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CGI Kitchen Remodeling: The Austin Owner’s Guide
If you’ve got CGI cabinetry or CGI-built kitchen components that are failing, we can source the replacement parts and handle the install. A typical CGI kitchen repair or partial remodel in Austin runs $14,000 to $45,000 depending on how much of the kitchen is involved. Most homeowners discover the problem the hard way: a drawer face splits, a hinge tears out of the cabinet box, or a door warp becomes impossible to ignore. Tell me what you need, I’ll tell you what it costs, and we’ll go from there.
CGI is a mid-tier cabinet line common in Austin homes built between roughly 1995 and 2015. These cabinets used a thermofoil or laminate door style that looks fine on day one but shows its age fast in central Texas humidity. What typically fails first is the door or drawer front, not the box. The good news: the boxes are usually solid enough to save. That changes the math on a kitchen remodel considerably, and it’s why we always inspect before we quote.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI produced several cabinet series over the years, and they’re not all the same. The original CGI Classic line had a foil-wrapped MDF door with a square profile. The newer CGI Reflections line moved to a sleeker shaker-style door, sometimes with a maple or birch core depending on the batch. If you’re trying to match one cabinet door, you need the right series, the right finish code, and the right door profile. We pull that info from the label inside the cabinet box, usually stamped on the upper right corner of the sink base.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most Austin homeowners hit: CGI changed their hinge boring pattern around 2007. Pre-2007 boxes have a 35mm cup hole drilled at one depth; post-2007 they shifted the reveal slightly. That means a replacement door from a newer series will not hang correctly on an older box without a new hinge plate or a re-bore. We’ve matched enough of these to know to check the bore pattern before ordering anything. If we can’t source an exact OEM part, we’ll tell you outright and show you a quality aftermarket equivalent from a line like KraftMaid or a custom-match local mill. We also work with Cambria and Silestone for countertop replacements on CGI jobs, if the counter went with the cabinet.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Door edges are peeling or bubbling. This is the thermofoil layer separating from the MDF core. Austin’s humidity accelerates it, especially above the dishwasher or near the range. Once it starts, it spreads.
- Drawer boxes sag or rub when you open them. CGI drawer boxes used a particleboard floor that loses its grip on the side rails after years of daily use. The drawer still works, but it’s cocked and wearing the glide.
- Hinges are tearing out of the cabinet face. This is common on pre-2007 CGI boxes where the door was hung too tight against the frame. The screw holes wallow out and the door drops.
- Frames are pulling away from the wall or each other. If the cabinet run was never shimmed properly, settling in Austin’s clay soil will separate the face frames over time. You’ll see gaps at the crown molding first.
- Finish is chalky or yellowing on light cabinets. This is UV and cooking-grease buildup on the lacquer. It’s not just cosmetic, it means the clear coat is gone and the base color is exposed.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Here in Austin, a targeted CGI repair like replacing a handful of doors and drawer fronts typically runs $2,000 to $6,500 including materials. A more involved partial remodel where we’re replacing all doors, adding new hinges and glides, and resurfacing the existing boxes lands closer to $9,000 to $20,000. A full kitchen remodel with new cabinetry, counters, and labor starts at $14,000 and tops out around $45,000 depending on cabinet line, countertop material, and layout changes.
Every quote we give includes the parts, the labor, the haul-away, and the cleanup. There’s no materials upcharge and no change order that shows up later. The written price you get on day one is the number on the invoice. If a replacement door fails inside the first year, we come back and fix it under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. No inspection fee, no service call. That’s the whole point of the guarantee.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely identify your CGI cabinet model yourself. Open the door under the sink, look for a white or foil label on the inside of the cabinet box, and take a clear photo of it. Also measure the door width, height, and reveal gap. That’s exactly what we need to start matching. But hanging a replacement door on a CGI box is where homeowners get into trouble. The hinge plate screws are short, the bore pattern is specific, and one wrong angle strips the hole and you’re into a bigger repair than you started with.
If the door is just cosmetic and you’re handy, swapping drawer fronts on post-2007 boxes is a reasonable weekend job. But if the frame is pulling apart, if the hinge has torn out, or if you’re not sure which series you have, call us at (325) 225-5429. We’ll come out and tell you what you have, what it costs, and what it’ll take, without pressure.
FAQs
With normal use, CGI cabinets last 15 to 25 years. Doors and drawer fronts usually show failure first, especially in kitchens with poor ventilation or a dishwasher that vents into the cabinet cavity. If you catch the wear early, you can keep the boxes and replace just the fronts for a fraction of a full remodel.
It depends on the failure. A torn hinge hole can be re-bored and fitted with a repair plate. A peeling thermofoil door cannot be refinished, it has to be replaced. We’ll tell you which is which after one look. Call (325) 225-5429 and we’ll schedule a time to check it.
A door-and-front replacement on a standard 20-door kitchen takes two to three days, including hinge adjustment and cleanup. A full kitchen remodel typically runs four to eight weeks from demo to final walkthrough, depending on counters and any electrical or plumbing moves.
We keep common CG hinge plates, drawer glides, and repair hardware on the truck. Doors and drawer fronts are ordered per job once we’ve matched the series and finish, which is usually a 10 to 14 day lead time. We confirm pricing before we order anything.
If your CGI kitchen is losing doors, drawers, or finish and you want a straight answer on what it costs to make it right, call (325) 225-5429. We’ll give you a written price before any work starts, and a live person answers the phone whenever you call. Trevor Nash and the Penhallow Remodeling Austin crew have been fixing kitchens across Austin since well before the South Congress boom, and we’ll leave your kitchen cleaner than we found it.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Austin at Penhallow Remodeling Austin, serving Austin and nearby areas.
