Aries61 - congrats on your cabinets arrival & looking forward to your progress reports. Your pics did not show up & the links are not clickable. I did try to copy & paste but was still unsuccessfull (that could be me).

It's strange, I went to edit the post to see what was going on and when I went into edit the pictures showed up. I then click submit and the pictures nor the picture addresses show up. Not sure if it's a GW, photobucket or my issue. I'll try later to fix them , but gw seems so slowww today.

See pictures below. I think christina222_gw is correct about Houzz not allowing for html coding.

Think it might not be you. I had the same problem yesterday afternoon. So fun about your cabs though!

My cabinets from Scherr's shipped on Friday. It should take a week to arrive. I'll start a similar thread to document my journey once they arrive.

My installation carpenter is standing by to save the day if I get myself into a jam. Good luck with the assembly. We are going to need it.

Cool - can't wait to see your progress!

Homechef59, Good luck with your journey and please document it.

I'm starting to open up everything to make sure everything is there and no damage. Fun, fun and more fun.

Do they deliver to the curb or inside your home?

I had mine delivered to where I work and took them home in 2 trips in my Chevy Astro. Not sure, but I think they usually delivery to curbside.

Here is my conestoga assembly station:

Thank Casey. Curious, what glue did you use in the assembly?

Hi,
I used a yellow carpenter's glue like Titebond II and an 18ga. brad nailer. IMO if I had a 1/4" crown stapler and 1" or 1 1/4" staples, I'd have used that instead of the brads. Use plenty of glue on the vinyl splines (assuming they still use them; my experience is very dated!)
Casey

I got my Conestoga order in the last week, too! Just doors and drawer fronts for me, but a solid pallet. The driver wheeled it right into my garage (which is only about 2 car lengths from the curb, but still a great surprise).

Evwrythingn in my order arrived without flaws, and as ordered. I am really impressed with the quality. Gorgeous.

Woo hoo! Exciting stuff, right?

Say check out the x-post from the Hosta forum thread for instructions on putting pics in post.

My Scherr's cabinets use pre-glued dowels. You just wet them and insert. No brads, nails or additional glue required. Every company uses a different assembly method.

homechef, you'll have to show us when you get them. Sound pretty simple to assemble them.

I made it through opening all the cabinet boxes, looking for any damage and making sure everything was there. The good news is all the cabinet boxes were there and no signs of any damage. Most of the cabinets were packaged in 1 box, except a couple that had 2 boxes.

If anyone is interested, I'm posting pictures of the cabinets boxes how they are received and when opened what they look like inside. Today, hoping to go though the rest to make sure everything is there and no damage.

Our Conestoga's came from the Cabinet joint. Everything was packed well, not a scratch or a mark on anything. Upon arrival, we took everything out, inspected and measured all of it. We did have one a drawer which was made about an inch too large, but a phone call straightened it out and a new one was promptly sent. We are pleased with the quality of the product.

This is exactly how our Barker Cabinets arrived in March last year. I remember how overwhelming it was at first...took us several hours to go through everything and make sure it was all there. RTA was the perfect solution to us. I wanted high quality cabinets but my budget did not allow the quality I wanted until I found Barker. I can't wait to see your Conestoga cabinets put together!!

I've had several orders and a couple special orders from Brian at the Cabinet Joint. I love them!
My last order, though, I opened and checked and yes, all the parts were there.
(They still use splines, Casey, but now they come already stuck in the dados.)

When I got around to putting them together a few months later, I realized my extra deep cabinet had regular sized tops and bottoms. I had to figure out how to make a wide spline, then fill in the thickness of the cabinet floor. "Being very innovative, if I do say my self," she said, fanning herself modestly, "I figured it out, clear coated them and hung the cabinets." Not a big problem, but if I'd have fitted them I could have called and got quick replacements.

I found it extremely handy to have 36" clamps to hold the sides and tops while gluing. I also used the face frame down method and never hammered directly on the parts of the cabinet. If you're using inset hinges of any type, it's easier to fit your doors in the face frame before you hang them. Take the doors back off, leaving the hinge still attached to the cabinet. Takes DAYS off trying to get the gaps even and correct. No balancing on the knee, either.

I have 4 cabinets I want to order from Brian and I believe (hope and pray) my beaded inset cabinets in the kitchen will be finished.

Thanks CEFreeman_GW for your suggestions about assemble.

Sunday update: went through the remaining boxes except the fridge panels which are still at work and everything was there and fine except 1 drawer box which is damaged with a crack on the drawer bottom.

I'm posting some pictures of how things are packed and some other things if anyone is curious. I upgraded the shelves to all wood, except that I missed one cabinet where I didn't. I actually think I like the standard one better. There's a picture attached that shows both shelves side by side.

Now I have to start assembling them which will probably wait for the weekend since I usually get home late from work.

Let me know if you have any questions.

oooooooo you went inset! Unless I'm seeing this wrong. :)

I got regular (plywood, I guess?) shelves in the things I bought and they're quite beautiful. They look more like your right-hand shelf.

In some base cabs I ordered maybe 5 years ago, in my very first Cabinet Joint order, the two matching cabinets came a little differently. Only in that the inside of one was clear-coated and the other was not. I never knew why and I didn't care enough to ask. I guess it shows there are still human beings involved somewhere in this production!

Putting them together isn't hard. I can do an upper cabinet in about 10 minutes. A base takes longer because I have all drawer bases. Oh - a hint:

Install your drawer glides on the side panels before you assemble the cabinet. If you lay your sides down flat on the ground open like a book, then put your glides where they're supposed to end up, you can line them up without having to level and plumb them. A straight line drawn across both panels does the trick. Another thing I learned well after I was done turning myself into a pretzel installing them in an already-built box.

If your bases are inset, NOW is the time to put the 3/4" strip along where the inside of the face frame is going to be, to which you can attach your glides. Later is a PIA! I'm tellin' ya. You don't even have to ask or imagine.

I can't wait for pictures!

Very exciting for you! I am seriously considering Barker or Conestoga and am waiting on white samples from the Cabinet Joint as I type. I will be following you to see how it all comes together!

CEFreeman, do you have experience with their painted cabinets, and if yes did you order all maple or maple frame with MDF panel? I am just learning about these things. Thanks.

The solid wood shelves and drawer boxes are so worth it.
Casey

happyallison, I have only ordered unfinished. I have done a few things as I learned about cabinets. I can only order things as I save, so I have a lot of different configurations.
I have some with maple frames, doors and boxes. Then, I learned that since the boxes in most places don't show, I have birch boxes. I have purchased some cherry frames (and doors) with birch boxes.

The one thing I do, is that if I'm going to actually pay for a real cabinet, I buy the plywood and wood shelves. I will not mess with mdf boxes.

I am going to be ordering some slab doors, because evidently I am incapable of cutting a straight line with any time of saw or fence. Because they'll be large doors, an MDF core would be the best option to avoid warping or other humidity-related troubles.

happyallison, I'd be comfortable and have utmost confidence ordering anything from Brian and The Cabinet Joint or Chat at Barker Doors. They are so helpful & responsive, their products such nice quality, and the results so perfect, it's a no-brainer. Other than screwing up your measurements (don't ask me how I know) you really can't go wrong. In my experience and opinion!

Casey, I want my avatar to say, "Self-taught hack." Where can I get that?

Looks like it is so worth it to upgrade to the solid wood shelves and drawer boxes. Thank you for sharing.

CEFreeman, thanks for the hints. Yes, I ordered beaded inset for the whole kitchen. The shelf on the left is plywood, but I guess it could be lighter in color then what I received.

happyallison, I can answer your question with regards their painted cabinets. I ordered mine with all paint grade maple instead of paint grade maple with MDF panel. Most people on this site will recommend buying with the MDF panel, but in the long run it's what's going to make you happy and what you feel comfortable with.

Thank you aries61!

Thank you CEFreeman for such an depth explanation. That truly helped clarify a few things for me. I am leaning toward Conestoga since we are doing bar cabinetry as well and I'd like to keep it simple and work with one retailer, and Barker does not have the dark stains we favor for the bar. Can't wait to get my samples!

My three favorite words: Some Assembly Required!

Has anyone paid someone else to either assemble or a cab maker to build boxes instead of ordering?

akaypick, why? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of RTA?

We are considering Barker. We can put them together, but our DIY skills are not that great and I don't think we could install them. I wonder what is would cost to have someone do the installing?

Keep us posted on your progress, aries! Sounds exciting!

I just got a quote back from the Cabinet Joint for our someday remodel and it is within our budget:) So someday I will be doing what you are!

My cabinets from Scherr's have arrived. We have assembled the first cabinet. I'll start another thread with pictures. We are so excited.

Amber, I have arranged a backup plan with our installation carpenter. We have one or two appliance cabinets that I really wonder if we can do ourselves. Leon Scherr assures me that I can do it. We'll see. Anyhow, our carpenter is prepared to help if needed.

homechef, can't wait to see your pictures. Hopefully we'll see something soon.

Aries, how long is the lead time on these cabinets typically? Thanks

Happyallison, I ordered them on 01/15/2015,they shipped on 02/09/2015 and were delivered on 02/12/2015 . It was for 16 cabinets . They shipped out of PA and I live in the Chicagland area.

Amber, we paid a carpenter to assemble and install ikea cabinets in our last house. We were living on the other coast at the time. It was still less expensive than comparable quality cabinets I priced out.

We are planning to have our barker cabinets assembled and installed this time too. Dh works a million hours and we have kids so I don't have time to assemble. I honestly didn't price out other options specifically this time. I suggested barker as an option to my GC who called and got numbers from barker. He's done a lot of kitchens and used to be a custom cabinetmaker and I trust him. He was impressed by the pricing. I know he was prepared to suggest alternatives if he had concerns about quality or cost. (Obviously neither of us has seen the cabinets yet so can't judge quality reliably yet--decision is based on the specifications and online reviews.). I specifically asked about ikea (which he has and will install so he's not anti-ikea) and he said the savings would be negligible and he preferred Barker's specifications.

Thanks aries61!

Aries61- I will be following! I am slowly making decisions for my master bath remodel using conestoga. Keep us posted!

Crl, I met with the custom cabinet maker the other day and he's more than happy to build the boxes and order faces/fronts from Conestoga. He doesn't even do inset so it was either this or get less quality for the same price, like you said! Keep me posted on your kitchen please!!

For all of you on this thread who are or will be assembling Conestoga cabinets, feel free to check out our web site for about 115 videos we have developed to try and document the various nuances of the assembly/up-fit process, as well as explain some of the ins and outs of the Conestoga cabinet program. We sure love selling this stuff and it is incredibly rewarding to see the names of folks we have had the pleasure of working with talking it up on Houzz! Doesn't matter where you bought your Conestoga cabinets, we are happy to help you whenever and wherever we can!

here is a link to the video page

http://www.cabinetjoint.com/video-library/


Cheers!

Hi aries61, did you finish assembling your cabinets, did of miss your reveal?

tiggsy, kitchen was put on hold for a while. To many things to do and not enough time especially with work taking so much of my time.

Shooting for May/June for a reveal.

Hi aries. I was wondering about you also-glad to see you surface.

romy, I've been around just keeping a low profile. Curious, where did you buy your backsplash tile from?

Totally missed this post, Aries. Surface Group in Barrington.