Has anyone here ever built their own kitchen cabinets? Tools, tips?

[welsummerchicks]

After pricing them, I'm thinking about it! Including the counter tops!

 

[Cetawin]

I have built 4 sets of kitchen cabinets in my lifetime and trust me when I say this

If you have never built them before...pay the price and have them done. They are a PITA! You need routers, several saws, bits, tons of speciality nails and fasteners.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
What she said. x100

If you don't already have the tools, it'll cost you a fortune to get what you need and better off buying quality the first time.

 

[windtryst]

Never made them, and I have a lovely cherry kitchen. If I had it to do over, I would have open shelves, baskets , maybe a couple of drawers ( to hide the junk). I have a friend that made her own concrete counter tops. They are organic & beautiful. Try to think outside of the box and be original! It could save you a lot of work & $$$

 

[Spookwriter]

I've done it, and it isn't as easy as it would look. Like they say, I won't do that again.

Buying ready-made is much better. Look around your area for a cabinet wholeseller.
Or consider buying "fronts" and building your cubes. That in itself is hard enough.
(I don't like staining wood.)

 

[welsummerchicks]

Well, I found some plans for 'frameless front' cabinets, where the doors cover the sides instead of having a front frame - I think the front frame is the most miserable part to do. Instead of having a kickboard they have little legs on them.

The book said I would need a screw driver, a drill, and a table saw. If I compare material prices and the price of a table saw to even just cheap stock cabinets, I save. I would have about two or three months full time to do them.

The reason I considered building is that the stock ones seem so cheap and nasty and are STILL expensive. Plastic veneer covered chip board used to make the structure of the cabinet. And they don't seem to hold any weight. I have like cast iron stuff.

I'd like to make the box of baltic birch and get some hickory from my buddy who runs a kiln and sells lumber.

There are some pull outs I can buy to make them easier to use, and I could make some slots for all the many baking sheets and stuff.

I also understand I could make tile tops or cut corian with a carbide blade. But I am not sure about the tops yet, butcher block and tile both still look good.

I do however respect the comments of those who have done it and would NEVER want to again, LOL!

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
Let me just say this about corian... Used to have the license to make/sell and install it... I would NEVER own it. I personally think you would be better off with tile (gasp) or granite. And granite is now about as cheap to be made and DIY installed as buying corian.

If you can get corian and the seaming epoxy color matched ready to go.. And aren't afraid I would encourage you if it's a material you want. Remember, the scouring pad is your buddy for every scratch and nick that happens...... And don't EVER put a hot pan on it.. it is a plastic after all..

My step father was a kitchen and bathroom pro during the building season (michigan) and the off season he was a barber. I grew up helping him build houses, cabinets, counters, bathrooms etc.. If you want a haircut, I could make you Barney Fife?!

I love your idea and materials you want to use! That sounds like a project that is definitely worth the time and labor. To buy it that quality would be too cost prohibitive so I revise and reverse what I said earlier! As long as you go into this project with realistic expectations then you will do just fine.

 

[Marshmallow Man]

They have those contractor cabinets at HD. Check them out. You can do a good sized kitchen as in 8x14 for around 1400-2000. Even if you have the tools you would be hard pressed to make them as nicely for the same price. Seems like you could make some with the flat doors for less. Check out HD though. I'm not talking about the cabinets that you assemble.

By the way don't listen to those stupid home improvement shows where the people remodel their kitchen and then the Realtor comes in and says they increased the value by 3x what they spent. Those shows are all put in by the home improvement industry and are all BS. Do it because you want a nicer kitchen. In this economy anything you put in is for yourself. They say the housing still hasn't bottomed out yet.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I tend to do ok with projects if I have the right tools. I really respect those who mentioned the cost of tools. They are costly. And I've found that renting tools just doesn't pay. It is quite expensive and I tend to think with a cabinet project, that one needs the same tools for a longish period of time.

I'm amazed that granite is cheaper now. I kind of like the look of it, but I would like to find something that isn't so chunky and grainy looking. I kind of like soapstone or concrete.

I'm worried that tile countertops would get broken. In the kitchen, hubby is like a hibernating grizzly that someone just woke up.

This is my home, I don't plan to sell it. I have made so many improvements to the property that I can't really afford to sell it for a long time. I would do the cabinets because I enjoy doing it and because the results would be useful and nice looking.

I plan to be buried out back. If I work my way up to the surface after the funeral, I assume I'll compost well.

 

[Marshmallow Man]

I had a friend who's Uncle made her some cabinets using his radial arm saw. They had basic fronts on them, but they were sturdy and he put a nice finish on them. I bet they are still hanging on her wall.

I look at the tools section on Craigslist sometimes and there are quite a few radial saws in our area. Lot's of people dumping some nice power tools to stay alive these days.