As with all home improvement projects, there are basic steps you must take before going ahead with the project: planning, budgeting, and deciding whether or not to do the work yourself or hire a kitchen cabinet professional.
Planning should include what work, exactly, you want to have done. When it comes to cabinets, that means having the exact measurements of the room you want done (for the purpose of this article we will talk about kitchen cabinets, but of course bathroom and utility room cabinets need to be measured, too), any new installments you want and changes you want to make to the existing floor plan, and what colors you want.
Budgeting is self-explanatory: how much are you willing to spend? This is not the time to let pride get in the way. Be reasonable with yourself and your budget, and know that the people you will be buying cabinets from and any installers you hire are used to dealing with budgets of every range, so there is no shame in having a small budget.
There are three general types of kitchen cabinets that you should be aware of when you go shopping: stock, semi-custom, and custom.
Stock cabinets are the cabinets that are made prior to purchase. This used to mean that the customer got a basic cabinet without any thrills or individuality. Nowadays, though, that is no longer the case. These cabinets are made to standard industry measurements so that they can fit any typical sized kitchen. Stock cabinets are less expensive and are available much sooner than semi-custom or custom cabinets. Some times you can even walk away from the store with them the same day.
Semi-custom: these are basically the happy medium between stock and custom cabinets. Semi-custom cabinets have more wood, door, and finish choices than stock. Limits do apply as to how “custom” these cabinets will be, and the prices are usually in the middle between stock and custom cabinets, too. These will generally take four weeks to arrive once the order has been placed, so take that into consideration.
Custom: self-explanatory. These cabinets are made to your specifications, including the wood, finish, door design, sizes and shapes. Because they are made to your specifications, they take longer to receive and cost a lot more than stock or semi-custom. General delivery time will be six to ten weeks.
You have a lot to choose from, even if you choose to go with the stock cabinets. Try to buy cabinets that are both stylish and functional. They may look cute on the showroom floor, but how practical are they? When you are climbing a step stool to reach for a cereal box, or getting on your hands and knees to find the pan in the back of the cabinet, cute doesn’t matter so much anymore.
home-inspection
