Recommendations for new kitchen cabinets.

[JP.mpls]

Vincenzo's recent question leads to another question regarding kitchen cabinets.

I'm in the market for new kitchen cabinets for my Florida townhome.

Do you have any recommendations, pro or con, for non-custom kitchen cabinets from major suppliers?

Thanks, JP

 

[pb4uski]

#1 recommendation is to go with drawers rather than doors for many of your base cabinets. Most of our base cabinets are large drawers that hold pots and pans, baking pans, etc. It is much easier to just pull open a drawer rather than open a cupboard and then pull out a slide. Don't get me wrong, you still need a couple door base cabinets for storing small appliances and other large items that won't fit in even a large drawer.

The other thing we did was to order the sink base cabinet in plywood rather than MDF since the sink base is the cabinet that is most likely to get wet.

Our contractor had a relationship with an installer who had a relationship with a local factory that built the cabinets and had a wide variety of styles, finishes, etc.

We ended up getting Thermofoil, which IME is inexpensive, looks good and easy to keep clean.... we've had them for a few years now and are happy with them.

DW had priced cabinets from Home Depot and cabinets through the installer were ~30% less than Home Depot... and that was installed! If you are near to Sarasota and interested in talking to him PM me and I can provide you with his contact info.

ETA: Found the website of the cabinet suppier: https://www.avoncabinet.com/

 

[vince]

We just recently did a total remodel of kitchen, knocked down some walls and took down all the sheetrock. We had Mouser Cabinets installed and we are really pleased with them so far. There is really no comparison to the quality you're going to get from Lowes or HD.

Mouser Cabinetry

 

[RobbieB]

We used J&K Cabinets from China. All solid wood or plywood, no MDF, particle or strand. Good "no bang" soft close hardware too. Excellent value!

 

[Midpack]

We've had mid to upper mid level cabinets in our last two houses (Kemper & Timberlake), and been happy with them. Which brand isn't that important IME, just don't buy low end cabinets or you may regret it a few years in.

BUT, we would highly recommend soft close on all door and drawers. We thought it was a stupid frill until we had cabinets with them - we'd never go back. A worthwhile luxury IMO.

And we have soft close sliding shelves in the bottoms of two base cabinets. You don’t need them everywhere, but they are very helpful for heavy pots and pans and appliances. Our new house didn’t have them, so I put them in myself.

 

[6miths]

Definitely agree that solid wood or plywood is essential anywhere there is a chance of water immersion. IMHO code should not allow MDF in kitchens and baths at least on components in contact with floor and in the unit bases. I would also go with the best caulking material you can and suggest caulking base interior base of sink cabinet. Soft close is nice. Some installers are starting to go back to more traditional hinges which are often non-adjustable (and hence less components and expense). If one has any kids or grandkids around putting stress on cabinet doors, I would suggest avoiding these.

 

[Katsmeow]

We recently remodeled our house (not the kitchen though). And we had the master bathroom gutted and needed new cabinets, also some in other rooms. Anyway, our contractor had a sub who made the cabinets to our instructions.

I am always interested when I read of people buying X brand cabinets, because I have just never done that. Even when we bought a spec house under construction many years ago, the cabinets were just built by the sub.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with getting manufactured cabinets, just pointing out that isn't the only option.

 

[Souschef]

We had our cabinets refaced with new doors and drawers. The basic boxes were OK, but the drawers were crap.
We also had a small pantry in our kitchen, and I installed pull out drawers on all the shelves.

 

[pb4uski]

^^^ These could also make the items in the cabinet above the fridge more accessible.

 

[mitchjav]

We used J&K Cabinets from China. All solid wood or plywood, no MDF, particle or strand. Good "no bang" soft close hardware too. Excellent value!

So can someone provide a quick tutorial on benefits/drawbacks of MDF vs. wood?

 

[pb4uski]

MDF is more common these days. Arguably, less strong and stable than wood, particularly if cabnets are moved. MDF is essentially wood fibers and glues.

IMO MDF is fine for kitchen cabinets since they rarely get moved once they are installed. However, the kitchen cabinets in our Vermont house are MDF and have been moved twice and are fine... they were installed in as a demo in a lumber store, we bought the demo and installed them in our summer cottage and then uninstalled them and reinstalled them when we demolished the summer cottage and rebuilt our vacation home.

You just don't want to be real rough with them.

 

[Midpack]

So can someone provide a quick tutorial on benefits/drawbacks of MDF vs. wood?

Here’s one https://www.cabinetplaceonline.com/painted-kitchen-cabinets-mdf-vs-wood/, as many as you want just a search away.

 

[6miths]

It seems to me that MDF is more likely to have screw failures on hinges and then is much more difficult to repair than wood. The biggest problem with MDF is that they wood particles are hygroscopic and if exposed to standing water will tend to wick moisture and swell. Plywood and wood are not immune to this but wood, especially hardwood, is much more resistant (that said not too many people can afford to use hardwood on kitchen cabinets aside from doors which are the least susceptible component). Swelling will affect the overlying finish as well as the fit and integrity of the cabinet. Some poor quality MDF will absorb moisture even in high humidity locations such as bathrooms and has increased susceptibility to mold growth.

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting. The cabinets in our vacation home that I referred to are MDF boxes and maple frames and doors... unfortunately, a couple of the doors have slightly warped/twisted over the years... not a huge deal but enough that the door no longer lies flat against the frame which is a little annoying. But the maple doors are not painted, so MDF for the doors was not an option.

 

[Souschef]

So can someone provide a quick tutorial on benefits/drawbacks of MDF vs. wood?

Here is another link:
https://civiltoday.com/civil-engineering-materials/timber/163-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-mdf

 

[Ronstar]

Wood is better than mdf in cabinets that are built correctly. Wood doors are generally 5 piece, cope and stick where the center panel floats in a frame panel. Mdf doors are usually 1 piece and very heavy.

Fasteners (nails and screws) hold better in wood than in mdf. Mdf is damaged easier when it gets wet.

Mdf cannot be stained like wood. Mdf can only be painted.

Mdf cannot be joined to other pieces as well as in wood. So joints holding cabinets/ drawers together are stronger in wood than in mdf.

 

[pb4uski]

It seems to me that MDF is more likely to have screw failures on hinges and then is much more dificult to repair than wood. The biggest problem with MDF is that they wood particles are hygroscopic and if exposed to standing water will tend to wick moisture and swell. This will affect the overlying finish as well as the fit and integrity of the cabinet. Some poor quality MDF will absorb moisture even in high humidity locations such as bathrooms and has increased susceptibility to mold growth.

IME that is a bigger problem with furniture built with MDF rather than kitchen cabinets. I've had a couple of inexpensive furnture pieces built of MDF (think Ikea) that you need to be extremely careful when moving... even just moving around inside the same room or apartment. Joints/hinges seem more sensitive. However, IME the MDF used in kitchen cabinets tend to be good quality.

 

[Bamaman]

We have a huge kitchen in our lake house, and the cabinetry was all built on site with basswood frames. I trashed all the door fronts and replaced them with custom cut raised panel doors made of MDF--which I painted. They look just great, and weren't very expensive.

The cabinet shop I use for doors has two huge CNC machines (as large as a house.) They program my order, stand back and the panels are cut without any human contact.

If I was going to put in wood cabinets today, I would seriously look closely at Cabinets to Go. They are the affiliate of Lumber Liquidators which is bringing cabinet production to their huge facility in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee--40 miles from me. I once bought cabinets from them when they were selling Chinese built cabinetry, and they came broken down in boxes--and of good quality.

I agree about the trend going to drawer fronts from door fronts in cabinets. I just wish I could figure out what colors are going to be in style in the future, as my wife wants me to paint our oak cabinetry in our main home.

 

[Fireup2020]

Completed our new kitchen in April/May. We went with cabinets.com - great reviews on Houzz message boards, no MDF, solid hardware...majority of base cabinets are drawer bases (mentioned earlier they are GREAT!!). Excellent customer service and working with their ‘designer’ was easy (I submitted desired design-she turned it into their cabinets for ordering). I hate lazy Susan corner cabinets-so convincing her was a minor sticking point [emoji851]
Avoid big box stores...you will end up dealing with second and third parties to get them installed!!

 

[tb001]

If you’re looking at big box store cabinets, I would also look at ikea. Their cabinets are much better quality than the base models at HD and the price is great. You also get a ton of flexibility that you usually only see on higher end cabinets. Soft close, full extension drawers, etc... Styles tend to be more modern.

We moved from a house with amazing cabinets to one with cabinets that were custom and very expensive, but not as well thought out of designed. All the drawer boxes and frames are mdf and after 20 years are showing their wear, though structurally still sound. I’m in the process of replacing the drawer boxes and slides with solid wood and Blum slides. I’ve installed pullout shelving in all of the bottom cabinets which makes a huge difference. Not as nice as bottom drawers, but still better than crawling around the back of a cabinet.

We’re looking at some of the fold down shelves for the cabinets above the fridge. Our cabinets go all the way to the top of 10ft ceilings. Talk about impractical! We literally have nothing in many of them because it’s just too high to be of any use.

 

[pb4uski]

If you’re looking at big box store cabinets, I would also look at ikea. ...

DD and architect/engineer DSIL who also does some woodworking were planning to buy Ikea kitchen cabinets for their planned house build... IIRC he was planning to also glue them together in addition to the stock fasteners when he put them together. He got laid off so they put the build on hold and ended up moving and buying a new house rather than building. But he is pretty particular about such things so I suspect that he had checked out the quality of the cabinets if that is what their plan was.

 

[Gumby]

We have been very happy with our solid wood Bertch cabinets for the last 15 years.

 

[Ronstar]

We replaced our 25 year old cabinets a couple of years ago. I went to 2 or 3 cabinet companies and watched them make their cabinets. I’ve made a few cabinets in my 50 years of woodworking, so I am familiar with cabinet making.

I chose the company that made the best cabinets based on my review and comments from their customers. It helped that our salesperson worked several years in their cabinet making dept.

Our cabinets are maple ply carcasses with maple stiles and rails on the doors with maple ply panels. Cabinets painted white. Drawers are dovetailed maple. High grade hardware.

BIL (40 year carpenter) and I installed the cabinets - fit together perfectly.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

You specified non-custom. However, you can get fully custom cabinets, but that are RTA (like Ikea cabinets), costing similar to non-custom. And made in the USA. Check out Scherr's: https://www.scherrs.com

 

[pjigar]

It all depends! What are your quality expectations? Decide on box material (MDF/Plywood), Face material (wood/vaneer, painted/stained), features (door style, hinge style), etc. first. The get multiple quotes for DIY ready-to-assemble, semi-custom and custom. Then decide.

We recently did new cabinets in a 2400 sq ft house: Small kitchen, huge island, 3 bath, laundry. I think there were total 70 linear feet of cabinets. We picked plywood boxes, paint grade birch face/doors, shaker style, soft close hinges. DIY RTA installed cost was estimated to be about $5000. I got quote for semi-custom for about $6000. Custom (2 quotes) were at $7500 and $9000. We picked custom for $7500 and glad we did! I built master closet shelves, organizers and cabinets (30 feet) from scratch and it took me 7 days! It would have took me a long time to finish the rest of the cabinets we out-sourced.