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Quality RTA white shaker cabinets?

8 years ago

We are renovating a house ourselves. I am overwhelmed researching RTA kitchen cabinets. I have decided I do not want those manufactured in China. I know I want white shaker for sure and either painted or ready for paint. I've read about chips, lifting, drips, problems with wood expansion...UGH. What is the most important thing for me to narrow this search down to? We are very handy so I'm not worried about the installation. I'm more concerned with durability...TIA

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Comments (5)

kayca
8 years ago
Barker Cabinets gets great reviews.
DIY2Much2Do
8 years ago
I recently installed Shaker cabinets from Barker. The finish is white conversion varnish, and they arrived in great condition and survived the install process. The finish is well adhered, no drips or chips, and totally smooth. I can't report long term, but I'm more than satisfied so far, especially for the price. The customer service experience was good also.

I think with any paint finish on wood, you have to accept that expansion and contraction will occur. This usually shows up as gaps around the center panels. It hasn't happened yet with these, but we will see after a year of hot & cold with humidity changes. It's something I can live with if it happens.

I purchased the island cabinets in unpainted maple, and finished them with Benjamin Moore Advance paint. I expect the factory finish cabinets to be more durable long term.
twin43 thanked DIY2Much2Do
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Working with Scherr's was very easy and pleasant - it's a family-owned business with really nice folks. The only slightly tricky thing was figuring out how much (and what size) trim I needed to order, but I'm happy to walk you through that if you decide to go the Scherr's route. First I designed my kitchen using the Ikea kitchen planner, which can be buggy and frustrating but it's worth it because after you've chosen your cabinets, it automatically generates a shopping list for you that you can adjust (ie if you're using Scherr's, you delete the doors and trim). Then at Ikea, they pull up your saved planner design and use it to pull all the parts for you. From my Ikea store, home delivery for up to a full truckload of stuff was $60 and it could be delivered as quickly as the same day. For Scherr's I sent the planner-generated list of the cabinets and they sent me the list of pieces they would make with prices. They were very patient working up multiple estimates for me as my design evolved. I was extremely detail oriented about the ordering and went through everything with a fine-toothed comb and didn't find any errors in the Scherr's list and everything was delivered perfectly. For the Ikea delivery, it came off the truck so fast and there were so many pieces, I couldn't keep up and just made sure the big things like the dishwasher and sink were included. As it turns out, of the 60 or so pieces, they only forgot one small thing and when I went back to the store, they just gave it to me no questions asked. And finally regarding painting, from what I understand you can have an auto body shop spray your doors with the same kind of paint you would get from Scherr's. You might want to search the Ikeafans site, because I'm pretty sure I've seen discussions about it there. Hope that helps!
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homechef59
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I used Scherr's RTA Cabinets. http://scherrs.com/ While they have a very clunky old fashioned website, they are a high quality custom shop. That means they do pretty much everything.

You fill out the form with your choices and your contact information. Leon Scherr will talk to you over the phone to explain the process and refine your choices.

This is NOT a budget product. It's a custom product made in North Dakota. I think that by the time you go through the process, they will be a little bit more than Barker's, but you will get more customer service, custom cabinets, your choice of finishes, if desired, and someone to talk on the phone when you encounter a problem.

Here is a link to my renovation:

My Kitchen Renovation Using Scherr's RTA Cabinets Begins

Here is a link to my cabinet installation and kitchen reveal:

Kitchen Reveal Scherr's RTA Cabinets

My kitchen designer and I estimate that we saved 40% by doing the assembly ourselves. Plus, we have the satisfaction of knowing we contributed to the process.

I love the frameless cabinet. A lot of people will use IKEA boxes and Scherr's or Barker's doors. I know Scherr's has the jigs and measurement to make IKEA doors.
emilyam819
8 years ago
Also Conestoga.

Any decent company has MDF panels to minimize expansion.
twin43
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you all:)

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