I can't image that the prices quoted include labor. If so, there should not be that much difference. But the basic question is why soft-close doors. Soft close drawers server a purpose -- they keep the contents from bashing about and possibly chipping or breaking. But, soft close doors serve no purpose other than looking cool -- for a while (everything wears off eventually). They make little rubber bumpers that you stick on the doors to keep them from going "thunk" when you close them -- about 25â per door.

This is why I never hire contractors. I much prefer to work directly with the people doing the work. The people I finally dealt with on my custom cabinets were great - small shop in an industrial area. The guy who sold me the package also builds the cabinets with one or two other guys. One of the guys who builds the cabinets and paints them was the installer (one man installation). Always try to deal directly with the person who is going to do the actual work - you end up with better product and spend less money to boot. I'd make the contractor or cabinet maker or whoever you signed the deal with on the cabinets replace all the hinges with current technology BLUM soft close hinges - ALL of them. Or find a supplier for the BLUM hinges (Richelieu sells them here in Canada) and withhold that much from your final payment to them, plus $40 per door minimum for labor fees to replace them all. Play hardball - it's your money, it's your house, it's your deal. Hold them to every letter of the deal you signed - don't pay a penny more, and hold back on whatever they skimped on.

Keep in mind that there are two elements to the upcharge: The hardware cost difference and the labor cost difference. Most of the cabinetmakers I have talked with have said that they initially upcharged for the Tandem undermount soft-close slides. However, once they'd used them a few times, they realized they were saving a lot of time on installation because the slides are so forgiving and adjustable - so many cabinetmakers no longer upcharge for those slides. IMO anyone who tries to talk you out of those slides just doesn't want to learn any new tricks. And agreed with the comment above: Plan for those drawer slides now - the retrofit soft close bumpers don't compare at all.

You need to verify what the cabinet door overlay is. Close the door and make a light mark at the edge of the door on the hinge side. Then measure the distance between that mark and the inside edge of the face frame. That will be the overlay size that you need. No, you cannot use a 1/2" overlay hinge to replace a 3/8" overlay hinge. Also, you should remove the cup side of the hinge and measure the boring size on the door and make sure that a replacement hinge requires the same size boring. As well as determine the opening degree of your current hinges.