Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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Before
AfterCabinet Installation & Refacing in San Diego, CA
Cabinets & Countertops installation and refacing in San Diego typically costs between $3,500 and $22,000 depending on whether you’re replacing cabinets entirely or renewing the existing box with new doors, drawer fronts, and veneer. Most projects are completed in three to seven business days. Rowan Construction Group has delivered cabinet work across San Diego since 2007 – every project starts with a written flat price and a signed scope before anyone picks up a tool, under Clause 1 of the Haven Standard.
If your Kitchen Design & Layout works but the cabinets look tired, or if you’re doing a full gut-and-rebuild, the right path depends on what’s actually behind those doors – not what a showroom rep tells you looks better. Our process starts with an honest assessment of your existing cabinet boxes, because refacing a water-damaged box is money spent on a problem that comes back. Grant Rowan and the Rowan team have done this enough times – more than 4,000 projects documented since 2007 – to give you a number in writing before you decide anything.
Cabinet work sits at the center of any serious Kitchen Remodeling in San Diego project. It’s where most of the budget lives and where most of the visual result comes from. Call us at (858) 434-8926 if you want a written estimate and a straight answer about whether installation or refacing makes more sense for your specific kitchen.
When You Need Cabinet Installation & Refacing
- Doors that won’t close flush or hinges that keep pulling loose. In San Diego’s coastal zones – think Point Loma, Ocean Beach, and La Jolla – salt air accelerates hinge corrosion and causes frames to swell and settle unevenly. When adjustments stop holding, the box itself is usually still sound, which makes refacing a legitimate option.
- Laminate or veneer that’s peeling, bubbling, or delaminating. This is common in kitchens built between 1985 and 2005 when applied-foil finishes were standard. The substrate underneath is often solid; the surface is the problem.
- A kitchen layout you’d keep if the cabinets just looked different. Refacing costs 40 to 60 percent less than full replacement when the box positions work for how you actually cook and move through the space.
- Water damage at the base cabinet under the sink. This is the one scenario where refacing alone doesn’t solve it. If the particleboard box has swollen or delaminated from a slow leak, replacement of at least those runs is the right call – we document the condition with photographs before we quote so you’re not taking our word for it.
- A full kitchen remodel where existing cabinets are being removed. When walls are moving, plumbing is being relocated, or you’re adding an island, new cabinet installation is the only path. We source from KraftMaid and Wellborn, both of which offer San Diego-relevant finishes that hold up to the UV exposure common in south- and west-facing kitchens.
- You’ve inherited a flipped home with builder-grade cabinets that were installed quickly and show it. San Diego’s 2017-2023 flip cycle left a lot of kitchens with misaligned boxes, hollow-core doors, and finish nails where screws should be. A proper installation corrects the structure, not just the surface.
Our Cabinet Installation & Refacing Process
- Written assessment and documented photo record before any work starts. A uniformed, background-checked Rowan technician walks the kitchen with you, photographs every cabinet run, checks box condition at the base and upper units, notes the substrate material (plywood vs. particleboard matters for refacing adhesion), and documents hinge type, drawer slide condition, and any evidence of moisture. You get a copy of that photo record. The assessment costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
- Written flat-price quote with a defined scope. Under Clause 1 of the Haven Standard, no number is verbal and no scope is approximate. The quote names the cabinet line (KraftMaid or Wellborn for new installations; wood species and door style for refacing), the hardware grade, the finish, and what the crew will do if they find something unexpected behind existing cabinets. If the scope changes, a signed change order comes before any additional work – that’s not a policy we invented; it’s the administrative discipline that has kept Rowan projects within a few percent of the agreed cost across 4,000-plus jobs.
- Demolition and substrate preparation. For new installations, existing cabinets are removed, the wall surface is inspected for level and plumb (San Diego’s hillside lots – Kensington, Mission Hills, Hillcrest – frequently have walls that are more creative than the original plans suggested), and any necessary blocking is added before a single new cabinet goes up. For refacing, existing doors and drawer fronts are removed, box faces are sanded to create proper adhesion, and the veneer or laminate is cut and applied in sequence.
- Cabinet installation or refacing, level and plumb. New cabinets are hung to a laser-established reference line, not by eye. Upper cabinets are secured to wall studs with screws of the correct length for the substrate – a step that sounds obvious but is skipped more often than homeowners know on fast-schedule jobs. For refacing, door hinge cups are routed into the new doors before hanging so the geometry is correct from the start rather than shimmed after the fact.
- Hardware installation and final adjustment. Drawer slides are tested under load. Soft-close hinges are adjusted to close at the same speed and land at the same gap across every door in the run. Pulls and knobs are installed to a consistent centerline. This is the stage that takes longer than most crews budget for, and it’s where the quality of the finished job is actually visible.
- Final walkthrough with a documented photo record. Every completed visit at Rowan includes a photo record of the finished work – not a marketing photo, a documentation photo that shows alignment, hardware, and any condition we noted during installation. You keep that record. The 365-Day Done Right Promise is printed on your paperwork: if it’s not right, we make it right, under The Haven Standard, not a handshake.
Before
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Cabinet pricing in San Diego runs higher than national averages because of permit and inspection costs, the skilled-trade labor market here, and the material lead times into Southern California. The numbers below reflect what Rowan actually quotes in this market – not what an aggregator website says the national average is.
| Scope | Typical San Diego Range | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Refacing – Small Kitchen (under 150 sq ft) | $3,500 – $6,500 | New doors, drawer fronts, veneer on box faces, hardware |
| Cabinet Refacing – Medium Kitchen (150-250 sq ft) | $6,500 – $11,000 | Same scope, more linear footage; soft-close upgrade common |
| Cabinet Refacing – Large or Open-Plan Kitchen | $11,000 – $16,000 | Full refacing including island if applicable |
| New Cabinet Installation – Semi-Custom (KraftMaid, Wellborn) | $9,000 – $22,000 | Cabinets, hardware, installation labor; excludes countertops |
| New Cabinet Installation – Stock Grade | $5,500 – $9,500 | In-stock product, standard sizes, basic hardware |
What moves the number
- Box condition for refacing jobs. Particleboard boxes with moisture damage require partial or full replacement before veneering – we document this in the assessment photo record so the cost adjustment is visible and explained, not a surprise line on a revised invoice.
- Door style and material. A flat-slab door in a thermofoil finish costs less than a five-piece shaker door in painted maple. The difference in a medium kitchen is typically $1,500 to $3,000.
- Hardware grade. Soft-close hinges and undermount drawer slides add $600 to $1,200 to a mid-size kitchen but reduce the wear rate on the doors and faces noticeably. We name the hardware brand and spec in the written quote.
- Interior upgrades. Pull-out shelves, roll-out trays, and drawer organizers are quoted as individual line items, not bundled into a vague “premium package” price.
- Access and site conditions. Hillside properties in San Diego – parts of Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and neighborhoods east toward El Cajon – sometimes require more staging time for material delivery. That cost is visible in the quote, not absorbed and averaged.
The written quote you receive from Rowan is a flat price with a written scope. There is no “call for a quote” here – under Clause 1 of the Haven Standard, you see the number before anyone starts. If you have a written estimate from another contractor, bring it to us: our Free Second Opinion offer means we’ll review it line by line at no charge so you can compare scopes, not just totals.
Call (858) 434-8926 to schedule an assessment and receive your written estimate.
FAQs – Cabinet Installation & Refacing
Is refacing worth it, or should I just replace the cabinets?
Refacing is worth it when your cabinet boxes are structurally sound, your layout works, and your budget is $6,000 to $11,000 rather than $15,000 or more. If the boxes are plywood and the layout is efficient, refacing delivers most of the visual change at 40 to 60 percent of the cost of full replacement. It’s not worth it when the box material is compromised by moisture or the current layout genuinely wastes space – in those cases, paying more for new installation saves money over a longer horizon because you’re not refacing again in ten years. Our assessment photographs the box condition before we quote, so you’re making that decision based on what’s actually there. Call (858) 434-8926 and we’ll document it for you at no charge.
How long does cabinet refacing take in San Diego?
Most San Diego cabinet refacing projects run three to five business days for a medium-sized kitchen. Larger kitchens with an island or extended upper runs can take five to seven days. Material lead time – meaning how long the doors and veneer take to arrive after the order is placed – is typically two to four weeks depending on the door style and supplier. We give you that lead time in writing when we quote so you can plan around it. New cabinet installation with semi-custom product from KraftMaid or Wellborn typically carries a four to eight week lead time before the installation crew arrives, followed by two to four days on site.
Do I need a permit for cabinet replacement or refacing in San Diego?
Cabinet refacing does not require a permit in San Diego because it’s a like-for-like cosmetic change to an existing structure. New cabinet installation that involves moving the cabinet layout, relocating plumbing for a sink, or altering electrical for under-cabinet lighting may require a permit depending on the scope – we identify this during the assessment and include permit cost as a line item in the written quote when it applies. San Diego’s permit process for kitchen work runs four to eight weeks if over-the-counter approval isn’t available, which is a timeline we build into the project schedule so it doesn’t surface as a surprise mid-project.
What cabinet brands does Rowan use?
For new semi-custom installations, Rowan sources primarily from KraftMaid and Wellborn – both carry full-access and framed construction options, and both have finish lines that hold up to San Diego’s UV and coastal humidity conditions better than some lower-cost imports. For refacing, we work with door fabricators who cut to exact existing box dimensions rather than standard sizes, which matters in older San Diego homes where the original cabinet heights don’t match current stock dimensions. The specific product, line, and finish are named in your written quote, not described as “quality cabinetry” in a general sense. If you’re curious about fit with other specific home improvement work you’re planning, ask us at the estimate – we can scope across trades from a single written price.
Why Rowan Construction Group for Cabinet Work in San Diego
Grant Rowan founded this company in 2007 with one operating rule: the price is in writing before anyone picks up a tool. That rule is now Clause 1 of the Haven Standard, and it hasn’t changed across more than 4,000 projects. In San Diego’s Kitchen Remodeling market, where cost overruns on cabinet jobs are common and scope creep is often built into a low opener number, a written flat price with a defined scope is the actual differentiator – not a slogan.
Every Rowan crew member is background-checked and uniformed. Every project visit produces a documented photo record that belongs to you – not our marketing department. The 365-Day Done Right Promise means that if cabinet doors aren’t aligned, if drawer slides bind, or if veneer lifts at a seam, we come back and correct it. That’s in writing on your paperwork, under The Haven Standard, with terms you can read on the page – not an asterisk pointing to a phone number.
If you’ve received a written estimate from another San Diego contractor, bring it to us. Our Free Second Opinion offer covers a line-by-line review at no charge. You’ll know what you’re comparing before you sign anything.
Cabinet work is the core of a Full Kitchen Remodeling project – it’s where the money goes and where the result is most visible every day. Get a written price first. Call Rowan Construction Group San Diego at (858) 434-8926 to schedule your free assessment and receive a flat written estimate for cabinet installation or refacing at your San Diego home.
Written by Grant Rowan, Owner at Rowan Construction Group San Diego, serving San Diego since 2007.