Kraftmaid vs RTA (barkers, Scherrs)
bichonlover
11 years ago
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11 years agolucas_tx_gw
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Gulp - BIG $ difference in primed vs painted Scherr's
Comments (19)lovetodream -- I don't have photos of my own kitchen, but a Google Image search for "Adel white kitchen" pulls up a lot of other ones, if you still want to see any. It sounds as though you have reached a good solution. More thoughts from my own experience: The front edges of the cover panels are at the same plane (more or less) as the fronts of the drawers and doors, so there is some potential for edge dings. Also don't forget all the extra pieces you'll need, though you can probably get them on the fly from the lumber place as you go along. If you're using a range hood that's mounted under a cabinet, the upper cabinets on each side will need cover panels. That means that the sides of the cabinets flanking the range will also need cover panels to make all the widths line up down the run. (If you're using a standalone hood over a cooktop, obviously you don't need to worry about any of that.) Let's see, what else did I run into... don't forget light rail and top trim. If you are doing anything besides the Ikea standard, you will actually have an easier time getting custom trim to match if you are painting everything including doors yourself. To get our uppers to reach the ceiling, we used some kind of flat trim from Ikea (don't remember, probably light rail turned upside down) and then crown molding from the lumber supply mounted on top of that. Getting paint for the crown to match the Ikea trim took a couple of tries. My feeling after doing an Ikea kitchen is that using everything from Ikea is much easier if you're going to do things the Ikea standard way -- all the holes are predrilled, all the finishes match, etc. But if you are going to customize trim etc, it's easier to cut down wood than thermofoil-covered MDF, so you will be saving yourself at least a little bit of annoyance there. The fellows who installed my kitchen were willing to cut down Ikea trim pieces the way I wanted, but it did complicate things for them. (For ex. I thought the Ikea light rail was too wide so they ripped all those long thermofoil-covered pieces down, which also meant they could no longer use the Ikea installation hardware so they had to drill new holes and use other hardware -- etc. They did not complain about any of this and yes they were wonderful.) Re. the DIY paint matching the professional paint -- I think Scherr's uses Sherwin-Williams colors, so you should have no trouble getting a color match. However, the sheen might be different, so you might want to have a chat with the people at SW to see what they suggest you use. Maybe even paint a test board (comparing to a sample door if you can) to make sure it'll be close enough to suit you. The crown I painted is a little bit glossier than my doors but not enough to bother me (it is crown molding after all)....See MoreBarker cabinets/doors?
Comments (10)I never fully priced Barkers. I needed all sorts of additional special pieces. It was pretty much impossible with the order set up at Barker's to be sure I was getting everything I needed. I ended up spending 18K on a full kitchen with very high end design and finishes. That included shipping to Georgia from ND. My independent KD said equivalent cabinets from her business would have cost me $45K. Send you plan to Scherr's and have them cost it out. I would bet it would be a little higher because they will include all of the pieces that you need. Nothing would be forgotten. Also, Scherr's will customize materials. You want walnut drawers, they'll do it....See MoreRTA cabinets
Comments (11)I bought RTA cabinets for my son's kitchen remodel from domaincabinetsdirect.com. It was a first RTA / online experience and I can recommend the company quite highly. The trucking company trashed the pallet and Domain came through and replaced nearly the entire order without making us wait for the insurance company to settle. Just make sure you take lots of photos of the delivery and each piece as you unpack it. If you call them, ask for Michael. He's a good designer, not just a salesperson. I think they get $50 to do an accurate layout for you. Like most of the RTA units they are made in China. Hope this helps...See MoreAny experience with RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets-good or bad?
Comments (7)Thanks everyone. Well, I found out that J & K cabinets (a large RTA cabinet distributor) had a local dealer not too far from me, (Global Home Products in Beltsville, MD) so I called them and they actually had the size and color vanity I wanted in stock. The price was $199, and assembly was only $10, for an all wood, painted white shaker style vanity. Even the center panel on the doors was solid wood --a true reverse raised panel (almost every RTA cabinet seems to use MDF for the center panel!) The cheapest, similar, special order cabinet from Home Depot or Lowes would have been between $300-400 (American Woodmark or Kraftmaid, etc.) I checked with Barker cabinets and they were quite expensive in comparison. When I got to the dealer, I was surprised to see what a large showroom they had and how busy they were, even on a weekday afternoon. I believe that all their cabinet lines were RTA, and they had very good prices. The display kitchens and vanities looked very nice. The place seemed to be run mainly by Chinese people, ( a little hard to understand their accents, but very nice and helpful) so I imagine they don't have any problems communicating directly with those factories that make their cabinets over in China if they need to! Anyway--I'm glad that I had them put the cabinet together, as when they opened the box there was some minor damage to the face frame part. So they used the face frame off the identical vanity that was on their showroom floor and were able to assemble my vanity. It does look gorgeous--esp. the doors. Even the back is solid plywood with wood bracing. I suppose that makes it more sturdy, but it will be more work for my husband to drill holes for the plumbing. Hope this helps someone else who might be wondering about RTA cabinets....See Moresuzanne_sl
11 years agoUser
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agohomechef59
9 years ago
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