Kitchen Cabinets 101: Finding alternative ways of remodeling your kitchen

When buying kitchen cabinets I was naturally going to go to a mega store like a Home Depot or Lowes. Theses stores seem to have a large amount of buying power so why would they not offer the best prices? So I set out to buy kitchen cabinets at a super store and was blown away by the high prices. I decided there has to something else out there.
I stopped by a local supply store and one of their customer service people showed me an RTA kitchen cabinet. By the way, RTA is short for Ready to Assemble. After he explained how easy these cabinets are to assemble, with having only one page of directions and a better price, I was ready to buy on the spot. After I thought about it, I really wanted to get some more information about RTA Cabinets so I decided to do a search online. I came across several websites that had the same exact cabinets for even less than what the local supply store was selling them for!
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I had to find out more about these RTA kitchen cabinets. Why were they so cheap? Where are they coming from? Who is making them? What are the made out of?

The first question was why they were so cheap and this caused some concern. Was it an inferior product I was buying? I was very surprised when I found out that most RTA kitchen cabinets are of higher quality than their retail store competitors. Yes these cabinets, which are less money, are actually better quality! So the answer to my first question ended up being a surprise. The RTA kitchen cabinet doors and face frames are made of solid wood and the box of the cabinet is made of solid plywood with a wood veneer. If you take a look at the store bought other cabinets, you will find particleboard throughout their design and some even have cardboard backing. Yes that is right, some of the name brand cabinets have a thicker cardboard in their construction.

Next question was along the same lines….why are they so cheap online? Pretty simple, no overhead from the internet stores, less advertising budgets, and some of the online stores are direct importers. However, please shop around online, there are many RTA stores but prices vary by large amounts. Also, make sure shipping is stated before you buy; sometimes you will see “free” shipping. Please remember there is no such thing as free shipping, these companies are making that money somewhere.

Where are they coming from and who is making these cabinets? I found out that the cabinets are imported from China and manufactured there as well. Surprisingly, the cabinets are moving toward the “green” way of manufacturing. The entire tree is used for the various parts. And since they are using plywood for the cabinet box, even the parts of the tree deemed unusable by the construction industry can be used to create the plywood.

So now that I was educated on the RTA kitchen cabinets, I decided to see what else I could find that I needed for my house. I found that RTA bathroom vanities are a great buy as well. Along the same lines, the bathroom vanities come ready to assemble, and only require a screwdriver to assemble.

So before taking on the overwhelming task of shopping for kitchen cabinets, do a little research online. You will find that there are more options out there, other than just walking into a super store and ordering cabinets.