One more thing... does anyone have suggestions for cabinet maker that has a short lead time like Hanssem, 2-3 weeks. as far as price/quality, something mid to upper range, i guess. It's for a 7 foot vanity, 2 sink bases, 2 drawer bases. quotes from Dewils and Hanssem were around 3500.
Thanks again
dee

Dee Dee,

We have DeWil's and are very happy with the quality of the finish and cabinets. Are you sure you can't get the darker finish in DeWil's that you mentioned above? Lead times can vary tremendously right now. Will you be ready in 3 weeks?? The 7 weeks that we waited proved to be good because I took a few days off from all this decision making and that really helped with the stress!!

I don't know anything about Hanssem's... DeWil's uses FSC wood and low VOC finishes if that helps!

Good Luck!

Thanks so much, Earth. I would LOVE to take a few days off from decision making, the tile choice nearly pushed me over the edge..but I'm guessing the GC wouldn't be happy! Frankly, I waited to long, thinking we'd go with the Hanssem and i had time. We had a quote on Fieldstone.. better quality, but too pricey. I haven't even ordered yet and they are ready to drywall this week. The only problem with DeWils was that the stained black color i'm going with, looked like the wood was gray underneath, rather than brown. I could live with that if it's better made. i'll look at it again if the GC is willing to wait. I'm concerned about the Hanssem since i read somewhere it's made in Korea and shipped here to be assembled. Wish i could find decent quality that doesn't take 8 weeks.

I almost went with DeWils, but in the end went with custom because I wasn't happy with the door styles. I thought the finish on DeWils was outstanding. At the time, I searched and read all the posts on DeWils and everyone seemed to be happy with the quality, although some of the customizations were wrong when delivered, but DeWils fixed them.

I think semi-custom in 2-3 weeks is a tall order. Have you looked for a local custom cabinet maker? They might be able to accommodate you with your relatively small order.

I don't know anything about Hanssem - sorry.

Why the rush?

Pudgy, thanks.. I'm rushing because I didn't think the GC would want to wait an additional 5 weeks, since everything is almost ready for tile to be installed. Of course we don't want to either.
We had a local cabinet maker do our kitchen cabinets and i wasn't happy with the finish on them. There's something to be said for a 'factory finish'. But that is an option.. maybe i can find better cabinet maker. I just feel very pressured and need to come up with something quickly.. Dont want to waste another 2-3 weeks finding another option only to be pressed to order the Hanssem at that point as it will be way too late to order the Dewils.
Anyone else have any cabinet manufactuer suggestions with good quality vs. price that have shorter than 8 week lead time???? HELP!:)
Thanks
dee

Dee Dee,

My advice is to take that deep breath now and step back to evaluate your situation. If you are feeling pressured to make a decision, then it is highly likely that you are making a decision to meet someone else's needs, say your GC, and not yours or your family's needs. That is not a good situation.

It is easy to get caught up in the now, everything has to be chosen now whirlpool. Most of the time, it really doesn't. In the long run, you are better off, taking the two or three weeks NOW, to review your options to make sure what you are purchasing works for you and your family both now and in the next years of kitchen usage. You will have a long time to regret any decisions made in today's haste.

It is okay to want something that takes 8 weeks to arrive if that is what you want and it fits your needs. Don't let yourself be sucked into pleasing your GC's timetable. He works for you and won't be the one hearing your regrets in the years to come.

No one enjoys the waiting around process for a project to be done. More importantly, your DH and family don't want to hear afterwards that you really wish that you had gone with this or that or done this or that...

Don't worry, you won't be setting the record for longest kitchen remodel either by doing this... LOL!

Thanks for calming me down, Earth Pal.. It's not just the GC. We really don't want to wait an extra 5 or 6 weeks either. DH is anxious to get this done as well. This remodel is actually a master bath and bedroom. We've been sharing one bath for the past 3 months with a teenager and are eager to just be done with it. I dragged my feet a little too long. I don't mind waiting a week or two longer, but 8 weeks seems like forever.
DH wants to just go with the Hanssem and upgrade it fully, ie. plywood etc. I just think their price is too high and they don't do a 4 drawer vanity cabinet and i'd have to pay to have them cut down a kitchen 4 drawer kitchen base.. $$... I digress... but that may be the best choice at this point. I may head out to a couple other kitchen places tomorrow and see if i can find something with a better time frame, if not it's not the end of the world.

update.. I put a call in to another local kitchen/bath place. They offered Kemper as a line with a 2-4 week lead time or they could add my order to another Brookhaven order and do that in 4 weeks. She is putting together a rough quote for both options as I type.
I get the sense that Kemper may be a lower quality than the Hanssem. I know Brookhaven is a better line. Is it as good(and pricey) as Fieldstone?

Hey Dee Dee!

Thanks for the updates! I had missed that it was not a kitchen remodel earlier. Ah, I do understand with not wanting to share a bathroom a teenager any longer than you have to. ;)

I do not have any experience with Kemper, Brookhaven or Fieldstone cabinets. Maybe you could post a separate thread asking for advice on those cabinets instead of trying to use this thread??

Are there any other places nearby that you could check out??

thanks E Pal!
Ok these are the quotes I have so far.. i'll post here then start a new thread.. also like a Greenfield cabinet they had, which I'm waiting for a quote on.
Also called the 1st place and asked them to quote me the Plain & Fancy. I know it's an 8 week wait, and pricier, but so is the Greenfield. At this point what's another month with a teenager! this is what i have so far

4900 for Brookhaven(4 weeks) didn't love door styles/colors
? for Greenfield(8weeks)Loved a door in black on display
4200 for Kemper(2-4 weeks)Concerned about quality
3500 DeWills (8 weeks) seemed the best quality for the $$
3584 Hanssem (2-3 weeks) Concerned about quality
? Plain & Fancy(8 weeks) Maybe out of my price range?
4900 Fieldstone 7-8 weeks

STill waiting for two quotes and will do more searching tomorrow.. need to make a decision. Any feedback on quality or experience with lead times appreciated.
dee

Be careful on the lead time estimates.....I have DeWils cabinets that wher installed last summer...my cabinet guy loves the DeWils line because when they give him a delivery date it gets there on that date...he said the other lines he reps aren't nearly so punctual.

I love the DeWils cabinets...I had mine site painted, so they arrived just primed, so I can't fully comment on finish, but the primer was done well & so far the paint is holding up well.

Good Luck.

dee__dee, I talked to my DeWils rep this morning and asked what their lead time was. She told me it's 5 weeks at the moment. I'm basically in their backyard - I live in Portland, OR, just across the river from their Vancouver, WA plant - so that might make a difference. Still, if you haven't checked lately, it might be worth asking what their current lead time is. My rep told me it can vary by several weeks depending on how busy they are.

Thanks, Lisa and Beck...sorry for the delay... Do you know the warranty on these cabinets?? I'm going to go over and talk to the cabinet guy selling the Dewils today and take a look at the painted finishes.
I was liking the Greenfield but haven't got a quote back yet.
The guy selling the Hanssem wants 800 more for 'all wood construction' which brings a cheap cabinet into the same price range as a much better quality cabinet. He said the Plain & Fancy would be double the price at 8000.. to be honest i don't think he calculated it out, but that's way over budget.
So that leaves me with waiting for the Greenfield estimate and checking out the Dewils again... and maybe try one more cabinet place.
I'll keep you posted, thanks all!!

We're very happy with our DeWils cabinets. The whole order came in perfect including the customizations. Our GC made a couple of mistakes on what he ordered (sink cabinet that was suppose to be false drawer over door was ordered as full height door and vice versa on a 12" cabinet) and there were a couple of extra trim pieces that needed to be ordered during the job. They got the new doors, drawer fronts and trim pieces to us very quickly. We love the finish and the wood. They are very sturdy.

Sometimes its best to be patient and live with an awkward situation for a few more weeks to get what you want in the long run.

Do you have experience with Fieldstone Cabinets with regards to the amount of VOCs?

If lead time is important to you at all I would go with Hanssem. We placed an order with DeWils 2 1/2 weeks ago and finally got conformation on the ship date today after multiple e mails and phone calls, and the ship date is 9 weeks after we placed the order, with a shipping time of 1 week. So you don't actually get your cabinets for 10 weeks.
Had we known this we would have went with a different company. Not to mention their customer service has been completely unhelpful in offering other alternatives such as expedited shipping. The lack of customer service in following up and appropriately dealing with this issue has us very concerned about the future of our cabinets.