Here is a picture of the existing drawer box interior. I would like to have a new drawer box made while reusing the old exterior face frame.

This post was edited by happs on Sat, Sep 13, 14 at 4:14

Lastly, a picture of the hinges on each door I want to replace with soft close ones. What's a fair labor price per door to install new hinges on the existing doors?

You won't save a thing over buying all new. You're talking a very labor intensive project (refacing) vs one that is much less so. The ONLY way that refacing saves is if you can DIY everthing yourself and place no value on your time.

I already know that refacing is as much or more than new, but I don't want to tear out the existing quartz countertops, sinks, huge mirrors, etc all to replace just the cabinets, so I am stuck with the cabinet carcass currently in place and am thinking about simply re-hinging and doing new drawer boxes instead.

Refacing is not cost effective unless you do it yourself. And it is not a simple task, either. We did our own kitchen refacing, saved probably $8,000 in labor so it was worth it. But it was a lot of work, and applying the veneers took some practice and skill. I think what I would do is buy the new doors and new drawer fronts from Barker, they are very reasonable and they'll bore the hinge holes for you. Their website can give you a quote as soon as you enter the size, type of wood, etc. I'd paint the cabinet boxes, new doors and drawers (a bit of work, but hey, if you want to keep the cabinets...) Get the new soft close drawer glides if you must have them, (Rockler sells them I think) and either paint or line those drawers with something to cover the not so pretty inside bottoms. Add the new knobs or pulls, hang the doors, install the drawer fronts (this is not too difficult), and call it done. Shouldn't cost too much at all, and will update and refresh the cabinets. I agree with you, those older cabinets are solid, meant to last and I'd hate to rip them out too..

Why would you need to remove the mirror to remove the cabinets? The counter won't be hard to do. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish here. Those cabinets are NOT worth saving and they are not some super rare high quality that needs to be preserved. They are old and slightly grody. Any buyer looking inside will wonder why someone would worry about the exerior appearance over the substance.

In order to remove the cabinets, the countertop must be removed and also the mirror, since it rests on the countertop. Furthermore, no pre-made/off the shelf non-custom cabinet (eg. Waypoint, Aristokraft etc) will work with my dimensions, even if the old cabinets could be removed so I have limited options and an entire refacing is too expensive. I've sent emails to finish carpenters in my area and it's amazing how many different answers I get to the hinge question. I still have no idea which model number new Blum soft close hinge would work on these old doors. Some even say no Blum European concealed hinge will work. I guess finish carpentry is more of an art than an exact science.

I am not about to reface the doors, but I do want to get new drawer boxes and re-use the old face frames if that's possible.

If you just want to make the drawers slide better, I've had good luck with applying foil tape to the bottom. I believe Rockler sells nylon tape for the same purpose. If getting new drawer boxes turns out to be expensive, maybe you could get a handyman to replace the bottoms, and sand down & apply a finish to the sides.

If you're good with a white vanity, I'd skip the refacing and just swap out the doors and drawers.

I'd go to Barkerdoor.com and price out new doors and drawer fronts in shaker style, like you want. You can make them bigger than your current ones so you can have full overlay. You can have them router out hinge holes for soft-close hinges, and then installing is a matter of installing a few screws.

Barker also sells drawer box kits. Measure what you've got and either buy Barker's hardware or get it online somewhere else (I got a good deal on Amazon: 18 sets of full-extension drawer glides for around $100).

You could get a handyman to do the work of assembling/replacing and I would think it could be done in less than a day.

RE: Barker Doors. Is it easy for a novice to measure and order the correct size drawer boxes? It seems like if I want someone to "hold my hand" and make new baltic birch plywood drawer boxes for me, the price triples.

Happs,
Looking at the first picture, you have a backsplash before the mirror? If so, your countertop can be easily removed.
Secondly, Barker also sells ready to Assemble cabinets that you can customize. It is really easy to do. I did Ikea cabinets but I am looking at Barkers for my wall cabinets because I want 15" deep wall cabinets. The Barker base cabinets come with soft close full extension blum drawers and you have a choice of configuration. You also have some great choices for door styles. I don't know if you were looking for a painted or wood door. For much less than $3000, you can configure a cabinet system for your current space.

Looking at the picture, I get the impression this is a 60" cabinet, is that correct?

Good luck!

I just happen to have priced out a 60" Barker vanity. This is in natural cherry with clearcoat varnish in the San Francisco door, a Shaker style.

18" 3 drawer base--$473 x 2 = $946
24" sink base--$282

Plus the toe kick skin. I think that's around $100. You don't need end panels, but you would need two fillers.

They have white paint and a medium wood stain. I've watched the video and I'm sure even I could put one together.

This post was edited by may_flowers on Mon, Sep 22, 14 at 18:13

I can do Dynasty for that price! Already assembled and finished, here in Iowa, using top quality materials. In a raised panel door, too. $1345 as pictured in alder. 10% extra for maple. 15% extra for cherry. The 5 pc raised panel drawers shown is a $175 upgrade.