kitchen cabinets

[Battis]

I might be pushing it with this topic, but advice is needed.
I want to install new kitchen cabinets. My wife went to Lowes and got prices. They look good but I want to look around more. Lowes charges $1300 for installation - I can do it.
Anyone deal with the factory-direct cabinets that have to be assembled when they arrive?
Any other tips, suggestions, warnings, etc?
Thanks.

[6bg6ga]

Pay the $1300 and have them do it. I'm not a cabinet maker and I hate wood and it was above my pay grade.

[farmerjim]

When I built my house, I was able to get custom made cabinets made for less than Home depot or Lowes. I have 3 friends that have made them for their camps. It is not that difficult. Installation only took a few hours. It goes much easier with 2 people.

[MyFlatline]

AS a contractor, it is pretty straight forward. Key is keeping the bottoms level.

I'm surprised at the cost on install tho, they and HD normally advertise free install to get you to buy.

[pworley1]

Check around for a free install offer. If you decide to do it, you should not have any trouble if you can use a screw gun and read a level.

[6bg6ga]

I actually did install new cupboards in my other home in 2000. That is why I hate wood working. The hate framers because of their inability to make a straight wall and I hate dry wallers. They all should be given an IQ test to see if they are capable of doing their respective jobs. The home I used to have didn't have one straight wall and we bought it new in 1976.

[Battis]

The house was built in 1892. Nothing plumb, nothing level. I've done a lot of work on it myself - the problem would be where to store the cabinets until they're ready to be installed.
A little more info on the installation - Lowes will charge $1300 but they won't charge me sales tax ($400) if they install them. If I install them, they charge me the tax. So that brings the installation down to $900.
Da Wife is going to Home Depot today to see what they offer.
Thanks for the replies.

[bdicki]

My wife has done 2 sets of them without a problem, not that hard.

[farmerjim]

I was in the framing crew, so everything was mostly square. Trim hides what is not.
My dry wall crew put up 11,000 sq feet of drywall in less than 8 hours for $0.10 a foot. They would have done it faster, but they had to take one of the crew to the emergency room because the stab wounds he got the night before started bleeding again. I can hang drywall, but I am terrible at finishing. I built the house for $40 a foot. Houses built around the corner from me were $90 a foot at the time (97).

[Plate plinker]

Straight and level who would want that! Installing cabinets is not hard at all, but if your house is not true you need to learn how to scribe a line and use filler boards. that make it a bit easier.

[Menner]

I have Built and installed MANY Sets of cabinets and I will say this ..... Before I would deal with Lowes/Home Depot, I would talk to a few local shops and compare Apples to Apples.
Tony

[Petrol & Powder]

I'll toss in a little bit here.
What we're really talking about here is whether the OP should pay someone to install pre-fab cabinets OR if he should do it himself.

That decision should be made on the following factors:
1. Are we talking about a fairly modern house with reasonably level floors and plum walls? Or a 1930's farm house with balloon framing on a deeply settled rock foundation where nothing is level or true?

2. Does the OP have someone to help him ? Does he have to pay that person? If so, how much?

3. Does the OP have the tools and knowledge needed or at least have a friend with tools & knowledge ?

4. Is the OP's time more valuable than the expense of paying someone else to do it?

So....
1. Old house with nothing plum - I'm going to pay someone else to do it and I'm going to make them do it right. This is all about reaching an agreement BEFORE they commit to the price of the job. I would NOT pay that by the hour but rather we will agree on a flat rate regardless of how long it takes.

2. If I didn't have an assistant - I would pay someone to do it.

3. Without the tools or knowledge, I would pay someone to do it.

4. What's your time worth? If you're making more money per hour than you're paying someone else per hour to do the job; you're losing money to stop what you're doing in order to install cabinets.

[Houndog]

I would run, not walk away from Lowes. Home Depot or some other big box store! MOST if not all the cabinets available from them are made of particle board and won't last! I bought Boro cabinets for not much more money than the particle board garbage from a real cabinet shop that are made of Oak. Installation will be the same for either one.

[Iowa Fox]

I know that my wife and I would not buy cabinets from Lowes or Home Depot. When we repainted our bathroom in the basement a few years ago we removed everything. The old vanity had been in there for about 35 years so we thought maybe slip a new one in. We went to every place we could think of looking at cabinets. Price not being a consideration they were all junk so we put the old one back in. We built this house ourselves and I told my wife many times it took longer to source quality materials than build it. In retrospect I'm glad I took every shop class I could during Jr High and High School. Started with drafting classes in Jr High and the teachers were very good back then. Do it yourself isn't for everyone but with todays routers & tables, Kregg Jigs its pretty easy. Woodsmith.com really makes it easy.

[Sweetpea]

I install a lot of cabinets for Lowe's, as an independent contractor.

You will generally pay more at Lowe's, than a smaller shop.

But the installers are background checked, and Lowe's wants to ensure that the customer is happy.

This is a project a lot of people can do a decent job on, but a pro will show up with ten grand worth of tools, and years of experience.

Whatever you choose, do not use in-stock cabinets, they are junk.

People have been mentioning particle board. Particle board can be just fine. For the boxes. It has no place in drawers or fronts.

Personally, seeing how my wife overloads cabinets, I know that when I redo my own kitchen, I will have to build the cabinets myself, and there will be zero particle board.

[Grmps]

I've installed "custom high end" windows for a big box store several of their salesmen, supervisors & subcontractors SUCKED. The higher-ups discovered what my partner and I could do so they made us the go-to service crew. We were not allowed to discuss anything with the customer (who was usually not verry hapy with the crummy results for the amount of $ they paid) and the fixed pay was less than 1/3 of what we would do piece work.

I also used to instal custom cabinets, could usually do most houses (basic and <2000 square ft) in 1 day by myself (I wouldn't recommend it for a novice the uppers are a little trickydangerous without the right tools).
In short, IF you have some mechanical ability and basic tools you can do it yourself. Screwing ledger boards level where you want the bottoms of the cabinets to be and having 1 or 2 helpers/muscle (they doin't have to be completely sober :) ) will greatly improve and simplify the process.

"Custom made are generally stronger, lighter and better looking" check references & the shop may have an installer for < $250 (then not sure now) will do accurate measurements, give good advice and have matching trim.
If DIY, you can rent some tools if you don't have them

[Battis]

We've...or I should say...she...has shopped around. Nothing she's looking at is in stock, and no particle board. The small places we've checked out order from factories and carry similar lines (or the same) as Lowes, and their prices are close, or more. Lowes' installation is $1300. Home Depot charges close to $3400.


This is a project a lot of people can do a decent job on, but a pro will show up with ten grand worth of tools, and years of experience.
That's how I'm thinking. I could do it, though it might take a lot longer. And then there's the cost of the divorce lawyer, criminal defense lawyer, surgery to remove the Sawsall blade from my head...

[farmerjim]

One other place to check is a firehouse near you. Most full time firemen have other part time ( 3 to 4 days a week) jobs. One that lives near me is a general contractor and a cabinet maker. The firemen will know them even if they are at another firehouse.Two others are general contractors, building houses from the ground up.

[redriverhunter]

My experience with lowes was not so hot the after sale sucks. I got cabinets put in look nice but after a few years I have had the following. I had them do counter and new sink, sink fell they Lowes would not do anything for me. sent a contractor out to fix on my dime. The cabinets we got were Shenandoah ( we got the medium grade) had them put in a raised dish washer the idea worked well but I think the steam for the dish washer has caused the holes that hold the shelving up to fail (above the dishwasher). I would read the contract real well because what I think happens is lowes contracts the work out then washes their hands of any thing else they did offer and extended warranty should have taken it. I would also find out how long the contractor guarantees their work and keep track, phone number and company of who did what. The cabinets are nice looking but the old cabinets were built better. If I had it to do over again I would have found a local contractor with a long history of good work.

[MaryB]

Cabinets are not hard to install, did it a dozen times while growing up and twice in my own house. Level ledger board, if the wall is out of plumb and my old house built in the 1880's is not square anywhere! Think the carpenter was drunk! I ended up cutting a custom shim with the table saw to bring the bottom of the upper out 1/4 inch on one wall, other wall was the opposite the top had to be shimmed. Mark your studs before you start on the uppers, the ledger board and a mark above the cabinet... I had spots where the difference in the height of the cabinet was off 1" to one side or the other... did I mention I think the carpenter who built this house was drunk?

[Bzcraig]

When I built my house, I was able to get custom made cabinets made for less than Home depot or Lowes. I have 3 friends that have made them for their camps. It is not that difficult. Installation only took a few hours. It goes much easier with 2 people.

I'm a recently retired contractor and this is 100% true. They hire out the work, it's not their own people, they require payment up front and have no control over the schedule or quality of the installer. You can get custom cabinets and professional installation cheaper, not to mention licensing and insurance concerns.

[Battis]

I'm no fan of Lowes. I actually worked there for 3 months (part time, 20 hrs a week) a few years ago. The fact that I got hired to work in the plumbing dept. is kinda funny. "Yep, the cold faucet is on the right, hot on the left...I think." I sent more customers to the local hardware store than I helped.
I'm hoping they screen their contractors better than they screened me. SweatPea posted that they screen pretty well.
Tough one. I've done a lot of work on my house - floors, walls, ceilings, windows, exterior, (even some plumbing) but the thought of pros coming in and getting it done in a day is appealing.

[Battis]

We found a local dealer that sold us higher quality cabinets for less than Lowes. They'll take 6 weeks to make, so I can look around for someone to install them, or plan to do it myself. Thanks for the suggestions and info.

[shooter93]

I have been doing this for a living for over 50 years. If you haven't already bought the cabinets look around for small custom shops.....and I mean true CUSTOM shops not "box shops" I can't tell you how many times customers have told me....I was surprised that you were very little more than the box stores, gave me exactly what I wanted which they couldn't do, and the quality was amazing.

[MyFlatline]

I have been doing this for a living for over 50 years. If you haven't already bought the cabinets look around for small custom shops.....and I mean true CUSTOM shops not "box shops" I can't tell you how many times customers have told me....I was surprised that you were very little more than the box stores, gave me exactly what I wanted which they couldn't do, and the quality was amazing.

Yep, I couldn't agree more..Check out to 75 miles. I know the shop I use will go that far..

[Battis]

I looked for a small custom shop but found nothing. I even signed up on Home Advisor, but...nothing. We even checked a salvage company to see if anything could be refurbished, but found nothing.
The cabinets we bought are made in TN (if I remember correctly). I didn't have a good feeling about Lowes - this place is much better.

[MyFlatline]

Best of luck...Wish I could help, but you are to far away and it's too dang cold up there...:)

[Battis]

Thanks. It is cold up here, but I have a nice woodstove 10 ft away.
All of the small cabinet places around here are designers, not woodworkers. They'll design your kitchen, then order the cabinets from the factories. The place we went to today was in a warehouse, what I'd have to call a real dump, but they had knowledgeable people and good prices, no real overhead, and hopefully good service.

[MT Gianni]

We moved into a custom home last June. Our contractor used a local cabinet shop that beat HD & Lowes but 25% using a dark hardwood. You will not see Oak in a custom home for quite a few years as it has fallen out of fashion. That may not mean much now but will mean a lot if you ever need replacement doors. The local shops are usually much more favorable on install times. We bought HD flooring and their wait for an installer was 5 weeks. We were done and in the house three weeks later.

[10x]

My wife and I had custom cabinets installed for 2/3 the price of the local lumber store cabinets.
4 bids - 3 used MDF partial board . The bid (installed with counter top) from the custom cabinet shop for all birch (no mdf) was 2/3 the price of the other three bids. Not an inch of wasted space and excellent service and warrantee

[Love Life]

My wife and I had custom cabinets installed for 2/3 the price of the local lumber store cabinets.
4 bids - 3 used MDF partial board . The bid (installed with counter top) from the custom cabinet shop for all birch (no mdf) was 2/3 the price of the other three bids. Not an inch of wasted space and excellent service and warrantee

I had the same experience. Put a free ad in the local classified section looking for cabinet makers, and got nice cabinets for a good price.


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[OS OK]

Buy yourself a book on cabinet making...read some, look at the pictures...remember what you see. Now...
take a serious look at the materials and construction of those Low's Cabinets.

Nuff said.

[frkelly74]

211989211990211991

I got these cabinets from Menards and the top also. They are cheap cabinets , no doubt about that, but they seem solid once you get them screwed down and my wife likes the way they look. Total cost for materials was about $3000 and I do all our work myself. It keeps me out of the bars and out of trouble.

[Battis]

An update on installing cabinets...
We're installing them ourselves. With a ledger board on the wall to rest the cabinet on while installing, it's not too hard. But these cabinets are in three pieces - base, top and "way up". The wall hanging cabinets are 30" high with an 18" cabinet on top.
The house was built in 1892. Nothing is plumb, square, or level. One section of the wall apparently had a window at one time, so there's no studs in that square area. If not for the 18" "way up" top cabinets, I would have been done in a day.
It's not that bad. It's a challenge but it'll get done. Behind the base cabinets there's original wainscoting on the walls - it's close to an inch thick. I wish I could save it somehow, but that means ripping it out and replacing it with something.