Kitchen Cabinets: Types, Materials, Installation & Basic Information

STEP 1 BUDGET

Start with the types of cabinetry in order to estimate your budget. Kitchen cabinets can be custom, semi-custom, and stock. The price is generally set for a linear foot.

• You’ll get them for cheap only if they’re in stock. Stock cabinetry is sold either pre-assembled or not assembled. The variety of colors will be limited, but you’ll be very pleased with the price. Stock cabinetry will cost you about $60-$200.
• Semi-custom cabinetry gives more design possibilities. It offers a wider range of colors, shapes, patterns, materials, and accessories. Cabinets like these can be pre-ordered to fit the measurements of your kitchen. They make a nice investment to the value of your home. The average price for semi-custom cabinets is $100-$600.
• Custom cabinetry is the most expensive option. That’s the reason why it will perfectly fit your kitchen, give you the desired functionality and aesthetics. It will be made of anything you may desire, but it will cost you a fortune. A perfect option for a large family home planned as a permanent residence for many family members. Custom cabinetry will cost you more than $650 and up to $1,200.

STEP 2 STYLE & FUNCTIONALITY

Any local kitchen showroom in Sacramento area or in the Bay area can be helpful in finding inspiration. The choice of style is inevitably connected to the choice of materials and additional accessories.

Modern European designs with geometric lines, glass, vinyl and stainless steel elements will save you quite a lot in cash, planning, and installation.

Retro and country-style kitchen cabinets imply the use of natural wood with brass and copper hardware and accessories. You’ll have to invest at least in the high-end veneers to cover the MDF or plywood panels of the cabinetry.

Consider adding an island or a corner with open shelving. Don’t try to save money on a consultation with an experienced designer if you are out of ideas for small kitchens. Don’t be skeptical about convenient cabinets for small kitchens – a cozy galley cooking space with proper lighting and zoning may turn out to be a lot more comfortable in use and maintenance in comparison to a large rustic-styled one.

STEP 3 CONSTRUCTION

Pay special attention to the joints, hinges, drawer guides and wood frames of doors. Choose plywood instead of particleboard or fiberboard panels. Read further to find out more about the materials. Purchase cheap pulls and knobs to save some cash on the installation. You’ll be able to buy decor elements later and install them on your own.

STEP 4 FEATURES

Such things as a pull-out trash bin, spring-loaded shelves or a wine rack should be included in the project beforehand. Search the net for images of hardware ideas and share your desires with building specialists.

STEP 5 RENOVATION

Your present kitchen may look horrible on the surface. However, if the cabinetry is still firm and sturdy, consider refinishing. Renovate the doors and drawers, add new glass doors, search the net for unusual storage ideas and hardware elements, replace the handles, add new wall panels and functional elements – spice racks, new cabinet lights, and faucets. You’ll be surprised at your new custom cabinetry created on the base of the one you have.

Kitchen Cabinets: Materials

From the most expensive ones to the cheapest ones.

WOOD

Hardwood kitchen cabinets from reputable makers are not cheap in any case. Even if you manage to get a discount, you’ll pay no less than $95 per square foot of hardwood kitchen cabinetry.

	Red Oak Strong, long-lasting with a moderate cost in comparison to the other hardwood types. It has attractive gray colored grains and patterns. Perfect for custom and semi-custom designs of traditional cabinetry.
	White Oak Durable and strong. A lot stronger than red oak. It has honey-golden shades with insignificant grains and patterns. The makers of kitchen furniture mostly use white oak for custom designs.
	Maple They will cost you more than oak ones. It’s a very hard and long-lasting material with a light and warm tint. It’s hard, but not very dense. You can paint it in any color you want, however, designers prefer dressing it with a clear finish.
	Hickory The patterns of hickory are similar to oak patterns and grains. The color is light yellowish with blond undertones. That’s a perfect choice for custom and semi-custom cabinetry in rustic style. It’s light and it is easily stained.
	Cherry Cherry is incredibly elegant. It’s a perfect choice for traditional custom and semi-custom kitchen designs. The surface of it is smooth with fine grains. The color palette is wide from light red to deep reddish-brown. It has to be stained in order to balance the color.
	Birch It has almost the same texture as maple wood. It looks a lot more expensive than it really is. Hire professional painters that will stain it to make it look like noble cherry wood. Birch is usually used in semi-custom and stock designs. It’s cheap in processing and installation.
	Ash It’s as strong and durable as oak is. It is lighter and the wooden pattern of ash is more distinct. Kitchen cabinetry makers mostly use it for custom designs.
	Pine It’s not hard, that’s the reason why it dents and scratches easily. The color is light yellow. Western pine wood is almost white. Pine has attractive knots in the pattern. It makes the wood perfect for rustic and country kitchen designs.

PARTICLEBOARD (LDF)

This term speaks for itself. These are boards made from particles of wood bonded together by resin and pressure. The boards are further covered with vinyl or laminate films of different colors and patterns.

FIBERBOARD (MDF)

It’s one of the most common materials used for a moderately priced furniture. Any warehouse, kitchen and bath showroom or a kitchen cabinetry expo proudly demonstrates various MDF furniture products. MDF (or medium density fiberboard) is partially similar to particleboard panels. It’s made of wood particles mixed with tiny fibers. MDF is a better alternative to particleboard panels due to its strength and its smooth appearance. Installing and renovating of MDF will not take too much of your time and patience.

PLYWOOD

It’s made of thin wood layers bonded with glue and resin. Plywood is used for the backs and sizes of the cabinets. It may be too heavy for the fronts.

Now that we’re done with the base materials, let’s pass on to the description of the additional ones used for the surfaces of cabinets and doors.

LAMINATE

Kitchen cabinetry laminate produced from several layers of paper with resin. It can be printed in any colors and patterns you may desire. It has a transparent layer on top to protect your kitchen cabinetry from the excessive external influence of temperatures and humidity. Laminate is used for the wooden surfaces and cabinet door fronts.
Modern laminate can be low-pressure (less durable, but cheap) and high-pressure (more durable, but more expensive).

VINYL (THERMOFOIL)

It’s a film glued to the wooden or MDF countertop parts under pressure and heat. The most pleasant thing here is that vinyl demonstrates amazing detailing. If you want your kitchen counters to look like real wood for cheap, opt for vinyl. It can be black, green, red, yellow, blue or patterned.

Kitchen Cabinets & Countertops

A countertop is a surface where food is prepared. This surface has to be durable. It shouldn’t be afraid of scratches, stains, heat and other negative effects. Besides, it should look attractive enough especially if you’re planning to spend your life at your present residence. The choice of countertops can turn out to be a very daunting task.

Where To Start?

There are two basic types of kitchen countertops:

• Pre-cut countertops;
• Custom countertops.

The choice of materials depends on your demands on durability, functionality, maintenance, and style. All parts of kitchen cabinets: doors, sides, hardware, pulls, and knobs can easily be replaced and restored. Countertops can only be changed in case if you damage them accidentally.

Kitchen Countertops: Materials

GRANITE

That’s one of the most popular choices for kitchen countertops among American homeowners. It is released in a wide price range and it is very durable. It is manufactured in a variety of color and shades:

• Shades of black;
• Shades of white;
• Greens;
• Coral shades;
• Beige.

The thing is that two pieces of granite will never look the same. It looks very natural. Granite countertops are polished or left matte depending on the preferences of the customer. The price of marble countertops mostly depends on their country of origin.

Kitchen Countertops: Edges

Standard edges are square. They will be perfect for a sleek modern European design with sleek lines. In addition to the usual square edges, you’ll have a chance to purchase countertops with various decorative edges:

• Bullnose;
• Radius;
• Egg;
• Ogee;
• Bevel.

In addition to the basic edges design, you can pre-order completely custom shapes. Keep in mind that they will cost you a lot more than standard edges.

Mix It Up

If you have no idea on what material to choose for countertops, you may opt for unusual designs. Add a butcher block into a natural stone countertop or order a broken tile mosaic counter (it’s one of the cheapest variants because it is made of the remnants of natural material).

Kitchen Cabinets: Knobs, Pulls & Hardware

Kitchen cabinetry is rarely sold with hardware. The choice of hardware styles is huge, but you should stick to the basic steps:

1. Your theme. Choose sleek pulls for modern European cabinetry. Purchase simple and smooth copper knobs for traditional-styled kitchens or invest in antique bronze hardware for a custom-looking antique-styled kitchen cabinetry.
2. Matching finishes. Make sure that your hardware matches to the decorative finishes of your cabinetry in general – bronze, copper, silver or else. Your hardware should coincide with the finishes for a neat look.
3. Knobs or pulls. Knobs are for traditional kitchen cabinets and pulls are for modern variants. Knobs are perfect for cabinet door fronts with ornaments.
4. Matching colors. Make sure your kitchen cabinets pulls and knobs match to the design of your appliances. The charm of your new cabinets can be easily spoiled by the neglect of hardware design.
5. Quality is important. Kitchen cabinetry hardware is used very often. It has to suffer in a lot of everyday traffic. Sturdy hardware won’t cost you a dime.
6. Standards are optional. Nickel, bronze, and gunmetal are ok, but there’s always a way to go for something unusual: mirrored or glass accessories and hardware will look very attractive.

Questions & Answers

Anything that adds additional value to the property is considered to be a capital improvement. New water heater, a new deck or a new kitchen are all capital improvements because all of them demand rebuilding, reconstruction or installation. Renovation of cabinets (repainting or restaining) is just a maintenance work that is not considered to be capital.

They mostly are, because the kitchen is one of the most valuable places in any home. However, it all depends on your needs. Here are the approximate prices for an entire kitchen renovation. Here you’ve got three basic variants to go.
If you’re renovating your kitchen to prepare your house or apartment for sale, opt for stock cabinets. Find a wholesale kitchen cabinets warehouse and get a set of basic stock cabinets. Kitchen cabinetry kits like these are limited in styles and colors, but they will cost you about $10,000 together with the materials.
Semi-custom cabinetry and materials for installation will cost you from $20,000 to $50,000. They still add value to your home giving you more design possibilities.
Luxury cabinetry for sale also known as custom will cost you about $100,000 and even more. Be careful if you’re planning to sell your house or apartment in the future – your potential buyers may be indifferent to your exquisite kitchen design vision and they won’t agree to pay more for it. Expensive custom cabinetry can be a perfect decision for a big family home inhabited by many people at once.

Generally, yes. They are split into categories depending on height and a kitchen cabinet depth. There are four basic types of cabinetry:

• Base cabinets. 24-36 inches tall. Cabinet depth is up to 27 inches. Base cabinets have a toe kick that is 4 inches tall.
• Wall cabinets. 12-48 inches tall. Cabinet depth is generally 12 inches. In some cases, it can be changed up to 17 inches.
• Tall cabinets. 84-96 inches tall. Depth may vary from 12 inches to 24 inches.
• Specialty units. These are not cabinets, but functional elements that maximize the cooking and storage areas. Specialty units include suspended units, wine racks, corner cabinets, open shelves, hutches, etc.

The width of the cabinets may vary from 12 inches to 48 inches depending on your personal dimensions.

There’s not a one-fits-all approach in matters of kitchen cabinetry space organization. However, there are several simple rules that always work:

• Declutter the storage space. Be brave and donate are throw away the items you don’t actually need.
• Everything you need on a regular basis should be close at hand. Use boxes and cans for sugar, coffee, tea, cereals, and pasta. Use as more cans as possible. Get beautiful sets of cans and glass bottles and place them on the tops of the wall counters to keep something you don’t need often.
• All items should be kept on places where you use them. Leave a cabinet space for your kids’ snacks and let them know they can use it themselves.
• Keep the food separately from the dishes.
• Use butcher paper or cork sheets to cover the inner surfaces of the cabinets to protect the contents from excessive heat or humidity. Besides, whenever you spill or break something right inside the cabinet, you can simply wrap the cork or paper sheet, through it away and get a new one.
• Use kitchen organizers as much as you can – surf the net for numerous solutions. It will save time on clearance and renovation procedures.

A properly installed kitchen with firm cabinetry is one of the biggest selling points. Keep this in mind before you decide to install the cabinetry yourself. The assembly and installation demand special skills and tools. Even experienced contractors can spend many hours on installation to make you enjoy the result for many years ahead. Yes, it’s hard.
Before you decide to try your hand in installation, consider the following:

• Cabinets are heavy – sometimes they have to be fixed not only to the wall but also with additional reinforcement. Besides, you must be strong with a lot of stamina to be able to hold the kitchen units with your bare hands. You’ll have to find at least one person to help you.
• You should be precise in measurements – even half an inch missed may cause potential problems with further installation. It may happen that you’ll have to find specialists to reinstall the cabinetry again, which will cost you more than a simple installation because a pro will have to deal with your mistakes first.

A professional won’t miss a single outlet and do his best to properly combine your kitchen cabinetry with plumbing and lights. If kitchen cabinetry is a long-term investment, so why not to invest cash into the professional installation with a corresponding warranty?

It’s simple. If you’re planning to install hardwood or any other floor that will be nailed or glued to the surface, you’ll have to install the cabinetry after the flooring. If you floor will be floating (laminate, linoleum, cork…), you’ll have to place the cabinetry first. Then comes the flooring.

The best time to purchase and install cabinetry is late autumn or early winter. That’s a great time to get a fat discount from a wholesale kitchen cabinetry manufacturer.

Yes, they can. They only need to be made of wood: both hardwood, MDF, LDF or plywood panels will do. The steps are always the same:

• Choose a stain (gel-based, oil-based, water-based or an all-in-one formula), but don’t purchase a stain for the deck;
• Remove the hardware and label it in case if it’s hard to remember the location of each detail;
• Get rid of the old finish and sand the surface of the cabinets;
• Stain the surface;
• Enjoy!

You can also apply a coat of clear varnish for more protection of the surface.

Why not? Just sand and prime them before painting. The point is that it will take more time and effort. Nevertheless, seeing a pop of bright color from the inside of your cabinets will be very rewarding!

There’s no significant difference between a bathroom and kitchen cabinetry. They can be crossed over easily. It’s just that kitchen cabinets are deeper, taller and generally larger.

No more than 25 pounds for a metal clip and no more than 10 pounds for a plastic clip. If you manage to adjust the shelf or the cabinet properly on several metal clips, it will be able to hold about 100 pounds. Plastic clips are cheaper and weaker and will hold no more than 50 pounds in a fully installed construction.

A+ Construction & Remodeling has a lot of renovation and rebuilding experience in your area. You can trust us in a choice of materials, in taking measurements, in refacing and installation of kitchen cabinets. If you’re still asking yourself:
“Are there durable kitchen cabinets and hardware for sale near me?”
“Can I hire a trustworthy contractor in the area near me?”
“How can I deal with the refacing in the shortest time possible?”
We know all about kitchen furniture stores in your area, we’ll provide you with impressive before and after ideas and we’ll deal with your kitchen cabinetry renovation even if you’ve picked out a home for sale by owner. We’ll improve the atmosphere and turn any house into a home.