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Cabinet Updates

Handis cabinet updates is the kitchen-cabinetry trade that resets the look and feel of a kitchen without a gut remodel — from a $400 whole-kitchen hardware swap to a $15,000 full cabinet refacing with replacement doors and drawer faces and new veneer skins on the boxes. The 1990s honey-oak kitchen that still has good bones in the cabinet boxes but reads as twenty-five years old at every door front. The painted-white shaker that has soft-shut every drawer since the day it was installed and is starting to slam. The 36-inch single-bowl sink cabinet that has soft-bottomed under the trap. The peninsula that wants to be an island and has never had the carpentry to make it one. Seven sub-services cover the real cabinet-update work honestly — cabinet painting and refinishing, full refacing, door and drawer-face replacement, hardware upgrades, soft-close hinge and slide upgrades, stock and RTA install, and island install with no plumbing or electrical moves. Every in-wall plumbing or new electrical circuit routes to a licensed Washington L&I sub.

Cabinet updates hub image — Seattle kitchen with newly refaced cabinet boxes and replacement shaker doors in a soft white finish, brushed-brass cabinet pulls on every door and drawer, soft-close European hinges visible on an open upper, a new island sitting square on the floor at the center of the room, and the original tile floor preserved underneath.

Services

Wide editorial photo of a Handis cabinet-updates crew in progress — an installer scribing the end panel of a new shaker upper to an out-of-plumb wall, a second technician masking the upper boxes with painter's tape ahead of a cabinet paint spray-out, a stack of replacement drawer fronts staged on the counter, and a folded drop cloth and a vacuum on the floor at the doorway.
Pricing

Cabinet Updates Pricing

Final pricing depends on cabinet count, door style, finish, hardware choice, and whether any veneer or replacement-door work is in scope. Each child page lists detailed pricing for that sub-service. Licensed-sub fees on rare plumbing or electrical add-ons pass through transparently with the line item named on the quote. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.

Tell us the kitchen, the cabinet count, and the scope — we will quote the whole project, sub coordination included where needed.

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Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Cabinet Updates
Trust

Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Cabinet Updates

Most cabinet updates we are asked to redo were started by a contractor who skipped the degrease, sprayed cabinet paint over a cooking-grease film, and watched the finish flake at the door pulls within six months. Or a refacing job where the veneer was glued to a face that was not sanded smooth and lifted at the corners by year two. Or a hardware install drilled freehand off a tape measure — the first ten doors look fine, by door fifteen the drift has started, by door twenty-five the eye picks up that nothing is on the same line. Cabinet updates is finish-grade carpentry — the prep work that does not show is what decides whether the finish lasts ten years or six months. After enough cabinets, every common failure mode has a fix in the truck and a named line on the quote.

Estimate

Tell us the kitchen (galley, U-shape, L-shape with island, walk-in pantry, rental turnover), the cabinet count (count door fronts and drawer fronts), the scope you have in mind (hardware, soft-close, paint, refacing, door replacement, RTA install, island carpentry), and any known constraints — an out-of-plumb wall, an out-of-level floor, an existing tile floor you want to preserve. We send a clear estimate with any licensed-sub portion called out separately when applicable.

Service cost estimate illustration
Reviews

What Our Customers Say

Recent cabinet updates reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.

Full cabinet refacing on our 1998 oak kitchen — 38 doors, 22 drawers. Handis ordered shaker-style replacement doors and drawer faces in soft white, applied new veneer skins on every visible box face, swapped to European concealed soft-close hinges, and ran a whole-kitchen jig-drilled pull set. Eight working days. The veneer is flat, the doors hang square, and the finish looks factory.

Megan and Brent P., Full Cabinet Refacing

Cabinet paint on a 1992 maple kitchen — 32 doors and 18 drawers. The tech degreased every box and door with TSP before he touched a sander, sprayed off-site on the doors, brushed-and-rolled the boxes, two coats of urethane enamel. Six months in, no chip at the door pulls. Worth the extra day of prep.

Theresa and Marcus B., Cabinet Paint, Full Kitchen

RTA install of a full IKEA Sektion kitchen — 28 cabinets, including the assembly. Handis built every box, set them on a level rail, scribed the end panels on both ends of every run, plumbed the faces, hung the doors. Four working days. Every door has a clean shadow line, every drawer closes square.

Patricia G., IKEA Sektion Full Kitchen Install

Just the cabinet hardware — 60 doors and drawer fronts, brushed-brass pulls at 96 mm on center, cabinets drilled at 3 inch from the factory. The tech filled every old hole, color-matched the stain on our walnut cabinets, jig-drilled new positions. Three hours, looks like the kitchen was built for them.

Daniel R., Whole-Kitchen Hardware Pitch Conversion

Soft-close hinge and slide upgrade on a 1990s slam-shut kitchen — 32 doors and 18 drawers. Old hinges were bare-metal European, old slides were metal-on-metal. Handis converted to Blum BLUMOTION hinges on every door and Blum TANDEM under-mount glides on every drawer. Single day. The kitchen is silent.

Frank B., Soft-Close Hinge & Slide Upgrade
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Handis cabinet updates — pricing, scope, refacing versus painting versus full replacement, and what fits each sub-service.

How much does a cabinet update cost?
A whole-kitchen hardware swap on existing or jig-drilled templates starts at $400. A soft-close hinge and slide upgrade on a partial kitchen starts at $400 and runs to $1,200 on a full kitchen of 30 to 50 doors and drawers. Door and drawer-face replacement on existing boxes starts at $2,500 for a partial kitchen and runs to $7,000 for a full kitchen. Cabinet painting starts at $2,500 for a partial kitchen and runs to $15,000 for a full kitchen of 30 to 50 doors and drawers in a premium urethane enamel. Island installation (carpentry only, no plumbing or electrical) starts at $2,000 for a stock island and runs to $6,000 for a custom-built island with a stone counter. Stock and RTA install starts at $4,500 for a partial run and runs to $12,000 for a full kitchen of 25 to 40 cabinets including RTA assembly. Full cabinet refacing starts at $6,500 for a partial kitchen and runs to $15,000 for a full kitchen with replacement doors, new veneer skins on the boxes, new hinges, and new pulls. You get a written estimate before any work begins.
Refacing versus painting versus full replacement — what is the right call?
Honest answer — it depends on the box. If the boxes are good (solid frame, square doors, no soft bottoms under the sink from a leak), painting is the cheapest route to a new look — $2,500 to $15,000 for a full kitchen in a premium urethane enamel. Refacing adds new doors and drawer faces and new veneer skins on the visible box faces — $6,500 to $15,000 — and gets you a different door style, not just a different color. Door and drawer-face replacement only is a middle ground — $2,500 to $7,000 — for a kitchen where the boxes are in good shape and you like the box color. Full replacement (which is the Sinks & Fixtures or full RTA install scope) is the right answer when the boxes are warped, water-damaged, or the layout has to change. We tell you on the booking call which path fits your specific kitchen.
Does Handis do any of the plumbing or electrical on a cabinet update?
Rarely. Most cabinet updates have no plumbing or electrical scope — cabinet hardware, soft-close upgrades, painting, refacing, door replacement, RTA install on existing rough-in, and island installation with no plumbing or electrical moves all finish in pure Handis cabinetry and carpentry scope. The exceptions — relocating the sink cabinet, adding a dishwasher next to an existing cabinet, adding under-cabinet lighting on a new switch leg, adding a pot-filler at the range, or relocating a disposal — route the regulated portion to a licensed Washington L&I plumber or electrician. We tell you on the booking call whether your specific scope needs a sub and we name the sub on the quote.
How long does a cabinet update take?
A whole-kitchen hardware swap is 2 to 4 hours. Soft-close hinge and slide upgrade on a full kitchen is one Handis visit. Door and drawer-face replacement runs two to three days. A cabinet paint with hardware is three to five working days (one day of prep, one day of spray, one day of cure, one day of re-hang and touch-up). RTA install of a full kitchen with assembly is four to six working days. Cabinet refacing is six to ten working days depending on cabinet count and finish. Island install with no plumbing or electrical is one to two days. The schedule on the quote includes any sub days so you see the whole calendar up front.
Can I keep using the kitchen during the work?
Hardware swaps, soft-close upgrades, door and drawer-face replacement, and island install keep the kitchen mostly online — sink and stove stay available, drawer or door is offline for the bit being swapped. Cabinet painting and refacing take the kitchen offline for the spray-cure-rehang sequence; we sequence the work so the refrigerator and microwave are reachable. RTA install of a full kitchen takes the kitchen offline for the duration. We sequence the work and we will tell you on the call which days the kitchen is fully offline so you can plan around it.
What if there is water damage under the sink cabinet?
We stop and tell you before we do anything beyond what the original quote covers. Soft cabinet bottom under the trap from a slow drip nobody noticed, water-stained interior side panels, rotted toe-kick at the dishwasher, or substrate damage from a previously fixed leak crosses into carpentry and substrate-rebuild scope and changes the quote. You see the photos, you see the revised number, you sign off, then we proceed. If the issue is a corroded supply nipple or a leaking shut-off, that routes to the licensed plumber sub on a coordinated subcontract.
Do you supply the doors, drawer faces, hardware, hinges, and slides, or do I pick them?
You pick the finish and style — the look is yours to own. We can recommend door style and brand if you have not specified (shaker, slab, raised-panel, beadboard; Cabinet Door Shop, Conestoga, TaylorCraft on replacement doors; Blum, Salice, Grass on hinges; Blum TANDEM, Salice FUTURA on drawer slides; Rejuvenation, House of Antique Hardware, Top Knobs on decorative pulls) and we can stage the order to land at our shop before the install date so the doors acclimate. If you want a fully custom door style or finish, that routes to a custom-door order with a 4 to 6 week lead time. We talk through both options on the booking call.
My cabinets are drilled at 3 inch on center and the new pulls are 96 mm — will the old holes show?
Not after the job is done. We fill the old holes with a color-matched wood filler — Minwax Wood Filler on stained wood with a follow-up stain touch-up, or paintable spackle on painted cabinets touched up from your leftover cabinet paint. On stained wood the filled holes are invisible at conversational distance. On painted cabinets the filled holes are well hidden under the touched-up paint. We bring a small stain or paint kit; you can also supply leftover paint from your cabinet job for a more precise match.
Will the new finish chip at the door pulls within a year?
Not if the prep is done right. Every cabinet paint and refinishing project starts with a TSP (or TSP-substitute) wash on every box and door face — kitchen cabinet boxes carry a film of cooking-grease aerosol that no primer bonds through. Skip the degrease and the finish flakes at the high-touch points within six to twelve months. We degrease, sand to a fine grit, prime with a bonding primer, and finish in two coats of cabinet-grade urethane enamel. The one-year project warranty covers any chip or peel in our scope.
Is the work guaranteed?
Yes. Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician has cleared a background screening before the first job. The one-year project warranty covers our scope — cabinetry, refacing, painting, install, hardware, hinges, slides, finish carpentry, and re-caulk. If a finish flakes at a door pull, a veneer lifts at a corner, a drawer slide loses its soft-close, a hinge sags, a scribed end panel pulls away from the wall, or a re-caulked joint fails within the year, we come back and fix it at no extra charge. The licensed-sub portion on the rare plumbing or electrical add-on carries the sub's own Washington L&I trade warranty, also named on the quote.

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Monday:09:00 - 21:00
Tuesday:09:00 - 21:00
Wednesday:09:00 - 21:00
Thursday:09:00 - 21:00
Friday:09:00 - 21:00
Saturday:09:00 - 21:00
Sunday:Closed

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