Probably more than you care to know, but this is what I got from a BH KD about 2 years ago (don't know if the specs have changed or if everything is 100% correct):
"*Interiors can be either maple vinyl reverse print or melamine; BH uses 4 mil vinyl (most use 2mil) I don't have the spec on melamine with me but I think it was 110 gram or 120 with typical mfg using 85 gram
*They dry their own wood, more stable, better quality control
*They make their own doors, better quality control, better wood grading. Now better is not perfect. Particularly if you are getting natural woods you need to find out about what is considered acceptable in the way of mineral streaks, sapwood, etc. In general they have far less than anyone at or near the price point but it is wood. And it ISN'T Wood-Mode:)
*They laminate all sheet goods themselves controlling both substrate and exterior be it vinyl, melamine or veneer.
*Finish wet build is 8 mils, most others are 6. Significant hand sanding goes into everything. The only US cabinet mfg to have their finish tested by the U.S. Fine Hardwoods Association Finish rated at 722. Anything above 600 is considered a superfinish. Feel the edges on doors, look for sanding marks, rough spots. You won't find them.
The mundain this is how they build them....
-Frames are 1 1/2" x 3/4" hardwood, doweled, glued and pinned
-BH2 top, bottom and sides are 1/2" 45 lb long grain flakeboard (particle board), BH 1 3/4". We discourage people from "upgrading" to plywood sides.
-backs are 1/8" hardboard, dadoed, glued and stapled (BH1 are 5/32")
-BH2 Sides are glued and dadoed into face frame ; BH 1 boxes are dowelled top and bottom to sides
-edges of particle board are banded top bottom even when not exposed
-BH2 hanger rails are hardwood, 1/2" I think, glued and toe nailed. BH 1 Hanger rails are doweled
-BH2 bases have hanger rails are same as wall cabinets.
-BH1 Bases have rear mounting rail is hardwood mounted horizontally and runs the full width of the cabinet, has an angled dado allowing screws to recess and enter at an angle.
-corner blocks are maple, glued and pinned
-Shelves 11/16" particle
-Shelves adjust, steel half moon pins set into routed recess in shelf bottom, don't slide around, nice
-cabinets up to 36" wide have full width drawers, and openings have no divider or mullion
-cabinets 39" and above have a center mullion (frameless get a divider)
-rails between drawers are turned horizontally allowing tighter spacing.
Both the above are possible because of the quality of construction. Another note on the above. BH lets the you blind either or both corners on a cabinet by 3 or 6 in at no cost. If I have to use a 39" cabinet I blind it 3" on one side. That lets me get the extra interior space but prevents them from using a divider or center stile.
-drawer boxes are 1/2" maple with blum full extension drawer glides, 100 lb.
Two things here: some mfg use as much as 3/4" sides. I have seen a 200 lb man take a BH drawerbox, turn it on its side and stand on it. It is plenty thick enough. The second is that most mfg can't use 1/2" sides because they don't have wood that is stable enough. Wood-Mode/Brookhaven dries ALL of their own wood so they don't have that problem.
-bottoms are 1/4".
note again, for pots and pans drawers you can order 1/2" bottoms. You can also order full height sides and backs on the larger drawers. Full height is not standard.
-hinges are blum & varies by door style. If you are getting framed cabinets you want to look at the notched frames that they use for some doors to allow for the hinges. This bothers some people. I don't mind it at all since it allows the use of a hinge that is easer to adjust and with more stable attachement to the cabinet, but you don't want to be surprised.
Miscellaneous...
You do NOT have to go into Wood-Mode to do a custom size. Standard depths for bases and talls are 13, 18, 21, 24. For bases all depths cost the same. For talls 13" are much less expensive, make great cheap pantry solutions if they fit in the design.
The cheapest door is the Andover Square, either raised or recessed. Cheapest shaker look is Edgemont. It has an extra little detail around the frame - good value. Nice raised panel also.
When the standard drawerhead is a slab it will be that way for all "A" drawers (the smaller ones) "B" drawers will be framed though. BUT you can ask for any "A" drawer to be framed.
You can mix framed and frameless cabinets if you are using a full overlay doorstyle. WHY? Well if you have a small kitchen it can make a difference. Especially in the base cabinets. Say you prefer framed...but you have a 15" four drawer stack, the drawers are 10-3/8 wide in framed, 11-31/32 in frameless - big percentage. Also if you have a corner cabinet look at the BRD (corner carousel) in frameless, cheaper and better than a super susan.
The toe recess is different on framed than it is on frameless to one has to be padded out to accommodate the other. OR one has to be cut depends on the kitchen. Using framed uppers allows for cheaper smaller light rail if you are doing undercabinet lighting. BH offers solid stock to match the cabinets in very broad range of sizes all specked by the kd. They charge by the sq foot with a one sq foot minimum.
Cabinets with glass doors automatically get finished interiors. Glass doors are cheaper than in most lines, mullion framed glass doors are however expensive. There is no point in getting doors prepped for glass as a cost savings measure from them - the difference is too small."
HTH
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Kitchen reno on a budget
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