what to know before starting diy cabinet project

New kitchen cabinets are a spectacular way to improve your home’s resale value. They also enhance your storage options and give your existing kitchen a much-needed facelift. Think you are handy enough for Ready to Assemble (RTA) cabinets? Review this checklist before you start ordering components to ensure your project flows smoothly.

 

Assess Your Skills

Before deciding to tackle a do-it-yourself project of this scope, it is essential to accurately assess your carpentry skills. While most RTA cabinet assembly is relatively straightforward, you may be required to have some crucial tools on hand to assemble and install cabinets properly. Reviewing assembly instructions or videos on your chosen cabinetry site is an excellent way to see what you may need. Great Buy Cabinets do not require hammering, stapling, gluing, clamping, or cutting to create a professional-looking finished piece. However, you will probably want a sturdy power screwdriver.

When hanging cabinets, the minimal equipment required is a stud finder, a drill, and a level. Because of the weight wall cabinets hold, they need to be screwed into framing studs. Failing to do so can result in wall damage and a disaster if your cabinet comes crashing down. Once you have determined where the studs lie behind your chosen cabinetry piece, drilling holes through the back of the cabinet components makes threading screws easy. A level is crucial to ensure everything is level and plumb, resulting in a professional finish (and keeps things from rolling around inside your finished product).

Finally, honestly evaluate whether you have the patience and eye-for-detail to complete the installation. A good-enough approach may result in a bank of cabinets that do not look like a single seamless unit. If you don’t have what it takes (and no shame in that), hiring someone to hang your cabinets may be a good investment. You will still reap savings by assembling the pieces yourself.

 

Balance Your Budget

One of the advantages of RTA cabinets is their price point. Since you assemble them yourself, components typically come in flat packages, which are less costly to ship than preassembled cabinets. Hanging your cabinets will always be less expensive than having someone come in to do it for you.

Carefully weigh these savings with your time constraints, however. Even though assembling RTA cabinets is relatively simple, it can take a bit of time to do correctly. It can take up to an hour to build a single cabinet unit, depending on whether you have glides, lazy Susans, or other specialty pieces. That means that you probably will not be able to assemble and adequately hang your new cabinets all in one weekend! So, when talking about budget, do not forget to budget your time!

 

Proper Planning

There are many tasks to complete even before you begin to order your RTA components. The first thing to do is get out your measuring tape and get a sense of your working space. Those numbers (referred to as linear feet) are the center of your design. If you are merely replacing existing cabinetry, those dimensions are likely to remain the same as your current configuration.

Those figures give you an idea of the maximum measurements you can build within. If you are not relocating appliances or plumbing, also measure the space taken up by these items. The old (and a bit twisted) adage “measure twice, order once” is vital here. Because if your numbers are off, you will end up short or long in your final design. And while you could return components, you will likely be charged a fee to restock any returns.

Take a look at your existing cabinets. What works? What doesn’t? Have you ever wanted more functional space to store ingredients or tools? Do you wish you could sweep the debris from your cutting board right into the trash bin and hide the whole works? Now is the time to design those dreams into your new layout.

Keep in mind, sinks and countertops are typically not included when you order your RTA cabinets. You will need to order those replacement items separately. The good news is that RTA cabinets do not take up a lot of room if you have to wait for delivery on any other parts that go with them!

 

Shop Quality

Now that you have a plan, it is time to shop! Since you will be using and looking at these cabinets every day for years, it is crucial to choose RTA cabinets with quality construction. Stay away from particleboard construction. Because kitchens are moist places, spills and splashes can lead to peeling veneers and warped panels as the particleboards soak up water.

And since you are doing an upgrade, look for soft-close drawer glides and hinges. Great Buy Cabinets come with these parts standard, and you will wonder how you lived without them! While a relatively small detail, they come in handy when you don’t want to alert the entire house you are making a midnight snack!

Quality hardware is also the sign of a well-made RTA cabinet. Avoid the cam locks and dado assemblies common in most assemble-it-yourself furniture; they can loosen over time as wood expands and contracts. Great Buy Cabinets feature tongue and groove panel assembly, which provides more strength to joins than screws alone. Pair that with snap-together clips and brackets, and you have a sturdy cabinet that resists twisting.

One final point to research is the availability of replacement parts. Interior shelving held in by pegs or clips frequently suffers warping after holding heavy dishes year after year. And those pegs and clips sometimes break. You want to be able to order a perfect match without a lot of hassle.

If you are up to the task, a kitchen facelift with RTA cabinets is economical and satisfying. If you have a concept but are having trouble visualizing what you need, help is here! Send the Great Buy Cabinets’ kitchen design team some photos, measurements, and must-have ideas. They will work with you to select the perfect components. While you are waiting for the design team’s recommendations, browse the broad selection of finishes and door treatments available at https://www.greatbuycabinets.com.