Refinishing Cabinets Since 1995
Cabinet Refinishing in Wallingford, CT
Gagnon Painting & Decorating has been refinishing cabinets since 1995. Wallingford is a strong candidate town for it: 72.8% of the housing is owner-occupied, and long-held homes are exactly where dated-but-sound kitchens accumulate.
Refinishing can save thousands against the cost of new cabinets, and our finish is warrantied against flaking and peeling.
What are we usually refinishing in a Wallingford kitchen?
Solid mid-century cabinetry, most of the time. The town's housing peaks hard in the post-war decades — 4,254 units built in the 1940s and 50s, and further large cohorts through the 60s and 70s — so the typical Wallingford kitchen we are asked to refinish is original or near-original cabinetry from that period.
That is good news. Cabinetry of that era is usually solid stock with straightforward slab or simple raised-panel doors, built before the industry moved to thin veneers over particle board. It takes a finish well, and the flat door profiles common in capes and ranches are among the easiest surfaces to get a genuinely smooth result on.
The things that argue against refinishing are the same everywhere: bases that have been wet, hinges failing across the whole run, or a layout that does not work. We will say so if that is what we find.
Where the kitchen sits in a home built before 1978 — and 58.8% of Wallingford's housing dates from 1979 or earlier — cabinet work that disturbs painted surfaces falls under the EPA's lead-safe rules. We are an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm.
Wallingford cabinet refinishing questions
Are 1950s cabinets worth refinishing?
Very often yes, and better candidates than many people expect. Cabinetry from that period is typically solid stock rather than veneered particle board, so it takes preparation and coating well and the doors are usually flat or simply panelled — which is the easiest profile to finish smoothly. The deciding factor is the condition of the boxes, not the age.
How much does refinishing save?
Thousands, against a replacement kitchen, because the cabinetry plus the demolition and reinstallation around it are the biggest costs in a replacement and refinishing avoids all three. You will get a written summary quote on the first visit so you can weigh it against a real replacement figure.
Can you refinish bathroom vanities too?
Yes. Vanities are the same work at smaller scale, and they are frequently the same age and construction as the kitchen in a post-war Wallingford house. The one difference is moisture: a bathroom sees far more of it, so preparation and cure time matter even more than in a kitchen.
Thinking about your Wallingford kitchen?
Call for a free estimate and a written summary quote on your first visit.