Wardrobe & Re-skinning

[Chunky Monkey 2]

I am thinking of re-skinning a couple of wardrobes in the children's bedrooms. My main contractor insisted that it's not worth it, and that the cost is as close as it gets to making brand new wardrobes.

Is this true? I would have thought that re-skinning is cheaper. I am thinking maybe I should get ignore him and send someone else in to do it for me. What advice do you all have for me.

And I am thinking of getting a panel of white board (those used for boardrooms and meeting rooms) laminated onto the wardrobe doors. Has anyone done it?

[runawaypig 0]

Hello Monkey,

I have the same situation as you. Except, I wanted to reskin some of my my kitchen cabinets, but my contracter said it's not worth it as well.

So far, he has been quite a nice and reliable guy so we trusted him and didn't do it.

[waileong 0]

It's not just about cost you pay to the contractor. There is also the cost of downtime, and the risk of damaging other fittings during dismantling of the old wardrobe and installation of the new wardrobe.

[yoongf 11]

The productivity of a worker is much higher in a factory than on site.

Wood frame is cheap, relative to the cost of the laminates.

Gluing laminate to the wooden board requires constant weight/pressure to ensure no bubbles form during the drying process. This can't be done if the wardrobe is in a installed vertical position. Small kitchen cabinet doors can get away with it, but not full height wardrobe doors.

Assuming an expectation of the same level of workmanship, a onsite relamination will require many trips back to the jobsite to do minor touchups. This is where the costs add up.

[ralph 0]

yes, this is what my contractor told me also. he said the cost will be 70% of a new one. For example, if a brand new wardrobe cost $2k, then to re-skin and laminate the exterior will cost abt $1.4k which is not worth it lor. I am surprised also. thinking that it will be cheaper leh.

so now i am stuck in between. dunno whether to do a brand new one or to re-skin. i have a tight budget

[aprilshower 0]

I got someone (from Classified Ad) to relaminate a wardrobe some years back. Paid $750 to do just the outside of the doors (I think abt 9ft long and 9.5ft height). I did this cos I thought I would move out in 2 years. Guess I overstayed. hee

End result - if you are not fussy, it looks okay but on close-up, you can see uneven patches. I watched him do the stripping of old laminate - some of the ply underneath tore off. It is quite inevitable.

Furthermore, you need to have a working area for him. He would dismantle the old doors, lay out everything etc. The smell of glue was very strong. In my case, I was living in the house so it was a little inconvenient for 2 days. The upside was I didn't have to empty my cabinets.

In my opinion, if the carcass is in good condition changing the whole door is better. If the insides are old, making a brand new cabinet is best. May cost more but it'll give you the all new shiok feeling and you can change the configuration to make it more funtional.

[bullet 0]

I am thinking of re-skinning a couple of wardrobes in the children's bedrooms. My main contractor insisted that it's not worth it, and that the cost is as close as it gets to making brand new wardrobes.

Is this true? I would have thought that re-skinning is cheaper. I am thinking maybe I should get ignore him and send someone else in to do it for me. What advice do you all have for me.

And I am thinking of getting a panel of white board (those used for boardrooms and meeting rooms) laminated onto the wardrobe doors. Has anyone done it?

Truly to refurnish the exterior cabinet is not worthly as the cost is about 60% of a new cabinet. But for those who have budget constraint, and willing to compromise on work, this may be a good solution to bring cost down. But bear it mind, most carpenter do not like to do such work as most work have to carry out on site.

Yes, it is possible to do a white board laminate to a wardrobe door. Even possible if you want it to come with magnetic white board. There are other alternative to do white board too, like using a glass as white board, the advantage is easily clean when some white board leave stain after some time writting on it or if you have used the permanent marker instead. Glass do not have such problem