CountryQuartz, granite and other surfaces, and what changes a countertop quote.
- Small kitchen remodels in Canyon CountryMore storage and more counter from a tight kitchen, without moving walls.
- Changing a kitchen layout in Canyon CountryMoving the sink or range, adding an island, or opening a wall.
- Mobile home kitchen remodelsKitchens in mobile and manufactured homes run on state permits. What needs one.
- What a kitchen contract has to containThe headings, notices and bold lines California requires on the page.
- Deposit and payment rulesHow big a deposit may be, the bond exception, and lien releases.
- How to cancel a kitchen contractThree business days, five for a senior citizen, and how to cancel in writing.
- How to check a contractor's licenseThe free state lookup, the license classes, and what a bad result looks like.
- What a kitchen remodel costs hereSurvey figures, City permit fees, and the scope ladder that sets the number.
- How this service worksWhat happens after you get in touch, and what we never do.
- Kitchen remodel help in Canyon CountryOne call, then a licensed contractor at your home with a written quote.
Tell us about the kitchen and we connect you with a licensed contractor who comes to your home and quotes it.