I am in the baltimore /DC area as well. I don't know the size of your kitchen to even begin to say if that quote is correct. I am about to start a remodel myself & fried my brains over cabinets & reviews. First and foremost, you can't find a cabinet that someone isn't bitching about so take the the reviews with a grain of salt. Have you gotten more than one quote for the type of cabinetry you are looking for so you can compare apples to apples? I had someone quote me the exact same cabs for $7,000 more than someone else!! That's a huge difference. There are recent thread discussing Barker and conistoga cabinets. People seem happy with them. A friend of mine ordered hers thru cliquestudios.com and she is very pleased with them & their customer service. They come fully assembled. That's all I know about them.

Cliq=Chinese.

Sophie, I checked out the site just now and it only says assembled in Indiana not made in Indiana. Didn't realize that when I checked out their site. Good to know. I wanted to add that I agree with Sophie. Start looking at other brands & comparing features and prices. After months of research, I realized even tho cabs were being sold under different names many are manufactured by the same parent company. I was looking at mid level semi costume cabinet, and I found all 4 to 5 quotes that I received were in the same price range. Maybe 1,000 $2,000 difference, but generally in the same ballpark except for the one that was obviously way over priced.

Cabinet count:

(4) 3 drawers - 19", 27", 30", 36"

(1) single door, 1 shelf - 7" (didn't want/need pull out spices... can use to store my massive cutting board)

(1) 4 drawer - 24"

(1) 90 corner, w/ susan (super?)

(1) 36" sink cab

(1) 33" open shelves cab, 18" deep

(1) 18" dbl pull out trash

(1) 30" dbl door, shelves cab - 12" deep, bar height

(1) 15" single door shelves cab - 12" deep bar height

(1) 28" tall pantry - 15" deep

(1) 24" tall pantry - 8" deep

(1) 36" fridge surround w/ full depth cab above

(1) 32" dbl oven tall cab

(all the lowers and the tall cabs are stained, preferably the deep cherry)

(2) 19" uppers - 15" deep

(1) 36" cab over the hood

(1) 24" open display upper -- no doors - has an appliance garage under it - 15"deep

(1) 30" upper with appliance garage under - 18" deep

(all the uppers are a painted white/cream)

I thought my kitchen fell in the medium size category. I know it is currently too small for my house. Perhaps it just felt small in comparison to the sizes of my other rooms. Writing out the number of cabs makes it sound larger than I thought.

have you gotten multiple quotes?

The odd sized cabinets and scads of extras are driving the price. In a premium wood and finish like a painted maple, I can easily see it being 30K in a frameless line. Frameless commands a premium over framed. Redesign to use standard sizes and cut the less than useful extras like the appliance garage, open display, and the cutting board storage.

I got a quote with Jim Bishop in the fall... but a major health issue came up, stopping everything. By the time all was well, I switched contractors. The quote was a bit more, if I remember correctly.

The appliance garages - I think I'm nixing them... & if they go, the deeper sizes can go -- the garages were driving the depth. The cutting board -- I just had 6 or 7 inches there with no reason. I didn't want the pull out and thought this was a good solution.

The kitchen store I'm working with has Omega cabs as well. I will ask about them at my appt -- and also ask them to help me cut down on the "I like it, but it certainly isn't worth THAT $$ to me."

Thanks for your input. This is very helpful. And knowledge helps me come off the ledge. ;-)

I haven't ordered from Barker but they've gotten great reviews and you can get a price quote on line. It wouldn't hurt to price them out, as long as you are willing to go with an RTA cabinet.

We have Barker Cabinets and could not be happier with the quality of them. The cost of Barker was almost exactly 1/2 what a comparable quality local Amish builder quoted us. They are super easy to assemble and very customizable. If I had a contractor who was worried about "the unknowns" I would find a new contractor. Kitchen remodels are filled with every type of unknown possible. Ours was a DIY reno and we handled Barker with ease so if he is any good at all he shouldn't have any issues with Barker. We are now planning a living room entertainment center and 3 bathrooms all with Barker. Also, you can also order Barker unfinished and have them finished in your stain of choice by a local pro.

I meant to add that I personally did all the measuring and ordering from Barker. I was nervous as hell but it wasn't hard. I measured and measured again and then double checked those measurements about 10 times and everything came out perfect. My DH was quite impressed!

There certainly are other options. Shiloh has a frameless line as does kitchen craft. Check out local vendors and just call and ask if they carry frameless cabinets. Don't spend more than you are comfortable spending. Remember that cabinet organizers can be added after market. There was an old thread titles something like"cabinet cost comparison" that listed over 40 cabinet lines and the price for the exact same cabinet in each line. It was updated about a year ago by Kompy and listed if the cabinet was frameless or framed. Search it out and then see if the vendors near you carry those lines. Do not rush into this and do not overspend. You want quality within a budget. Post your plan if you can and get feedback from the forum. It may help to get you a better, more economical plan because there are several kitchen designers on the forum and it is quite possible you are not making the best use of space or using too many smaller, expensive cabinets.

It really helps.

Gayle

i did my kitchen on a budget and i nixed the pantry and the fridge cabinet because they were $2k and $1k respectively in budget oriented lines like diamond vibe. your list is a very expensive kitchen. ultracraft is more $$ than say a kraftmaid or medallion so add those 2 together and $30k doesn't seem unreasonable. you will have to scale back on the builtins like the wall oven/appliance garages/pantries, etc or scale back on cabinet style/type.

I am getting 2 33 wide 93 tall single oven cabinets with drawers under

2 18 wide 24 deep pantries with drawers under

1 15 double trash pullout

1 12 inch base tray cab

1 33 3 drawer base with hd glides

1 42 recessed corner sink base

1 asymetric lazy susan

1 27 3 drawer stack with hd glides

1 24 3 drawer stack with hd glides

1 36 18 high 24 deep over fridge cabinet

2 fridge panels

1 30 12 deep 18 high double door butt cab for over the microhood

1 30 wide 39 high double butt door upper

3 15 wide 39 high upper cabinets

1 12 deep 39 high open shelf corner cabinet

crown molding and toe kicks

Maple or Hickory raised panel door(like Richmond in Shiloh) APC with glaze inset

or beaded inset

Quoted in Shiloh, Medallion, or Showplace for 14000.00 to 17000.00.

Waiting for quotes for a few other lines. Framelss in Brookhaven was 18000.00

Shop around!

We have Barker cabinets and I'm very happy with them. My husband installed them and found it similar in ease to Ikea (he's handy and has carpenter skills). The plywood boxes are great. I finished the drawer boxes myself, with Osmo; they're easy to clean and still look lovely several years later. For my doors and drawer fronts, I found a guy who does the finish work for a local cabinetry shop, who lightly stained and finished (with Osmo again) all the pieces the shade I wanted. I found him by checking with the cabinetry shops -- I was on a very tight budget, and one cabinetmaker recommended having his finish guy moonlight on our project, using their shop (apparently something they encouraged him to do occasionally, to make sure he had enough work to stay with them). The Barker cabinets were priced well enough that even with the cost of the finish work, it was still a significant savings over lines like Ultracraft.

traumanurse1 - that is crazy cheap for my region (albany,ny area) i paid $8k for no pantries or fridge cab in medallion sikverline no apc.(showplace would have been 12k) i had 5 drawer bases and 1 lazy susan but the rest were basic cabinets, 19 total. geography plays a huge part in cost!

I am from the south Central Pennsylvania ,Northern Baltimore County Area. It isn't eh cheapest area, but not the most expensive either. I have really shopped around. I have found that the local lumber yards often have really good kitchen designers and the best prices. Many of the design/build places are much more expensive if you are just purchasing cabinets, even if you bring them the design. Lowes and HD are not the best priced has been very although I have found a really good KD at Lowes. One place I was dealing with (A Just Cabinets) had a helpful KD who was really very high pressure . None of the others have been.

I have told them my budget upfront and all knew I was shopping lines. The difficulty I have found in this area is that most of the shops deal with only 2-3 lines and most are builder grade dealers, until I tell them what I am really looking for and that my budget is not flexible.

I would have preferred to deal with one shop and have the choice of a couple ( or a few) mid priced semi custom lines. I understand how difficult it must be to carry more than one, especially since it seems most shops around here seem to deal with builders grade.

I have had American Woodmark, Way Point, Wolf Classic and the like pushed as soon as I walk in the door. I tell them I am not interested in those lines and several have almost dismissed me. I feel them out and if I get a good vibe and a willingness to help me understand the construction of their semi custom lines, I tell them my budget and ask if they think we can make my design work with their line. It doesn't take much of their time or mine.

I have actually been laughed at at a home show at the beginning of this process, before I had even decided on any lines. I told him I thought my budget would be about 15000.00 and he laughed and said "You cannot afford me."

He never offered another line,any options or asked my kitchen size. I believe it is his loss as there are several people where work remodeling. We talk about what we are doing and where to shop for cabinets I have told everyone about my experience with him. I have also given recommendations to all of those dealers who have been open and helpful, even if I did not get a quote from them.

I work in a place with over 6500 employees, 150 of whom I see at least weekly. Quite a loss to him.

Thank you everyone. What a nice surprise to return home after kids' basketball games and find such helpful advice. I will sit down on this wintry day (that is already beginning to shut down the area and roads) and work with my design a bit, trying to adhere to cost savings ideas. Hopefully I can post something in a bit. :-)

Traumanurse1,

I am also in Northern Balto county. Wondering which of the local lumberyards, etc that you had good experience / pricing with. I am just getting started choosing semi custom cabinets for a basement bar, and hope your guidance can save me some time!!

Thanks

Hi Traumanurse!

IO find myself in the same situation.. I live in the metro Detroit area and so far all the quotes I was given call for plywood which I don't want (I have ply cabs now and I noticed that the corners of my island are damaged because of spills/ mopping the floor...) Barker cabinets are a great option (my quote came back at ~11000 for all the cabinets, the island, and butler's pantry). This forum convinced me based on all the great reviews... Good luck to you :-)

In your urban location moderately priced cabinet makers (esp ones that do frameless) might be hard to find, but I would encourage you to search. Start by googling something like "frameless custom cabinets Maryland" and see what you get. That is how I found mine who actually was about 90 minutes away in more north-east Ohio, but his charge for delivery was extremely reasonable too.

I was set to go with Barker before I found my guy who came in a bit less expensively and saved me from have to do the calculations. Both offered great customization of cabinet sizing. I think that Chad Barker was very very helpful, answers email questions quickly and really wanted my purchase to be successful. I was able to download his planning tool too which really helped. I would certainly seriously consider him.

Lawjedi, I am in Carroll County. I found a place called Maryland Kitchen Cabinets in westminster. It is literally a warehouse ( and I mean no frills). He sells Kith frameless. I don't know anything about the quality because I wasn't looking at frameless & I think the lead time is a little longer. He mostly sells to contractors but does sell to the general public. I found him by googling as raee suggested. His prices seemed pretty good. He just sells cabs & granite & will measure but doesn't install. I Didn't end up ordering from him but it might be worth checking the brand out & if you like them getting a price.

raee, who did you use? I am in NE Ohio and was also considering Barker. Thanks!

I just received my Scherr's RTA cabinets. Scherr's is located in Minot, ND and does custom RTA cabinets. I had a drawing done with the dimensions that I sent to them by email with their general order form. Scherr's put it all on their computer. We checked and rechecked the specifications. That is the reason I didn't select Barker's. I was afraid I would make a serious mistake when I placed the order. Talking with Leon Scherr allowed me to be assured I was ordering the right items.

Anyhow, the cabinets arrived on Thursday. It was quite the assembly line to get the packs on to the back porch. Whoever you order from, be sure to get a few friends to help with the unloading. The packs were well organized, So far, they were all properly marked.

We have all of the upper cabinets assembled. We will start in on the base cabinets tomorrow. Scherr's couldn't be easier. He uses preglued dowels and confimat screws. The glued dowels keep things neat and are very secure. No glue bottle or nail gun. The first cabinet is always the hardest.

I had Scherr's paint my cabinets SW Dover White. It was well worth it. I'm glad I did. It was only an extra $800. They will do stains, too. I selected MDF boxes and doors with maple drawers. I have done these before with a custom shop. They are very stable. I have had problems with maple doors warping in the past. I live In the South, that's why I want MDF, it doesn't warp. It's all custom. If you want walnut drawers or stained cherry, you shall have them.

The people at Scherr's couldn't be nicer. The website is old fashioned, but they are building a new one right now. You can order anything you want. They will build it. You don't have to make compromises.

My kitchen is 220 square feet. I have 42" uppers. The bases are all drawers except for two sink bases. Thanks GW. I have a super Susan, a microwave box, double oven cabinet, refrigerator cabinet, trash cabinet, decorative glass hutch and a range top cabinet. I paid around $18,000 for my cabinets including freight and painting. I had Scherr's assemble the drawers. It took about 10 weeks once we finalized the order.

Since Thursday, I've called them twice to ask a question about their instructions. Each time they end the call telling us to not hesitate to call them if we have more questions. I think they mean it. Although Barker's website has really good assembly videos, I wanted to be able to talk to someone on the phone. That is really what made the decision for me.

My moonlighting kitchen designer estimated that it would have cost me $40,000 to $60,000 for comparable cabinetry. So far, I could not be happier. I'm glad I made the plunge. I would have never done this if not for the encouragement I have received at GW. I spent the money I saved on a killer Bluestar range top.

Conestoga cabinets (RTA) carry a Bordeux color in cherry, and you can even get your cabinets custom painted (Sherwin Williams colors) in any color you want. Look at the Cabinet Joint website, it's very informative. We are getting a quote from them right now. You may want to find a Bertch dealer, I ordered my bath vanity from one and they carry kitchen lines. My estimate on the kitchen with approx. 25 lineal ft. wood door, dovetailed, plywood boxes, white shaker cabinets was around $14,000. That was over my budget but may be in yours. Of course, style, type of wood, etc. will vary the estimate.

I have Ultracraft cabinets from last year and love them. I found that door styles affected pricing a lot. We saved a few thousand by switching to a simpler shaker profile without the back raised panel. They do run specials from time to time-upgrade to plywood for no charge, free sink base etc. I haven't had any concerns about their quality at all and to my untrained eye, the finish looks fabulous! They come packed fabulously- in our small 18 cabinet order, we didn't have one blemish. GC made a mistake with drilling holes for pulls in one drawer front and they replaced it. In our area(Long Islan, NY) finding a good frameless option was a challenge. We looked at Innermost from HD, DeWils( pricey but beautiful), holiday( didn't like the finish in the showroom and the KD never got back to me) and a custom option. I made a spreadsheet to compare the nuts and bolts of each line and Ultracraft and Innermost came out on top. We went with Ultracraft and dont have any regrets. You should be able to talk to your KD and figure out what you have to lose to get it cheaper. Good Luck! I know it's so stressful but you will get through it.

Downloaded the free version of Cabinet Vision that Barker offers. Measured. Emailed Chad with questions. Designed. Emailed Chad with questions. Put the stuff in the cart. Emailed Chad with questions (sensing a pattern here?) Printed it. Put it in a spreadsheet. Re-meausured. Double checked for oversights like needing fill against the walls. Went over list with DH item by item with the measurements. Got brave and clicked submit. :-) That was definitely the hardest part of the Barker experience. Chad was great whenever I asked something. We have Cherry in the natural finish (they didn't have the Tamarack at the time). Love the cabs, love the high dollar hardware, love the finish (not a speck, fleck, drip to be seen.) We assembled and installed ourselves. Would definitely do again. In fact getting ready to do a bathroom and might just go that way again. Most of the vanities we've seen don't compare in terms of the quality, hardware, etc. and I'm oh so spoiled by frameless and all that interior space!

Oasisowner, I used Dan Harmon (Harmon Hardwoods) in Dover. Someone else in the forum used another cabinetmaker up there, with great results but I can't remember who (seems like I just read their comment on a post in the past few days but can't find it now). Message me if you want more details about working with him!

Thanks, raee. Darned if I can find out how to message anybody since the switch to Houzz. I went to Dan's website and he looks like he does nice work. Once we get the layout finalized, I will definitely call him.

Oasisowner, I had him do a painted finish and it turned out beautifully. No problems after 15 months of use.

Thank you! We are also planning a painted finish as our #1 choice.

I found the other post -- it was corgimum's; she used Mullet Cabinet in Millersburg

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2694406/corgimum-finally-finished-her-kitchen?n=41

We bought Barker RTA cabinets. The assembly was easy, the cabinet quality couldn't be better. The plywood case material is USA made and had zero odor. We chose natural cherry with conversion varnish finish. Three quotes were $30,000 plus tax. Our Barker order was just over $15,000 delivered, HOWEVER that included extra cabinets that weren't in the quotes: six cabinets, two with drawers, to complete a family room entertainment area. We're doing the installing ourselves, however I could have hired a carpenter and still been miles ahead. For us, Barker provided a lot of value -- the savings makes nicer appliances possible for us.

If you're looking for a darker wood, Barker walnut is gorgeous, do an image search online. I noticed a reply to this post up there a bit, about finishing the drawers. Barker RTA cabinets now come with dovetail drawers which are finished and assembled standard. The Blum, soft-close hardware is all top notch.

I had my decision made to go with Shiloh Hickory cabinets in beaded inset and Richmond door. The cost for my large amount of cabinets was reasonible. I must now change wood as I spent 2 hours at a granite yard today and could only find almost black granites that look ok with the hickory cabinet door. I have to start over with another wood . I am disappointed. I will probably go with Maple now as I took a few maple doors with me and found a granite that look absolutely beautiful with the Maple The maple stain is gunstock and the granite was Alaskan White. I feel like the granite with probably be out of my price range when they give me the final figures. I do think it pays to shop around.

I went to Reisterstown Lumber and found their prices to be competitive on Medallion and Swartz to be competitive on Shiloh. J&S lumber in Landisville is good for Showplace. I do think that lumber yards and independent shops do better with design help and pricing.

Don't overspend and take your time shopping around. Give the cabinet places a chance to make things work well for you. I have had poor design help form some and very good from others. Some gave me a bunch of small cabinets which cost more than one large cabinet. Some accessories are no more expensive when purchased with the cabinets. Molding costs as much as taller cabinets. Drawers are sometimes less expensive than pull out trays. Not all designers try to work these things out. i have had to ask for drawers instead of pull outs for pantry cabinets and they priced out 30% less.

I want a corner sink cabinet and the cost for one line was more than twice of another, so I had the designer use a diagonal sink from and return fillers and the cost was less.

Reading this board has definitely helped with knowing what will help bring costs down and what is worth paying for to have a more functional space.

I found a blog post months ago that is a detailed review of Barker by an architect.

Here's the link in case you haven't seen it:

Architect's detailed review of Barker Cabinets

i know this is a super old post - but curious what the original poster decided to do? i'm at a decision point of ordering barker doors for refacing vs. a local firm who appears to have a similar product for about double. While i'd like to support local, i could also use the extra few $ for something else!