RTA Kitchen Cabinets

14 years ago

Hi, I am in the midst of planning a kitchen remodel and could use some advice in cabinet selection. I have visited the local kitchen remodel stores as well as the big box stores and and have received quotes on a variety of cabinets (Thomasville, Diamond, Somersby, Brookhaven). All of the quotes are pretty relative in price. The only cabinets that I have found to be much better prices were RTA cabinets from kitchen pro and from JSI. I am a bit skeptical in purchasing a cabinet that I know nothing about. I found a thread on here that had not been updated for a couple of years and was hoping that I could get a more updated review of either the Kitchen Pro or JSI cabinets. They seem to have all the features that I am looking for- all plywood construction, full extension drawers, soft close, etc... Has anyone used these companies or other online cabinet dealers that they would recommend?

Thanks!!

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Comments (9)

jmalauulu
14 years ago
Well, rpdoug, my dh and I are planning on ordering from KitchenPro-we received the sample door and really, really liked it and we just cannot beat their prices. Everytime I looked at other cabinets in kitchen stores and the big box stores I kept thinking of the one from Kitchen Pro. We are going with the Honey Maple so I will definitely post when we are finished. Good luck on your search!
overlyoptimistic
14 years ago
You might want to check out Scherrs. We had a great experience with them for our kitchen and bathroom. A number of people on here have had good experience with them.
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You have gotten confused on the details of the cabinets you were looking at online as rta the face frames are 3/4 thick and the plywood boxes are 1/2 thick. I own and operate a kitchen and bath store in orlando. I specialize in the affordable products as well as having high end products to offer. I often wonder about those that post on here as to why RTA is not considered more. I can ship out directly to anywhere in the US 75 different RTA cabines that are assembled by the company that stocks them before they are put on the truck! You do not even have to put them together. I also have several domestic brands that are in the same price range. Many do not even use cam locks any more they are to be glued and stapled like most domestic brands are that are not in the Wode Mode business model as cabinet makers. I have one brand that ships out assembled with a lifetime warranty. They even do inset door styles that everyone seems to want on here. I have another brand that imports 60" wide by 66" wood hoods with raised panel arch vallance over the cook top and pull out spice racks in the towers. They are not as nice as stanici but they are not the cost either. Both have their place in society. I offer out of my store 20' of cabinetry in any configuration with 30" 36" or 42" wall cabinets with crown and light rail 10 level 1 granite stones to chose from removal of exsisting kitchen, installation of new kitchen and appliances painting of the kitchen area and any knobs you want from my supplier which has 25,000 different ones for $7,000-$10,500 I have inset door styles, flat slab bamboo, raised panels, applied moldings, painted cabinets, glazes, shakers, no name I have at least 1 of everything some will be looking for. When I am done with their kitchen only someone in the industry will be able to tell if the cabinets are imports most of the time. The trade offf is you are dealing with in stock product. No 2 companies stock the exact same cabinet list. It is just the nature of the beast. You can be a smart shopper and find the best price that gives you what you like or you can go for brand name recognition for bragging rights when compnay is over and conviently forget to tell your friends you look wealthy but have no retirement funds cause you buy everything on name brand to feel more important. RTA will not suit everyone but the truth is it fits most Beaver Cleaver neighborhoods very well. Which is where most of americans live that can afford to remodel thier kitchen
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You may want to start by hiring someone to come over, measure and get close to a design you want. After getting that plan, tweak it and re-think it and then re-measure several times. This way you have a plan and can get estimates from several RTA sites and save money. I paid $300 and although it was basic and some measurements were a bit off it took the edge off it all being so over whelming. In retrospect I could have saved on the $300 as there was not much changing on floor plan that could be done except move the range over a foot to help with congested corner and I have since changed colors, finishes, drawers ectÂbut I guess I just needed a little confidence jump start. It will cost you more for a design if you have many changes in floor plan and want a lot of detail. Once you get a design done or you choose to do it yourself you can always post layout here and get help improving it before you go online for bids. I went with Conestoga RTA's and will be getting them soon, so no reviews yet but Chad at cabinetmakeschoice was very helpful to me.
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Conestoga Wood Specialties manufactures high end RTA cabinets at it’s American factories. You can buy them online through The Cabinet Joint. Assemble with wood glue and either a finish nail gun (costs $150 with compressor) or finish nails and a hammer. Assembly is not difficult. The drawer boxes are pre-assembled. Assembly videos are available on the site. Prices are not posted; you must get a quote. Most RTA brands have a limited number of door styles, finishes, materials, etc. CWS has as many or more options than major pre-assembled brands such as Kraftmaid. Big price determinants: particleboard vs plywood, door style and birch drawer boxes vs maple. Available in standard sizes but they are fully customizable to 1/16” in height, width and depth. Comparable in quality to Schuler line at Lowe’s. I spent $13,000 on 18 cabinets and trim, including optional top and bottom finish panels and special order galley rails. White maple cabinets, plywood construction, full extension soft close Blumotion drawer glides. My kitchen is not barebones. It includes twin 34” wide pantries with 5 adjustable rollouts each, 4 30” wide 3 drawer base cabinets, a 39” wide refrigerator surround — all of these things added to the cost, but I still saved about $10,000 on comparable Schuler cabinets. The vertical spacing on the pantry rollouts can be changed easily without tools for even greater storage efficiency. Here are some photos as I was nearing completion:
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I have the same question - anyone purchased from this company?
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nkkp
14 years ago
One thing to remember - all plywood is not created equal. Quality plywood is usually called 'furniture grade' and is 3/4" in thickness. Lower quality plywood is often called 'cabinet grade' (which contains voids between the plys and is 1/2" thick). In the case of cheap plywood, MDF is much more stable. Also, look at how the cabinets are assembled - those that use plastic corner brackets to hold the sides/back together aren't as high of quality. I've seen some really nice plywood RTA's and some really cheap plywood RTA's.

When we were spec'ing our kitchen I was told to look at JSI. I found that for very little extra money we were able to get a different brand with many more options and much high quality.
redheadcurlyq
14 years ago
>>I found that for very little extra money we were able to get a different brand with many more options and much high quality. nkkp, would you mind sharing what brand/seller?
busybme
14 years ago
I had looked at JSI when we began our remodel (thinking about using them in our large laundry and our kids baths). I was quite impressed with the finish as well as the hardware and construction.

My local dealer did tell me, though, that he no longer sells them as classic RTA. He brings them into his shop, his crew assembles them, then delivers them. He said that the asspembly of JSI is not an easy task to get done correctly by the typical DIYer, and he had more complaints/dissatisfied customers due to the assembly difficulties than anything else.

Just a little fyi. It might save you lots of time/stress to have them assembled, if possible.

Sandy
friedajune
14 years ago
Nkkp - I am very curious. Please tell us what is the RTA brand "of much higher quality" that you mentioned?
bob_cville
14 years ago
Count me as another recommendation for Scherr's Custom Cabinets. I used them in my kitchen remodel and I am very happy with how they turned out. Additionally the assembly process for their cabinets is very easy. It was slow going at first, because I wanted to be sure I was doing everything right, but by the end it was taking about 15 minutes to assemble an upper cabinet.
nkkp
14 years ago
When we were looking, conestoga was only about 10% higher than the local JSI store. We ended-up going with yorktowne because we were in a time crunch and didn't want to spend the time to RTA (which is funny because we are STILL building on the house). I was really impressed with conestoga and in hind sight, I think I would have gotten a better product from conestoga.
tulsastorm
14 years ago
Before you order from Kitchens Pro, read the horror story I linked below.

Definitely order the cheapest cabinet you need first before placing a full order. This will give you an idea of the color of the door and frame, and overall build quality. If you decide to go with something else, it is probably more cost effective to keep the cab than pay for return shipping. You can always use it out in the laundry room or the garage.

A few weeks ago, I ordered the the Autumn Shaker series made by GHI and sold online at thertastore.com and the rtacabinetstore.com. I signed up for their e-mail newsletters while I waited for my sample cabinet to arrive. Thertastore.com has slightly higher prices, but had free shipping on all orders at the time, plus they sent a % off code in the newsletter that made the deal too sweet to resist. I got a kitchen full of cabinets for a little less than half what the big box home improvement stores and a custom cabinet maker wanted. Some of the sides are a little rough (stained plywood), but they sell finished end panels to cover it up. There were a couple of doors that need a little stain touch up, but most of the doors and frames look great. I installed all the base cabinets this past weekend, and will work on the uppers this weekend. The only negative I see is the doors are pre-hung, and some will require the hinges to be moved to the other side for functionality.

I also ordered a sample cabinet from the Sturbridge shaker series that JSI makes from instockkitchens.com. It was a darker stain than I liked, and it needed some more stain around the edges of the inner panel of the door. It lacked the beveled edges on the boards of the door frame where they come together, yet were more expensive than the Autumn Shaker.

Just my 2 cents.

Here is a link that might be useful: World's Worst Cabinets?

RTA Kitchen Cabinets

Comments (9)

jmalauulu

overlyoptimistic

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redheadcurlyq

busybme

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