0This is the most personal part of the cabinet purchaing process.
First you need to decide if you want True Custom Cabinets or Semi/Box Custom.
Semi Custom are cabinet you buy from a box store like Home Depot, Lowes, Under Budget Cabinets, etc.
Box Stores Cabinets
There are three major differances:
1. The cabinet you will purchase are standard size cabinets. What these store do is kind of like putting Lego's together. They take what best boxes that fit and them put filler pieces in to make up the differance.
2. The doors you are getting is with a thin sheet of thermo foil. (Thermo Foil is produced when a PVC molded plastic is bonded to a pre-machined 3⁄4” thick medium density fiberboard (MDF) core using heat and pressure.)
Basically, Thermo Foil is a thin sheet of foil, like aluminum foil, with usually a picture of wood on it. This picture is "photo shopped" to be the color and look of wood but it is not wood.
Now, the very high end top of the line cabinets are built out of basically the same doors as a custom shop and the price is pretty close to a custom shop. Since you are spending that kind of money, get pricing from a custom shop, where all the space in your kitchen or bathroom can be utilities and not pices together with standard sizes. The Cabinet Shop might be slightly more, but if you select a quality cabinet shop, you get way more for your money.
3. In Traditional Style Cabinets or framed cabinets (see blog re frameless or framed) Cabinet side panels are usually 1/2" made of engineered wood (particle board) and secured using fasteners and glue.
Note: Most box stores do not carry European style cabinets althought IKEA does.
Quality Custom Shop Cabinets
1. The cabinets you purchase are custom built to fit exactly into your space. Filler piece are ususally only at the end of a run of cabinets and ususally less then 1/2" wide. (The filler is only there because walls are never truly straight and you need alittle space to make sure the cabinet can fit.
2. The doors are made with WOOD! The frame on the wood is hardware wood and the panel is usually plywood.
3. The cabinet boxes are maked with WOOD. The sized are ususally 3/4" plywood. (Most shops use birch plywood). The Face frame is hardwood to match client specifications. In a good shop, the shop will both glue and nail or screw the boxes together. (GLUE is very important - it is what really keeps the boxes together)
by claire on Sunday April 03, 2011
If you have all the money in the world, dovetail look nice. I believe that the draw and the cabient should last about the same amount of time. Dovetail drawer for the most part will outlast the cabinets they are put into. And after a couple of months, you forget you have them. Quality cust cabinet shops will dato the drawer on all four sides, glue and nail the drawer together. This construction will last a long long time.
With dovetail drawers, you have to open the drawer to see them and to show them off. I am of the belief that one should spend money on the out side, like on the finished hardware, where you can see it all the time or on an item that will save you time or make your life easier; two bin trash cans, soft close drawers, an extra pull out or two.
by claire on Friday April 01, 2011
Glides, These are probably one of he most important parts of your cabinets. Think about how many times you will open and close a drawer. Glides should be durable and smooth. Shown here are full extension ball bearing glides.
Lets break that down:
Full Extension means just that, the glides extend fully so that you have free access to all the draw. If you have a draw that mostly opens, but you still have the back part under the cabinet, these are not full extension. If you are buying quality custom cabinets, FULL EXTENSION SHOULD BE STANDARD.
Ball Bearing. This means that the glides slide in and out on little metal balls instead of metal or wood. This give a smooth felling to the drawer.
Soft Close - You still have to push the drawer in, but at the last inch or so the glide grabs and pulls the draw close so there is no bang. (Soft close glides can be install on the side of the box (side mounted or under the box- under mounted. I find that the undermount soft close glides are more reliable then the side mounted.)
There are numberous manufacturers of quality hardware.
BLUM is very well know and pricey.
There is also HAFELE less know, high quality and sometime less expensive - I think the are equal if not better in some hardware then Blum.
Knogt & Vogt (KV) They also product quality hardware
(Note: Boxes stores like home Depot and Lowes bmay have Blum glides, but they are not necessarily the higher end glide.)
Stay away from the old white glides that move on themselves. If you are paying for custom cabinets, you should get ball bearing glides.
by claire on Wednesday March 23, 2011
by claire on Monday March 21, 2011
There are numerous type of hinges also. Basically you should be getting a hing that looks like this with or without the soft close feature.Soft close will slowly close the door. You have to push it by the last few milimeters the doors close by itself this eliminate banging.
by claire on Sunday March 20, 2011
This is a picture of full extension ball bearing glides. If you are using a quality cabinet shop, this is what you will get Full extension Ball Bearing glides The Ball Bearing part means that they glide, glides on little metal balls. It hard to see them in this picture, but make sure your cabinet company uses them. Old cabinets drawers will have glides that are metal and just glided on the metal, usually they were white.
For most drawers they should be rated at 50, 75 or 100 lbs. Remember the box weights something too, larger boxes should have at least 100lb. glides.
Full Extension means that the drawer will open completely. You might currently hve a drawing that only opens 3/4 of the way and you have to put your hand in and pull thins out from the back. Full Extension does exactly what is name says, makes the box extend fully.
There are many brands and off brands, such as Blum, Hafele, KV, and Accuride. My take on this is just ask to see one, Blum is the most recognized, h9wever other brands can be equally good. Just ask your cabietbn shop to show you the glides they intent to use and see if you like it. You can see glides also Home Depot and Lowes.
by claire on Thursday March 17, 2011
Before we go any further, I thought we talk about pricing.
There are several ways to get price for cabinets.
1. Have an design or architect complete a set of drawing AND specifation
2. Have a cabinet shop out for a site visit
3. Have a General Contractor out for a site visit.
Any one or all three of the above are suitable.
The most important thing is that you look at the pricing apples to apples. In cabinet cunstruction there are a variety of ways to construct cabinets and a numerous choices on hardware.
Since you have decided to purchase custom made cabinets, make sure that the dollars you are spending get the most value. Do not eliminate a bid just because it is higher. Ask questions, its your money and you have a right to know exactly what you are buying,
Some of most often over look questions are: (these will have their own blog)
A. What kind of hardware the cabinet company is using.
B. What are the cabinet boxes make out of
C. How are the boxes put together
D. Is there a warranty
I also believe in:
Reviews - on Google, Kudzu, Yahoo, Angie List etc.
Angies listis a great place. You can't pay to be on the list (you can pay to be listed on the top of the list) For the five dollars or so ($5) you spend on becoming a month member you can see if the company has any reviews and what people who used them think.
References - are okay. But remember the company giving you the referenced aren't going to give you bad ones if they want your business.
The Better Business Bureau. Small shop are not always members, you have to pay to be a member. However, you can see if there has been any complaints against the company,.
There are several ways to get price for cabinets.
1. Have an design or architect complete a set of drawing AND specifation
2. Have a cabinet shop out for a site visit
3. Have a General Contractor out for a site visit.
Any one or all three of the above are suitable.
The most important thing is that you look at the pricing apples to apples. In cabinet cunstruction there are a variety of ways to construct cabinets and a numerous choices on hardware.
Since you have decided to purchase custom made cabinets, make sure that the dollars you are spending get the most value. Do not eliminate a bid just because it is higher. Ask questions, its your money and you have a right to know exactly what you are buying,
Some of most often over look questions are: (these will have their own blog)
A. What kind of hardware the cabinet company is using.
B. What are the cabinet boxes make out of
C. How are the boxes put together
D. Is there a warranty
I also believe in:
Reviews - on Google, Kudzu, Yahoo, Angie List etc.
Angies listis a great place. You can't pay to be on the list (you can pay to be listed on the top of the list) For the five dollars or so ($5) you spend on becoming a month member you can see if the company has any reviews and what people who used them think.
References - are okay. But remember the company giving you the referenced aren't going to give you bad ones if they want your business.
The Better Business Bureau. Small shop are not always members, you have to pay to be a member. However, you can see if there has been any complaints against the company,.