How many square feet of granite? How many doors/drawers will be replaced? Does it include refinishing and/or edge-banding of the existing cabinet boxes to match the new doors? Does it include demo of the old countertop and doors and installation of everything that is new? Does it include hardware? Sink? Faucet? Backsplash of any kind? Are you located in NY/NJ where prices are always higher?

My gut reaction is that the number is high. But I would need to know more details.

15K for refacing seems high. Many people have had good experiences with HD and others have had bad experience. It just depends. The only thing I don't like about HD is that you don't go to the yard to pick out your individual slab. Slabs can vary alot. If you can, and if the process doesn't stress you out too much; I'd cancel the process and look into replacing the cabinets. It may not cost you any more money.

HD gets mixed reviews here. Some people are thrilled with their experience, some get nightmares. And some in between. But the fact is, there are two problems with your situation.

1. I would never sign over that kind of money without first shopping around. Not only for cost, but also for options. Even if the cost is the very best, you don't want to see some gorgeous granite somewhere the day after your install only to find out you COULD have had that if you'd just known about it. And really, based on what I've been reading here for over 7 years, HD is not always the cheapest. Not necessarily even usually the cheapest.

2. Whenever a salesperson says something to me like "...if we sign the contract TODAY..." I run away. Fast. It's BS. It's a sales ploy to get you to sign based on emotion rather than real value. I've never ever ever regretted not buying "today" when pushed to. I've always found a better deal somewhere else. And the REAL truth is that HD is always offering 10% off deals. I see them and read about them here all the time.

He just left off the rest of the sentence: ...if [you] sign the contract TODAY, I'll give you 10% off.... of course I'll also give you that 10% off if you sign next week. Or next month.

My advice: cancel the contract. If you do go back to HD eventually, I'd ask for a different salesperson.

I am in the middle of a HD reno myself, except for new Thomasville cabinets (which is apparently their most expensive line). Granite is through a granite yard. That price seems really high for refacing and with only one new cabinet. Our kitchen (from 1988) is also a U with a fridge wall. We did the demo ourselves and the price we paid for the new cabinets, with 1 30" wide pantry and about 13 cabinets which included a couple pull-outs and a trash pull out, was right at $11,000 including their install (which has been great, but I understand can be touch and go depending on the contractor you get from HD). I did get a quote on refacing (not from HD) and I didn't think it was worth the expense when I could get new cabinets with soft close everything, change cabinets to drawer bases and 30" uppers to 42" uppers, etc., for only "slightly" more. If you don't want the hassle of demo and have your heart set on refacing, definitely get more quotes. This seems unreasonably high.

Or see what kind of "deal" HD will give you on replacing your cabinets (especially if you are willing to demo yourself...saves some money and is very easy). Then take that quote to other cabinet shops. You might be surprised. HD is always running these specials, so don't feel the pressure from that. And I would not recommend getting granite from them. Going through a granite yard was way cheaper and you get to pick your own slab.

Good luck to you.

With the big box stores it's totally the luck of the draw. Your store may currently have someone competent, but they also may not.

I agree that that price seems extremely high.

My experience with HD doesn't have to do with re-facing but new cabinets. We told the woman there that we wanted something that was decent quality but wanted to watch the budget. We asked her to show us the best options. She priced out their American Woodmark cabinets, which compared to what we currently had were awesome. The quote for cabinets alone was $5,000-6,000 depending on what extras we wanted.
We also decided to check with our local Carter Lumber store for the heck of it never thinking the price would be any better. We were totally wrong!! We were able to order Kraftmaid cabinets (that HD also carried) which are now all wood and no fiber board unlike the American Woodmark we originally looked at. The cost from Carter Lumber was $3200.
So, I would cancel the contract and try some other places. Worse thing is you are back at HD in a few weeks re-ordering your items.

You know, if you just want to update your look, here's another possibility. My sister in law had 80s builder special cabinets that worked okay but were dated looking. Like you, she got an outrageous quote for refacing them. Instead she found a woman in her area who specializes in updating existing kitchens. For a very reasonable price (can't remember exactly what was, sorry) the woman painted and glazed her existing cabinets and rearranged some of them to make a more functional layout. Then they got a new countertop by going directly to the fabricator. It looks great.

I looked into getting marble countertops from them and from an independent custom shop. Their prices were a couple hundred dollars cheaper but not that much. However, I also asked them to price a silestone top for a bath vanity and it was $1500 cheaper than that same independent shop. So I signed the contract. I hope it comes out nice. So bottom line was that some things are comparable in price to a place that has guaranteed fabulous installation and some prices were much, much better. Net result, I am using both places to do work. Also, HD told me that I could go to the slab place and see if the marble I was interested in was the shade of white that I wanted. So I went to Datile and saw the slabs. Turns out, the independent place also uses Datile so the slabs would have been exactly the same had I used HD for the marble.

I hope you can find a place that can resurface for less. It is a shame to get rid of good wooden cabinets. The stuff that is made today is not comparable. While we are renovating we are in a rental with cabinets from the 1940's. Boy are they solid solid wood!

good luck.

I re read your post...the doors are laminate? Sounds expensive. HD was much more expensive when I priced my granite and having my cabinets painted. Have you seen some of the threads with painted cabinets? You can get a totally new look for a very reasonable investment.

I called to get quotes from 2 companies that reface cabinets. The first was Home Depot and the second was a local company.....surprise surprise. When the local company guy came he looked very familiar. It was the same man who works for Home Depot! Anyways, we had him to our refacing and quartz countertops. We went to the local Granite/Quartz shop and ordered what we wanted and got his price for them. We are completely happy with our refaced kitchen and the counters are beautiful.

Good luck

I would also cancel and shop around. We just paid $1200 for all new cabinets, granite (of our choice, from a granite yard), and instalation! We bought the cabinets (Kraftmaid)through Lowes because of their 18 mo. free financing, but went with a local installer. He was $800 less than Lowes wanted to do the same job! Granted our kitchen is huge, but still feel we got a good deal.

Don't use Home Depot for refacing, they are very expensive. I had them give me an estimate and they were more then double what I got other places!

oopps, I meant to say "my kitchen ISN'T huge" !

I had my own problems with HD, before we remodled. I called a few places to come give estimates. No one had a problem with me being the only one there, when they came out. HD wouldn't schedule an appointment unless my husband was there too!!!! Boy did I let them have it over that one! It may have just been the one person who called to set up the appointment, but it was unbelievable!!!

For that price, you can have all new cabinets and counters. That way you wouldn't be imprisoned to your current layout and other limitations that your kitchen may have.

Cancel your contract until you are better informed about the possibilities in your renovation. Your money can be spent a lot more wisely, or at least you can be sure you are choosing correctly if you go back to the refacing decision.

This is a question for BD323, How many cabinets did you get for $3200 and what style ? That seems extremely low for Kraftmaid all wood cabinets.

There are other options for cabinet refacing that can ensure a positive outcome; many cabinet dealers are offering that option to homeowners who are happy with their floorplan, and who may be wanting to save money by not changing countertops etc.

Here is a video on the topic of refacing cabinets. I think the computer generated dialogue is hilarious - suppose it is because I am a cabinet geek; the overall info is good though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet refacing - as told by peeps

I'd rather go home and freakin HANG MYSELF - than have ANY of the BIG BOX CORPORATE GIANTS screw up my kitchen -

Home Depot for remodeling kitchen, good choice?

in a word:

N O

I would cancel that contract and do some comparison shopping. Believe me, they will always give you the 10% discount...that is a "come-one" to make you think you are getting a heck of a deal if you act NOW...so don't fall for it.
You still may go back there, but at least you have an idea of what other places might cost. Good Luck!

CANCEL. THAN RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, AZ. Is there something specific you object to? You don't like the merchandise, some portion of the merchandise, the level of competence of their KDs? You object to Big Box philosophically? I agree highway35 was getting a snow job, but your reaction was kinda on the big side, so I wonder.

Let me add in that I never darken the door of WalMart because I object to their business model with regards to impact on local towns (cost cutting until the locals go out of business and then pulling out), and their treatment/payment of their workers. You could say I have moral objections, therefore I don't do business with them. Maybe you have similar problems with Big Box?

Another vote for shopping around. Where I live, the stone countertops at HD are actually the highest priced around - every granite yard I went to was significantly lower priced.

I never go to a big box store unless I'm forced to. I'd much rather support my local businesses. The owners live in the community, so their profits stay in the community. I also get much better service and a better grade of products.
Too often the BB stores have products made cheaper by the name brand manufacturers just to be at a certain price point.

Don't be fooled.

Our local cabinet company did a beautiful job with ours for half what HD wanted. Also, I think you have to order what's in their catalog, no custom cabs, like several of the ones my guy did for odd spaces.

Susannesl -

FOR ME working as a subcontractor doing Granite Countertops for HD was THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY -

I worked with them for four years - 2000 through 2004 - NEVER AGAIN !!!!

This thread can't hold all of my feelings towards HD, AND the big box "mentality" that is HD - so I'll just say that after working as a sub for these clowns and some of their customers - I'd had enough in 2004 and said I did NOT need the headaches any longer - good riddance!!!

If you're ready to spend $15K you have a lot of buying power -- at least around here, you could get new custom cabinets and some very spiffy granite for that much, plus maybe an artsy backsplash and hood. So yeah, shop around if for no other reason than that you'll see more alternatives. Go to a stone yard or two ... are you near an urban area? Visit some cabinet makers. If your time is short it might even be worth dropping $1000 on a kitchen designer -- you'll still come out ahead.

Our current kitchen is 14x15. When we redid everything six years ago, we got a quote from HD for Kraftmaid NEW cabinets for the perimeter (which included a pantry with roll out shelves and a 2x4 island). If I remember correctly, their quote was around $15000. HD sources all of their installations out to local installers anyway, so they have to upcharge for those fees.

I also went to a local cabinetry place and got the same layout quoted and they came in (with better quality cabinets and more upgrades) for $12000. That included two bathrooms as well.

I know your situation is different with the refacing but you should shop around nonetheless.

So my advice to you is to RUN back to HD and get your contract back and go to a local cabinetry place. Not only will you support your local businesses but more than likely you'll save money and get more for the money you do spend. You'll also get better service.

AZ-now I get where you're coming from. My nephew did lumber stacking (or something) for HD for a short time and it near drove him nuts. My son works at Barnes and Noble and has similar issues.

We are buying frameless cabs from HD because we like the workmanship and versatility, but we aren't using their labor. We can do most of the work ourselves except for expert stuff like new wiring, maybe some plumbing, and, of course, the counters, whatever they turn out to be. Undecided on that front. That work will all be from local shops. When we were first there and the KD started with all the "specials" that ran out "soon," my husband was confused by the segue until I told him the guy was telling us about their "blue light specials." Oops, missed out on that month's deals, but guess what?! there were more deals the next month. Careful planning trumps transient specials, which is where this thread began.

We considered HD for a kitchen remodel. The guy came out to measure our space. We have 2 non-load-bearing walls that open to a cathedral ceiling, and one entry way wall with a bit of a dog-leg in it---but nothing crazy and everything was 100% accessible for measuring. When we reviewed the guy's plan, we saw that he had mis-measured the whole thing---even the straight cabinet runs did not add up correctly. We passed.

Consult your local kitchen dealer. You should be able to get all new cabinets installed for the same price as refacing. I have sold kitchens for 13 years now, working at HD, Sears refacing and small local shops. My time at Sears selling refacing was awful, expensive high pressure sales environment. You can do better. Most folks who work at an HD are there because its entry level. You will get a far better experiences at your local shop, with better value and knowledge.