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KraftMaid Kitchen Remodeling: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
A full KraftMaid kitchen remodel in Los Angeles typically runs $16,520 to $53,100, depending on cabinet count, layout changes, and countertop material. Most projects we take on fall in the $22,000 to $38,000 range once you factor in demolition, rough-in work, and finish details. Homeowners usually find us when a hinge has torn out of a cabinet face, a drawer glide has given up, or they’ve realized the existing KraftMaid boxes are sound but the doors, hardware, and counters need a full refresh.
The failure pattern we see most often in Los Angeles homes goes like this: the cabinet boxes themselves are still square and solid, but the moving parts have worn out. Hinges sag. Drawer slides bind. Doors no longer sit flush. At that point you’re deciding between replacing individual parts or committing to a full remodel that preserves the KraftMaid footprint while modernizing everything around it.
Which KraftMaid Models This Applies To
KraftMaid has run several cabinet lines over the years, and each one uses slightly different hinge patterns, rail spacing, and box dimensions. The current core offering is KraftMaid Vantage, which replaced the older KraftMaid Venicia and KraftMaid Passport series. Vantage uses a 35mm cup hinge bore as standard, which matters if you’re swapping doors or adding soft-close hardware. Older Passport boxes were built on a 3/4-inch plywood substrate, while Venicia leaned on furniture board with a different edge-banding profile.
Identifying your actual line means opening a drawer and looking at the interior label on the left or right side panel. KraftMaid stamps the cabinet line, finish code, and manufacture date on that label. If the label is gone, measure the hinge bore: 35mm means Vantage or late-model Passport. A 26mm bore usually points to an early Passport or a builder-grade KraftMaid run from the 1990s. This matters because OEM KraftMaid hinges and aftermarket equivalents from Blum or Salice only fit correctly when the bore diameter and overlay match. We keep both 35mm and 26mm bore hardware on hand, and we check the overlay spec (full, half, or inset) before ordering anything.
For the cabinet boxes themselves, KraftMaid’s plywood construction has held up well in Los Angeles. What fails first here is almost always the door finish or the hinge hardware, not the box. Southern California’s dry heat and hard water both work against cabinet finishes over time, and that’s the reality we plan around when specifying replacement doors or a full reface.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your KraftMaid Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Hinges that sag or won’t hold adjustment. The original KraftMaid hinges were not soft-close, and after 8 to 12 years of daily use the internal springs lose tension. Doors drop a quarter inch, and no amount of screw-tightening brings them back. The fix is swapping to Blum or Salice soft-close replacements, which fit the existing 35mm bore on most Vantage and late-model boxes.
- Drawer glides that bind or pull unevenly. KraftMaid’s older side-mount epoxy glides collect dust and grime over time. When a drawer fights you halfway out, the nylon wheels are gone. We replace with full-extension undermount glides wherever box depth allows, which gives you the same access KraftMaid installs now.
- Finish wear at the sink base and above the dishwasher. Los Angeles hard water deposits, plus steam from dishwashers, degrades the clear coat on KraftMaid doors faster than on upper cabinets. You’ll see hazing, peeling, or a chalky feel. Refinishing only buys a few years; replacement doors with a better topcoat are the longer-lasting fix.
- Loose or stripped hinge screws in the box face. KraftMaid face frames are solid maple on most lines, but repeated hinge adjustments chew out the screw holes. The old screw spins without gripping. We drill, plug with a hardwood dowel, and remount with the correct screw, which restores the original holding strength without moving the hinge location.
- Doors that no longer sit flush, even after hinge adjustment. This usually means the door has warped or the hinge has bent. In Los Angeles, the temperature swings between a hot west-facing window and air conditioning will warp an MDF door faster than a solid wood one. We see this constantly on homes with afternoon sun hitting the kitchen.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Here’s what a KraftMaid kitchen remodel costs in Los Angeles, line by line, so you can see where the money goes.
| Scope of Work | Installed Price Range (Los Angeles) |
|---|---|
| Full kitchen remodel with KraftMaid cabinets | $16,520 – $53,100 |
| Small kitchen remodel (up to 120 sq ft) | $10,620 – $23,600 |
| Cabinet installation only (existing boxes) | $4,720 – $15,340 |
| Countertop installation | $2,360 – $7,670 |
| Backsplash installation | $945 – $2,950 |
| Kitchen island installation | $3,540 – $11,800 |
The spread comes down to three things: how many KraftMaid boxes stay and how many get replaced, whether you’re changing the layout (which adds rough-in labor for plumbing and electrical), and what surface materials you pick. Cambria and Silestone counters run higher than laminate. A full reface with new doors, drawer fronts, and hardware comes in at the lower end. A gut-and-rebuild with new KraftMaid Vantage boxes, new counters, new backsplash, and an island hits the upper end.
Every job gets a written price before we start. That price includes demolition, installation, haul-away, and a line-item breakdown so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. No numbers move at the door. And every completed project carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if our work fails inside a year, we return and correct it at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
Some KraftMaid parts are genuinely safe to check or swap yourself. Replacing a cabinet knob or handle takes minutes. Tightening a loose hinge screw is fine. Replacing a drawer glide that’s already out of the box is straightforward if you have the right glide length.
What goes wrong is when someone tries to replace hinges on a full-overlay door without matching the bore and overlay spec, or attempts to reface cabinets without the right jig setup. A misaligned door scratches the adjacent cabinet face. A poorly shimmed box throws off the countertop install above it. KraftMaid cabinets also have specific mounting rail requirements: the wall rail has to hit studs at the right points, or the whole upper run pulls away from the wall over time. That’s a structural problem, not a cosmetic one.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, call us at (903) 568-7222. We’ll tell you over the phone whether it’s a quick fix or a full remodel, and the estimate is free either way.
FAQs
KraftMaid plywood cabinet boxes typically last 25 to 40 years in Los Angeles if the original install was sound. The moving parts (hinges, glides) wear out in 8 to 12 years under normal use, and door finishes degrade faster in hard-water homes. Call (903) 568-7222 and we’ll assess whether you need parts or a full remodel.
Yes, in most cases. Hinges, drawer glides, stripped screw holes, and door alignment issues are repairable. We only recommend replacement when the box itself has water damage, delamination, or the original layout no longer works for how you use the kitchen. Call us at (903) 568-7222 for an honest read on your specific situation.
A cabinet-only swap runs 2 to 4 days. A full remodel with counters, backsplash, and layout changes runs 3 to 6 weeks, depending on permit lead times in Los Angeles and material availability. We give you a written schedule before we start, and we stick to it.
We stock the common replacement hardware: Blum and Salice hinges in 35mm and 26mm bores, undermount drawer glides, and matching KraftMaid screws and fasteners. Less common finish-specific doors and panels get ordered to match your existing KraftMaid finish code, which usually lands in 2 to 3 weeks. We also handle parts compatibility for Cambria, Silestone, and Kohler fixtures tied into your kitchen remodel.
Written by Curtis Lane, Owner, Bradford Remodeling at Bradford Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
