Anyone build their own kitchen cabinets?

[mschrank]

We finished a kitchen remodel this year. If I had the time and could do it again, I definitely would make my own cabinets. I paid $15K for Kraftmaid cabinets. The doors and drawer fronts look good and are well constructed, but the boxes are total junk. Butt joints and gobs hot glue....you can actually see light coming through the joints when the undercab lights are on.

For the $15K, I could have upgraded to a nice cabinet TS and bought everything else I needed. But I just didn't have the time....

[bertden]

I did it

I'm just an amateur at the woodworking and renovation thing and I did my own cabinets.

It was not so much an issue of being a complex job, more of a very time intensive work. Basically took me a year of mostly weekends to gut the old kitchen, remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room which meant moving HVAC, plumbing and electrical wiring, re-doing the floors and building the new cabinets.

I went for the frameless, painted "french provincial" look that seems to be so popular now.

I'm happy with the results and most likely saved a truckload of money but I'm not sure I would do it again. Too much work!

Here's a before picture and a couple of after ones.

[OpaDC]

The cabinets were hung on a double row of French cleats, so there was nothing to be done about the small gap. My friend knew about this before construction, but preferred the extra height gain.

The ceiling is dimpled plaster, so even with a small top cornice the gap would not be totally sealed. She runs a thin acrylic dust pole along the tops now and again. She's delighted with the cabinets in use and I guess that's what counts.

Ray.

Thanks, for the reply. After I wrote that I thought it may have sounded a little presumptuous of me. Hope not, didn't intend it that way. I just like to know the thought process people go through on a project. Helps me to think of all the little things to do a good job.

[JimD]

John,

I made a new kitchen for our former home in Monroeville, Pa and I made the cabinets for a little kitchette in the basement of our current home. My experience is thus not huge but I have done this.

In Pa, I used oak veneer plywood for the boxes and made solid oak raised panel doors. All my cabinets have been frameless. With 3/4 plywood, the face frame is unnecessary for strength IMHO so it comes down to an appearance issue. For the boxes, I just glued and screwed the boxes together - kind of like Norm's method - and where the screws would show I plugged the counterbore with an oak plug I shaved flush. I spent a little time to get a decent color and grain match on the plugs and they were visible but not objectionable to us. Finish was brushing lacquer which was not really durable enough. Today I would spray resisthane. Poly would be good too but you need to give it a couple weeks to harden up before much use. I put a 3/4 thick hanging rail at the top and 1/4 luan plywood for the back. Holes for movable shelves were made with a jig like Norm uses and a plunge router. Drawers were dovetailed with a typical half-blind router jig. Doesn't take a lot of time once you are setup but glued and nailed works too. Pa was solid maple drawers but I've switched to 1/2 BB plywood now, it looks good enough and saves a bunch of time.

You need a router table to make cope and stick doors but it is pretty simple. The MLCS website has free instructions. I find their bits to be a good value too. Good enough quality and good prices.

I made a cabinet at a time because of limited space. LOML did not object to getting her cabinets gradually. The only time we were out of commission was when I replaced the sink cabinet. I had her functional again in a couple days.

I took the vinyl floor in Pa up with an old iron and a putty knife and then laid ceramic tile directly on the luan plywood that had been under it. It was a lot of work but I got a ceramic tile floor on the cheap doing it this way. I used epoxy thinset at first but later switched to latex modified thinset which seemed to work just as well (and was cheaper).

Good Luck!

Jim

[Schleeper]

Are you crazy? Maybe. How big is the kitchen? How many cabinets will you need to build, and how big are they? How long are you willing to work on the project?

I built my own kitchen cabinets, but it's a small kitchen. I also took a year and a half to work on it, doing one area in the kitchen at a time (and there are still a few small finishing touches for me to do a year after the major work was done).

In my case, the results were good. There are some mistakes here and there, but nothing that keeps the cabinets from looking good or working well. I learned plenty of lessons and would do some things differently a second time, but am happy with the results. I'd do it again, mostly due to cost, since my oddball small kitchen requires full custom cabinetry to get the most out of the space. A more normal kitchen in a modern house, well, maybe I would have bought stock cabinets.

What are your reasons for wanting to build your own cabinets? I think that's the first big question you need to ask yourself.

Jim

Wow, this thread took off even better than I'd hoped. Time for me to start replying to all these helpful suggestions!

Jim, the kitchen is about 12 x 23, but that's deceiving; half of that space is taken up by a table and chairs. The work area consists of a pretty typical peninsula design with about 29 linear feet of cabinets (including the nearly useless recessed ones above the refrigerator.)

As for why I want to build my own, that's easy. I'm looking for well-constructed boxes and drawers, made from quality material, but I don't want to pay the premium price. I also want more control over the process.

[Schleeper]

I spent a year making and installing my new kitchen. Along the way I also replaced a window, a door, rewired, and new trim. I also built my shop so I could make the cabinets!

I saved a ton of money even with the cost of the tools I bought!

Lee

That's the other reason I want to build them myself. It's a great excuse for having to acquire more tools!

I don't really have a "shop", per se. Right now, I'm working in the basement with inadequate dust collection and ventilation, and woefully little in the way of electrical power. I'll probably remedy that before work begins, but I plan on setting up to do much of the work in our 2-car garage, anyway. It's right off the kitchen, I won't have to carry sheets of plywood through the house and down the stairs, and when the weather gets warmer I can roll the saw out on the driveway to make my cuts.

[Schleeper]

The cost can vary from cheaper, to way more expensive, if you don't already have the tools.


Something for you and your wife to watch is The New Yankee Workshop is currently into their 10 part series on building Kitchen cabinets. Check out your local PBS station and watch it with her for idea's and to see if you feel capable (toolwise).

We've been watching them, along with some kitchen remodels on DIY's "Sweat Equity." (Unfortunately, Norm was already to the 3rd episode by the time we found out about the series. We missed the two most important shows!)

I'm sure I'm lacking some of the tools, and the knowledge of how to use them. But I'm willing to learn. Our local Woodcraft store offers how-to classes, and I may take advantage of that (although they seem a bit pricey.)

[Schleeper]

I am about to tackle this very project myself. It will include stripping the existing kitchen down to the bare concrete slab, to the studs and rafters, new wiring, new windows. Most of the appliances are already on hand. I have been buying some tools as I go along with this in mind like a Kreg Pocket Jig Pro, lots of new clamps, etc.
We are planning on either granite or composite counter tops, slate floor, and tile back splashes, a new apron front sink and all new fixtures.

Sounds great, Dennis. I've got my eye on a Kreg Pocket Jig, too.

Your job sounds a lot more involved than mine. With the exception of removing the soffits above the existing cabinets, and the tile backsplash, I don't expect to be doing much to the walls. Window, doors, and appliances are all fine.

LOML has her eye on granite for the counter tops, and she wants an undermounted double sink.

[Schleeper]

I would have to answer that question yes, but that's what I do. Not really a difficult task even for a beginner. Just a bunch of boxes with doors. Once you understand joining techniques and become familiar on how to fabricate with the material you use, it a matter of following steps.

Space may be a problem. Once you get some boxes together, you start running out of room. Planning the entire job, from start to finish including all the logistics will make it go easier. I can also suggest that you create good paperwork. By that I mean take accurate measurements, do a floor plan, elevation, section, and detail drawings. Also create a cut list, and layout sheet showing how the parts will be cut from sheet stock.

But, fear not, you will have all the help here to get you through.
.

That's exactly what I told LOML: they're just a bunch of boxes. Even if if fall short of my goal, and only build the boxes, I think I'll still be ahead of the game.

Actually, I built a pretty decent entertainment center out of oak ply 20 years ago, so I'm not totally green when it comes to this kind of thing. It was 6 feet long by 4 feet high, by 2 feet deep, but it was really three 2 x 4 x 2 boxes screwed together. Shelves were made from the same 3/4 inch oak plywood, and the front edges were covered with veneer tape. Man, that sucker was heavy, and that was before I put several hundred pounds of equipment in it. And it was hung on the wall, beneath a soffit, with no other means of support.

Good advice regarding the paperwork. Fortunately, I'm a planner. If things hold true to form, I will have built the cabinets ten times over in my mind, before I even purchase the first piece of wood. I may not be fast, but I'm slow.

[Schleeper]

Started 3 weeks ago.......the layout isn't changing much but the material and useability is. I'm not using any fancy joinery, heavy on the pocket screws and glue. Doors and drawers are where all the work is. The only doors on the base cabinets are on the sink cabinet. Everything else is deep drawers and a pull out pantry cabinet. Mine are built and now I'm into the hand sanding that I love so well to get ready for spraying.
Carcases take up a ton of room. Mine are in the living room. I only use the family room. I live alone. Here are a few pics. Pat
http://bt3gallery.cpu-etc.com/main.php?g2_itemId=15663

Looking good, Pat. But why are all the pictures dated 2001?

We're not planning on changing the layout, either. With the size of the room, and the way its configured, we couldn't come up with a design that's any better.

If I try to put the carcasses in our living room, there'll be **** to pay. Methinks they'll be out in the garage.

Are you being facetious about loving the hand sanding? If not, I'll give you a call when it's time to sand mine!

[timwert65]

I have done half of my kitchen cabinets (Upper) and cabinets in mother in-laws laundry room. I had not done any wood working prior to this. If you don't require Heirloom quality, purchase a book called "Build your own Kitchen Cabinets" Auther is Danny Proulx, he has passed away recently but his wife still keeps his web site up. I built my upper cabinets in a fairly large kitchen using 3/4" birch plywood for the boxes and 3/4" hickory for the frames and doors for under $500.00. This book is an excellent source, it details how to layout your kitchen as well as making your cut sheets, and figuring your cabinet dimension. It also discusses door construction. I agree with a prevoius response as to using quality hinges and slides.
Tim

[timwert65]

Forgot to mention Danny Proulx's web site. It is www.rideaucabinets.com
It has some useful articles on it. Danny had his own cabinet shop and was a contributing editor to a canadian wood working mag. He has several books out.
Tim

[Schleeper]

Thanks for the tip, Tim. I expect that I'll be adding that book to my woodworking library.

I think the link you gave may be outdated. Here's how I found them: http://www.cabinetmaking.com

[Schleeper]

Building your own cabinets is more about the satisfaction of having done it, than the expectation of saving money. The wear in any kitchen is mainly in the hinges and runners, so it really is false economy to skimp on the hardware. As Cman says, it's boxes with doors in the main, but drawer units are a little more tricky. A kitchen I did (in phases) for a friend is shown here

If you can do it in phases, you should not have a problem with storing the new stuff - otherwise you will run out of room fairly quickly.

Good luck!

Ray.

Thanks, Ray. I've got my eye on those nice, self-closing drawer guides that Norm used in his 9 part kitchen remodel on New Yankee Workshop. I love the ones on the Kraftmaid cabinets we bought for the bathroom vanity, but Norm's look even better.

[Schleeper]

I was faced with the same decision. A quote from Home Depot on our kitchen outfitted with upper end cabinets was $16K. For around $5K I purchased the wood (Goncalo Alves) and the sheet material, hinges and hardware and will end up with better cabinets. I already had the majority of the tools but even if I didn't it would still have been a lot less expensive than purchasing the cabinets. Keep in mind that it will take considerable time to complete so if time is an issue that another consideration.

The other option is to build the carcases and purchase the doors which will still be less expensive than purchasing cabinets and take less time.

If you decide to build them on your own, practice making a door of your choice first and see how it turns out and that you are satisfied with the quality that you are able to produce. Building the carcases and face frames (if you chose that type of cabinet) is the easy part. The doors are where the craftsmanship will show the most.

Rags, That's pretty much what I've been thinking. I'm going to go through the normal learning curve, and it's going to take me a lot longer than the pros. Maybe I will decide to buy the doors and drawer fronts in the end, but I'd like to give it a go on my own first.

I've never bought anything from Rockler, but I'm getting ready to place an order for a bunch of clamps. While I was on their site, I looked at their unfinished cabinet door/drawer program. It looks pretty nice.