How would you fix? RTA cabinet: Chestnut Pillow--Experiences
kirkhall
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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kirkhall
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoksc36
5 years agoRelated Discussions
How would YOU define 'custom' cabinets?
Comments (46)I am a victim of my own assumptions. My dad was a custom carpenter. We'd get phone calls saying "I saw the eating nook you built at X's house and I know that you would be the man to help me..." Dad chose every board personally, sighting down it and returning any defective ones to the lumber pile. (This drove the lumberyard nuts.) He learned through a long apprenticeship with his own father and grandpa's partner. He had to prove his worth to those old Swedish craftsmen over and over again. But Dad did not have a millwork setup, he had a set of phone numbers of guys who had lathes and planes and whatever was needed for creating millwork and they knew their craft. Same with hardware resources, flooring, plumbing. A network of craftsmen and specialty vendors. When the post-WWII building boom came along, these men were eventually driven out by the big developers. Dad became carpenter foreman at VA hosp. and drove workers nuts with his high standards. His supervisor considered him invaluable. On the side, he did custom carpentry. So what's my point? I thought I was hiring Dad and his cohort. Instead, I've hired a man who is very good at making things that are currently in style. He can duplicate things he sees around him, but the vision is limited by his experience. I asked about some custom tooling down the spacers at the bumpout; he conveniently forgot about it. I asked about a pattern to add to the inside of the "shaker" doors and he told us to do it ourselves. I said I would buy the knives for the cuts and donate them to the shop and he said, "Nah, we'll just misplace them and no one will want that style ever again anyway. I'll give them to you." He wanted to apply dummy trim to places that have no doors, but I said NO, that those were places for a towel bar, a framed piece of art, etc. I wanted them plain. It took him two go-rounds on his computer rendition to get this right. To his credit, he did remember that we asked for a paintable surface on the outside of the peninsula, to add color and contrast and continuity along a hall-like portion of the room that connects to our new lobby. This man is more accommodating than the other custom shop that bid out the job at an additional $5000, though. Talking to them was like talking to a patronizing jerk. Our man wants to please us and he wants to give his workers some hours. He adds his suggestions and I do listen. It's just that he is a man limited by the bulk processing machinery he uses, the machinery of a modern shop, not one with a library of hand tools and specimens of historic trims to consult. His glass samples "are here someplace" and when he finds them, he clearly is not familiar with them so I could as well be somewhere else looking at specimens. I asked him to save me pieces of scrap oak to mess with for stain effects and he sent me a single 1.5 foot board. I suppose this is a communication problem, or perhaps a generational one. On the bright side, the shop hopes to photo our kitchen if it works out so that they can attract more customers like us!...See MoreScherrs for RTA Frameless Cabinets
Comments (34)I got a quote from Scherr's and the price was pretty shocking. They were about the same or more than 3 different custom shops in my area, all of which do quality work, so basically I would be paying the same and have to do the work all myself. And that was before shipping was even considered, which was a lot due to my location. Additionally, the local guys can do exactly the door I want, where Scherr's said they couldn't. Leon was very nice and knowledgeable, but I can't see spending that much and then having to assemble and install myself. I think we're going to go with Barker's with the toe kick removed from all the cabinets so we can still use levelers. Barker's isn't much of a savings compared to what I could spend for most semi-custom, but I would have a top quality cabinet customized to exactly what I want. They are less than the area customs, so I guess in the end there is that savings....See MoreAnyone use The Cabinet Joint- RTA online co. ?
Comments (16)Highly recommend Rick at Cabinet Authority. Patient and professional and stands behind any mistakes and issues (not many). Conestoga is top quality and our kitchen (95%) complete is looking great due to the conestoga cabinet quality. Would have done just a few things differently but actually surprised how good it turned out. Would I do it again? Uhhh no..it was a lot of work and detail but then again I did everything from the demo, to the cabinet assembly, installation, plumbing, electrical, venting, lighting, gas line, etc. Was much more work and time than expected. Lots of measuring, removing, measuring again, lots of hand tweaking to get right and level in the install. Everything has to go in a particular order. Just note, if you are having an installer put in cabinets correctly and you have a lot of panels, special configs that you want just right, you will need to find a patient installer who has a great attention to detail. Having an installer say they will come in and "knock it out in 1 day" is asking for trouble and a bad job. There is no way to install, shim, scribe, level, tweak, install, attach doors, tweak hinges, attach dishwasher, etc ,etc, etc, in a day or two unless you have a super simple setup and 10 installers at once (then you are asking for a hack job). Can be done but know what you are getting into. Takes many special tools and patience to measure and double check everything as you go. Assembly was fairly easy although you have to know a couple tips to save frustration (i.e. - install inset hinges before assembling cabs). Installation was much more work to get everything level and exact (frames tight and perfect). I had a pretty complicated island that I designed with many panels that had to go together just right. Also, had to design and fabricate a range hood because we didn't like the stock ones. While I highly recommend Conestoga for their quality and price, it is a lot of work if you are doing it yourself. Recommend an installer and subs for plumbing, electrical, etc. Our kitchen looks really good and we saved a TON of money. There is no way to get a kitchen of this quality for this price so while we have high end semi custom cabinets now - it took a lot of sweat to get them - not sure if the tradeoff is worth it but we had a fixed budget and wanted quality....See MoreRTA Cabinets: I am disappointed
Comments (48)I am with you RTA is an option. I have a older friend who is a cabinet maker, trained by his father, he makes incredible cabinets! They are amazing, but I can't afford them and would not ask him that big of favor. But, when they first came out with waterbased cabinet top coat, he used it on my parent's cabinets. UGH, it only lasted 2 years before we had to sand them and recoat. Fortunately he had used amazing materials and they are gorgeous still 25 years later. BUT my parents also chose slab doors (not at all popular back them, but high style now) and no stain, just beautiful wood. There is no joints to seperate and once we added the extra coats of top coat, they will outlast us all. The deal is that processes and products change, due to epa, supply, carb, health concerns, etc. I myself sanded and painted (slab) oak cabinet doors with oil based paint and got a mirror finish that probably out lasted the kitchen, but I doubt I could find that kind of paint now! I think it is a balance between the look you want and cost and durability and safety. I think I could take old lead oil paint, cover an expensive slab door and it would last forever, be dangerous to do and to have, and I would hate the look! I also hesitate to spend money on "forever" anything because I might just hate that look in 15 years and have spent so much I can't afford new. I look at it as buying a car, I want to get something nice, but reasonable, if I buy a luxury car, I won't be able to afford gas or even fix it, because I spent so much on it, so I ended walking as my luxury car sits in the driveway. It is not going to do me much good to spend so much on cabinets that I can't afford food. (No Ikea...everything I have bought from them broke long before it should and it too is made in China.) If I can't look into rta from China, then I must live with ugly, peeling painted cabinets with boxes that are made of particle board and fiber board (not even MDF). Why, yes, they were custom made in the USA, by local craftsman!...See Morekirkhall
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