cost of locally built cabinets and painting them

15 years ago

We are planning a new home build. We have a local cabinet maker that does beautiful work, his base price is $145/ft for base cabinets and $120/ft for uppers. Soft close drawers, etc. is extra. Compared to the one quote we've had for Merillat cabs that sounds reasonable - except he does not paint or stain, he delivers them ready to be finished. We are leaning towards creamy white cabs, at least along the walls and I'm not sure painting brand new cabs is DIY for me. I think I'm willing to stain the island myself if we go that way.

All that to ask - has anybody priced having their cabinets painted? And do the cabinet makers numbers sound reasonable? How intense is painting them as a DIY?

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

natal
15 years ago
Ours were built locally. The cabinet maker recommended a painter he had worked with in the past. Turned out to be a great team effort. The cabinets were painted/stained in the painter's shop and then delivered for the cabinet maker to install. Touch-ups were done onsite. I don't know what we paid per foot. The construction price for paint grade maple and cherry heartwood was $7,200. The finish work was another $4,000.
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shelly_ok
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the help natal!

Anybody else have this type of situation?
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I cannot address how Brookhaven compares with custom, but I have a Kitchen with Woodmode (stain finish) and Butler's Pantry (stain finish) and Laundry (painted) with Brookhaven. The Woodmode is inset, and Brookhaven is overlay. We had a number of issues with the dealer and his installer. Our project was a nightmare as a result. Do not assume that because a dealer carries a great product like Woodmode/Brookhaven, that they will be good at what they are supposed to do. And Woodmode's lead-time for replacement parts can be a real schedule-breaker. I am in the process of planning for another kitchen remodel (the Woodmode/Brookhaven is in our second home), and will be going with custom cabinets this time. The main reasons for deciding not to use Woodmode/Brookhaven this time around are cost and lead-time for replacement parts. I have to say, that even though Woodmode/Brookhaven cabinets are very, very nice cabinets, I do not think they are worth what they cost. The cost is staggering! My kitchen is very high-end. We spend a fortune on many custom items, such as a custom-carved french limestone range hood, custom hand-made forged lighting fixtures etc. No expense was spared. I have to say, that for all these items, I feel as if I got good value for the price. Not so for the cabinets. Don't get me wrong, they are great cabinets--just that they stand-out in a kitchen where everything is "over-the-top" as having a cost that is ridiculously out of line. I recently decided to add an smallish amoire-type cabinet in my laundry room to store brooms. This little Brookhaven gem--despite the fact that they were having a "sale," cost about $2,300. To store brooms. In my laundry room. Galling, no? But I chose Brookhaven, so if I want it to match... I have several friends who have done kitchens recently, and what I spent on cabinets easily is four times or more what any of them spent. Some of those friends used custom cabinets that seem as nice, if not nicer (especially when considering the ability to custom fit, or do any door style) than Brookhaven. Perhaps some are not as nice, but not significantly so, and the cost difference is huge. One thing to consider in terms of the durability of finish is how long you will be in the house--or how long until the next remodel. If it is a long time, a factory finish is almost always more durable than a custom. But the custom might be easier to retouch too. Funny, when I was ordering my Brookhaven, the dealer had a display that was finished by a local finishing specialist, because the finish they wanted was not available from Brookhaven! Not sure where you are located, but in the Pacific Northwest there is a company called Morgans Fine Finishes, and they specialize in cabinet finishing. They actually finish cabinets in their shop, and then you install, so you get some of the benefits of a factory finish, but the ability to customize. Guess it all depends on your priorities. There are some nice custom cabinets out there, but if Brookhaven offers the color and door style you want, they are great cabinets, just very, very expensive!
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with living there for a while before you do anything, but I WILL SAY when we came in this house for the first time, I knew I would paint almost everything in site that was wood stained. In fact, I decided on painting the trim on 2 windows in my living room and leaving the actual wood window stained wood, and it has just not looked right to me, so I am about to paint that now too. In a fairly busy and eclectic house like I have the painted trim just looks so much cleaner and more like a canvas for the rest of my furnishings and that is my point, MY furnishings just look better with the painted wood, yours may do ok keeping the wood and maybe staining it darker. Just my humble opinion JMHO, LOVE your sunroom and all the space you seem to have.
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Hi jboling, Thanks for your thoughts! It's helpful to get some other opinions since my husband and I are on different sides on this one! The original plan was a built-in, but because of the cherry wood (not stain) on this he suddenly switched to "make an alcove", not a built-in. I generally agree with him that true cherry, walnut, maple, etc. shouldn't be painted if it's in good shape. But I'm looking for nice lines, specific measurements, and inexpensive...... in this case I can probably live with it placed in an untrimmed alcove IF the flooring can be easily solved. The cabinet has 4-5 inch legs, so the flooring would show if it is not done as a built-in. The dining room is small--roughly 9' x 9.5', and our family is large, which is why we've avoided placing furniture other than spare chairs along the walls. We did verify the void behind this wall when the opposite side (back side?) was opened for our kitchen remodel. This is the last step in that project. The kitchen itself was finished in November 2012. In 2015 we did the second stage of the project, which was to enclose an existing back porch as a mudroom, and poured a new concrete porch and stairs. The stairs now access both the backyard and the driveway, whereas before they only went to the back. A venting chimney is what creates the void along the rest of that wall. It was too expensive to remove/rerun vents elsewhere. The void is 42" long, but I don't want the hutch, built in or not, to abutt the adjacent wall, hence the 36 inch max width, which would allow wallboard and trim dimensions to match other near-corner openings in the room.
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I know that was years ago, but the bids these guys are throwing at me are 3 or 4 times what I paid in 2001. Something ain't right here. Unfortunately, it's probably more right than wrong. Our previous renovation was completed in 2006. It was basically a new house as it was down to the studs, new addition with new foundation, an entirely new 2nd story. I kept accurate records as to how much that cost us to give me a starting point on our new build in 2017. I was expecting things to be more expensive, but I was shocked when things were 4 times as much in many cases. We got multiple bids on everything and yep, 3-4 times as much is pretty accurate. Material costs have gone up and labor is way more expensive, if you can even find someone to do the job. We had a terrible time finding a good concrete contractor. And we never did find a trim carpenter. I called, I emailed with no response. The ones that did come out to look at the job said they'd get back to me and never did. DH and I ended up doing all the trim ourselves. Good luck!
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bayareafrancy
15 years ago
Whoa--that price seems unreal! When I was shopping around, I got quotes from "the really good guys" at 500-100 per linear foot!!!! We finally went cheapo, at around 300 per linear foot. And while they look nice, they are rather shoddy quality.

I just posted a thread about painting them. I am also painting pre-existing cabinets. Painting the raw wood (new) cabs is SO SO SO SO much easier than painting the pre-existing ones (which required major sanding).

I'm a HUGE perfectionist, and I spent months reading on the Paint forum here at GW to get ideas/tips. If you want an absolutely smooth, brush free finish that looks like it was sprayed on, then I think it is pretty difficult to achieve. Though I am getting close! On the other hand, I'm doing a 1929 kitchen, so I prefer to call the brushmarks "old fashioned."

The few quality painters I looked at started around 55/hour. If I were going to hire it out, I would only get the best. Kitchen cabinets get a huge amount of wear and tear, and a cheap job just isn't worth it.

Do a search for 'cabinets' on the paint forum, and you'll have lots to read! You wouldn't believe the paint choices for cabinets.

Good luck. Let me know if I can be more helpful!

:-)

francy
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shelly_ok
Original Author
15 years ago
Francy,

You have been very helpful just from reading your other posts. I've enjoyed them very much.

Yes, you live in an area that is very dear and the cabinet makers have to figure out how to live there too. Now, that price for cabinets that I've found has an upgrade price depending on door/drawer style (lucky I like simple!), and soft close glides are another $7.50 a pair, and things like that. I'm working up the courage to find out what inset doors/drawers would be, when I asked if he did them he said, "yes, but they are a major pain". I've seen his work and it is plywood and dove tails and no face nailing.

You've given me some courage towards DIYing the paint. I'll have to see if DH (I love your term TheHusband!) can stand the length of time and imperfections in exchange for budget...

Now, off to the paint forum!
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rmkitchen
15 years ago
We had (locally made) custom cabinets for our den and our painter painted them using Cabinet Coat (as was recommended on the Painting Forum). His charge was $1,100, and I think they did an EXCELLENT job. (I'm in Boulder, CO -- not as expensive as other places but not as inexpensive as other places, too. Shoot!)

I must be part-idiot because I am unsure how to figure out the base / upper feet of our den. Um, one wall is ~13' long, with base and uppers (inc. one humongous floor - ceiling unit); the other wall has two 27" base units with counter - ceiling bookcases, and then in between them (those base units are 6' apart) is a horizontal open shelving system (it's like 2' high by 6' long).

Okay, so all of that, including counters, was $1,100. Worth it!
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rosalita
15 years ago
our local cabinet maker was $80 sq.ft. which included paint/stain/inset hinges/all blu motion/full installation.
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ccoombs1
15 years ago
My cabinet maker charged around $125 per liner foot each for upper and lowers. The have arrived and will be installed on Saturday. They are VERY high quality...all solid oak fronts and oak plywood boxes. All blume hindges and slides. Crown moulding and light rails. All drawers on the bottoms except under the two sink bases. Fluted columns by sink and cooktop. Hidden pull-out spice drawers. The finish on these cabinets is top quality...they look and feel like fine furniture. I am thrilled with the price! It looks like prices vary greatly depending on region.
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cost of locally built cabinets and painting them

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natal

shelly_ok
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cost of locally built cabinets and painting them

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natal

shelly_okOriginal Author

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bayareafrancy

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rmkitchen

rosalita

ccoombs1

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shelly_ok
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shelly_ok
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