Cabinets 101

Have you ever wondered why the cost of your kitchen project can vary so much from shop to shop and cabinet to cabinet? Let’s review the reasons behind this phenomenon.

Most cabinets are made one of three different ways:

1. RTA (ready to assemble) or KD (knock down)
2. Pre-manufactured
3. True custom

RTA (ready to assemble) or KD (knock down) cabinets typically come in cardboard boxes and require assembly at the jobsite. There may be some cost advantages, but those are negated by the extra time needed to assemble the product. Also, since pieces are typically butt-jointed together, this is a weaker style of cabinet construction. Most manufacturers offer a limited choice of RTA or KD door styles and cabinet choices.

Pre-manufactured cabinets are the majority of what is used in the market. They come in standard increments (typically 3”) and manufacturers offer different door styles, wood types, and stains. There are many different options of type of cabinets you can choose, such as wall cabinets, vanity cabinets, or even wood hoods. These different options allow consumers to stay in almost any budget. The options for pre-manufactured cabinets are exponentially greater than RTA or KD cabinets.

True custom cabinets are often built in the European style or frameless style and can be modified to fit any dimensions. Cabinet doors, styles, and colors are limited only by your imagination. Pricing for true custom cabinets incorporates artistic design and the nature of production.

Since most of the cabinets made are pre-manufactured, let’s consider the available options and how they affect cost:

1. Construction materials
2. Drawer materials, construction, and hardware
3. Doors and drawer fronts

Construction Materials

This is the material behind the face frame.

1. Entry-level material is particleboard or a similar type of substrate material. A slight upgrade would be prefinished with a photo laminate skin.
2. The next level of material is plywood sides, which can also be upgraded to prefinished and stained to match the door.
3. Finally, there is the all-plywood cabinet with the same option to pre-finish the sides to match the door.

Drawer Materials, Joint Construction and Hardware/Glides

Materials

1. Particle or substrate
2. Plywood
3. Solid Wood
4. Solid Maple

Joint Construction

1. Butt Joint
2. Rabbet Joint
3. Dovetail Joint

Hardware/Glide

1. Nylon wheel epoxy glide, on the side or under mount
2. Full-extension with soft close

Doors and Drawer Fronts

Overlay—This refers to how big the doors and drawer fronts are in relation to the face frame of the cabinet.

1. Standard—doors and drawers are typically about 1” smaller than face frame and drawer fronts are solid slab.
2. Semi-full—doors and drawers are about ¼” smaller than face frame and there is about a 1” gap between drawer and door on the base cabinets. Drawer fronts are solid slab.
3. Full—there are minimal gaps between doors and drawers. Drawer fronts are 5 pieces: top, bottom, left, right, and center panel.

Flat Panel vs. Raised Panel—This is the shape of the center piece. There are also solid slab doors and reverse raised panels.

Wood Type—Due to the cost of different woods, there is a cost difference starting with oak transitioning through beech, birch, maple, knotty alder, hickory, cherry, and others.

Color—Base pricing starts with a single color stain. A glaze can be added, which is a secondary color accenting grooves in the wood. Also, paint and paint with a glaze can be added as finishes at the top. There are also thermo foil doors, which are very sturdy and easy to clean.

Although this is not a complete list of cabinet variations, it hopefully helps explain the cost difference among the many available options in modern cabinetry.