When you’re remodeling or freshening up your kitchen, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do everything all at once. It is not only expensive but also hard to manage. So, if you think that you need new quartz or granite countertops but your cabinets are still in pretty good shape, then what to do in this situation? Well, here is everything you need to know.

Can You Install New Countertops On Old Cabinets

The short answer: Yes. It’s possible to keep your old cabinets and change your countertops. There’s not a set rule that you have to change both of them when you’re revamping your kitchen.

In fact, changing cabinets is often more expensive than replacing countertops, and there is a lot of work involved in getting them replaced, too. So, if you can change the countertops without touching the cabinets, then you want to grab that chance like it’s your lifeline.

Changing up the countertops will give your kitchen that fresh and new look and it’s something that can elevate the look of your kitchen, even though you haven’t changed things around that much. So, changing your countertops is completely possible and you won’t even have to touch your cabinets for that, which is honestly amazing.

Tips To Keep In Mind

So, if you want to change your countertops and keep your old cabinets, then here are some things you need to keep in the back of your mind.

Assess Your Cabinets

The first thing you want to do when you’re considering changing your countertops but keeping your cabinets is to assess the condition of the cabinets. Since you won’t be changing your cabinets, the main focus should be on this particular article. You want to check whether the cabinet construction is sturdy or not.
Since a lot of countertop materials are natural stones and if you’re going for this material as your new countertops, then you need to figure out whether the existing cabinets will be able to hold the weight of the new material or not.

Also, you want to check the measurements and see if the new countertops will sit flush on top of the cabinet construction or not. Since you’re keeping the cabinets, this step is crucial, because the last thing you need is to set new and heavy countertops on top of the cabinet foundation that is weak and can’t support the weight of the material. This is why assessing the cabinets and figuring this part out is important before you do anything else.

Consider The Material

The next thing you want to go over is the material selection for the countertops. You already know that there are some materials that are natural rocks and they’re really heavy and some are man-made that can easily be installed. So, you want to select a material based on the condition of your cabinets. But, how do you figure out this detail?

Well, a professional will help you out with this and they will tell you whether the cabinets are good enough to brace the weight of new countertops or not, so always ask a professional’s opinion.

The Material Should Also Go Well With The Cabinets

Speaking of materials, you want to choose a countertop material that will complement the existing cabinets. Sure, you want to choose a durable material for your countertops, but it won’t hurt if the combination of the countertops and cabinets looks eye-catching together. If you’re going through the trouble of getting new countertops for your kitchen, then they should complement the cabinets.

For instance, if you have wooden cabinets, then stick to the warm theme and go for neutral-colored countertops too. Many granite and quartz countertops Durham NC are neutral-colored. It will look amazing and the whole kitchen will have that welcoming and very warm vibe that you know and love.

Always Ask A Professional

Whether it be buying a house and just changing up a couple of things in the kitchen or you want to replace the countertops and not the cabinets, every single decision you make needs to be checked in with a professional. They know these things like the back of their hand, so you want to ask their opinion as well.

They can tell just by looking at a cabinet whether it’s going to be able to endure the weight and the installation of new countertops or not, so it’s won’t be smart if you let a professional assessment pass.

What About The Sink?

When changing the countertops, you don’t just have to worry about the slabs being taken apart and replacing them with new ones. There’s also the kitchen sink that needs to be considered. If you want to preserve your old sink then you can’t go for prefabricated countertop designs. That just won’t work. You need to go for customizing your countertops that will fit the sink like a glove.

If you’re changing the sink too, then that’s a whole different ball game, because now you have to consider all of the plumbing connections too and that is important to go over, with the cabinets still being intact.

Do You Need New Backsplash?

When it comes to countertops, you can’t forget about the backsplash now, can you? Backsplashes are amazing to add that cohesive look to your kitchen and if you want to add them to your whole countertop glow-up mission, then you need to consider some things.

Even though backsplashes don’t clash a lot with cabinets, you still need to take some time to decide the colors, the design, and the overall continuation of the backsplash from the base of the countertops and up. This will instantly make the whole thing look so much more well-thought and professional.

You Can’t Change The Layout

If you want to change the layout of your kitchen, then that won’t be possible with keeping your old cabinets. You need to change the cabinets too if you want to change the entire outlook of your kitchen. Cabinets play a huge role in making your kitchen look a certain way.

So, if your goal is to change how the kitchen looks, then it won’t be achieved by just changing up the countertops. It might give your kitchen a new look, but that’s about it. To completely change the way your kitchen is set up, you’ll need to replace the cabinets too.

You Can’t Change The Dimensions

This is also something that you need to keep in mind. If you think that you can extend the dimensions of your countertops and leave the cabinets, then it is not going to work. You can somehow try to wedge a bigger countertop into the existing space, but it is going to look asymmetrical and it just won’t make the kitchen look original anymore.

So, if you thought that you could change the dimensions of the countertops without replacing the cabinets, then think again. You will need to entirely change the cabinets too.

Conclusion

You can totally change your countertops and let the cabinets be and now you know exactly how to do that without damaging anything. Make sure to hire granite countertop installers Raleigh NC who can install the slabs without damaging the cabinets.