Kitchen cabinet refacing vs replacement in Dubai

Refacing keeps your existing carcass and fits new doors, drawer fronts and end panels. Replacement takes the boxes out and starts again. In Dubai the choice is rarely about style. It comes down to whether the board inside your cabinets is still dry, and whether the hinges still have solid material to bite into.

What refacing actually means here

Refacing is a front order. New doors, drawer fronts, plinth and end panels, measured against boxes that stay exactly where they are, plus new hinges and runners where the originals are finished. Carcass, shelf pins, plumbing tails and service void all stay. The fronts are cut on the same benches as our made-to-measure kitchens made in our Dubai workshop, from the same board.

Replacement takes the boxes out, re-levels, re-fixes or replaces the worktop, and usually opens up the plumbing. In a workshop those are two different jobs. One is a door set cut to fit existing openings. The other is a drawn joinery package where every aperture is decided before a board is cut.

The five things that decide it

What you are checking	Refacing holds	Replacement
Sink and dishwasher bay base	Board dry, edges sound	Dark swollen edges, soft corners, musty smell
Hinges and runners	Screws bite, doors hang square	Enlarged screw holes, drawers that drop when loaded
Layout	Sink, hob and fridge stay put	Island going in, appliance sizes changing
Carcass material	18mm ply in good condition	Particleboard swollen at cut edges
Services	Water and gas untouched	Sink or hob moving

Material is the one owners underestimate. A plywood box that has stayed dry will take new hinges and hold them year after year. plywood vs MDF kitchen cabinets behave very differently once water sits in the dishwasher zone, which is the wettest 600mm in most Dubai kitchens. Shelf-pin holes tell you quickly which you have: sharp, clean holes in a layered board are ply.

Where refacing genuinely wins

Layout unchanged, carcass dry, hardware sound, and an owner who wants a different door style rather than a different kitchen. A flat slab door in a matte finish on boxes that are already square is a straightforward front order, and the kitchen stays in use while it is built. Demolition stops at taking the old fronts off. No temporary kitchen, no re-tiling, no plumber, no waiting on a worktop.

A front order can carry a colour scheme. The dark green island here sets the tone for every door and panel around it.

"The team was professional, creative, and attentive to every detail throughout the entire project." Aji Varghese, 5/5

That is one of 22 Google reviews, and the average sits at 5.

Where refacing is a false economy

Particleboard that has swollen along the base. A new hinge screwed into crumbly board pulls out within weeks, and then you pay for the doors twice. Hinge screw holes that have already been filled and refilled, because the bite is gone even if the door hangs straight today. New appliances needing different apertures, since widening a fridge niche or shifting a hob is carcass work.

The mistake most Dubai owners make

Ordering doors before measuring the appliances and before checking how the carcass was levelled. Boxes sit on adjustable legs over a floor that is not always flat. A run out of level shows up at the door gaps, and hinge adjustment will not hide it.

The second mistake is comparing a fitted refacing quote with a free-standing cabinet price from a retailer. Different backs, different fixing, different tolerances. The comparison does not hold, and it decides the job on the wrong number.

How we check a carcass before quoting

Six checks, about twenty minutes with the client:

1. Press the base board inside the sink unit and the dishwasher bay. Soft or damp edges end the refacing conversation there.
2. Run a spirit level across the carcass tops and read the door gaps at three points. Movement means structure, not fitting.
3. Pull every drawer out fully loaded and watch the front for drop.
4. Try a hinge screw in the most used door. If it spins without grip, that panel is finished.
5. Look along the mitres and panel joints. Gaps that open and close through the year mean the boxes are moving.
6. Measure the actual appliances with ventilation clearance, not the old aperture.

Loose furniture comes out of the same workshop, so a kitchen front can be matched to the room next door.

We run those checks at our DAMAC Hills 1 workshop and showroom, where you can also see the loose furniture side of the business if you are furnishing around the kitchen.

Lead time and sequencing

A made-to-measure front order starts after the final site measure, and that measure belongs after the layout and appliance models are settled. Choose the appliances, settle the plumbing, then measure, then build, then fit. Appliance delivery should land before install week, not after it. how long a kitchen renovation takes in Dubai sets out that sequence properly.

To price your job, send photos of the inside of the sink base, the dishwasher bay, one full run with the doors closed and one close up of a door gap. Add the run widths and heights, your appliance models, and the unit number in DAMAC Hills 1. WhatsApp is the fastest route on +97152 996 0363, or book a showroom visit at DAMAC Hills and we will open a couple of doors with you.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep my existing hinges if only the doors are replaced?

Usually not. Hinges and runners wear faster than doors do, and reusing tired hinges on new fronts is how sagging comes back within months. New doors are drilled to standard hinge patterns, so new hinges cost little more than refitting old ones.

How do I tell whether my carcass is plywood or particleboard?

Look at the shelf-pin holes and any exposed edge. Ply shows layers; particleboard shows a speckled core and swells where it has been cut. A close photo of an open shelf edge is enough for us to tell you before you order anything.

Is refacing always cheaper than a full replacement in Dubai?

No, and the gap depends on the job. Price follows the number and size of fronts, the hardware, and any carcass repairs. A fair quote itemises doors, drawer fronts, end panels, plinth, hinges and runners separately, so you can see what the carcass work adds.

Can I move the sink or hob and still reface?

Not that unit. Moving water, waste or gas changes the carcass, so those cabinets become replacement work while the rest of the run can still be refaced. Tell us at the survey stage so the drawing and the quote reflect it.

Do you make doors for kitchens you did not install?

Yes. Doors and drawer fronts are made to measure against the boxes that are already there, which is why the final measure matters more than any standard size. Send photos and the run measurements and we will price it.