Let me say at the outset that I have nothing against the box stores. In fact I spend several thousand dollars there every year. If I need an item they carry I pick it up, take it home, plug it in and use it. If it doesn’t work properly I return it for a replacement or my money back. No problem.

Have you ever tried to return a kitchen or bath remodel? Of course not; that’s ridiculous too. That’s another reason why the big box model doesn’t work well for complicated design/build projects.

Make no mistake the box stores want very much to provide top quality services as well as off the shelf products. It’s not for lack of desire that they fall short.

Why would a homeowner consider buying a kitchen or bath from a store like Home Depot or Lowes?

There are 3 primary reasons:

1) We assume the price will be better since we benefit from their leveraged buying power.

2) We assume they will be around in case we have any warranty issues in the future.

3) They offer financing and/or other incentives.

Let’s examine these one by one. First, while it is true that large chains buy more volume than most retail outlets, they also obtain some products (eg cabinets) from name brand manufacturers that are not of the same quality as those the manufacturer provides their retailers.

This provides the box store with better margins but at the expense of the homeowner who is getting a product of slightly lesser quality marketed under the same brand name.

Secondly, while most large chains have very good return and warranty policies, once you add outside subcontractors and the subcontractor’s subcontractors to the equation it becomes extremely difficult to resolve any of the myriad issues that can come up during or after a kitchen or bathroom remodel.

Finally, the offer of financing or some other token incentive will never compensate for the complications and frustrations often associated with box store construction projects of any size. Also, most retailers have access to third party financing and are willing to throw in a sink or some other item to close a sale.

Let’s go thru a simplified example of contracting with a box store to have a kitchen remodeled.

First the homeowner visits the kitchen department of the store either with dimensions of their own or to arrange for the store to send someone to their home to gather the necessary information.

So the first person the homeowner has contact with is the salesperson in the store. Next a second person visits the home and sketches a floor plan which is taken back to the store and given to a designer, which may or may not be the original salesperson.

The designer works up a kitchen design and invites the homeowner to the store to review it and look a cabinet and countertop options. If other decisions are to be made, such as plumbing or lighting fixtures, the homeowner will need to work with people in those departments to make those choices and get the items required.

Assuming that the homeowner approves the design and agrees to the price they then pay for the full price of the cabinets and perhaps the countertop material as well.

The project is then turned over to the expediting department to order the materials and select the subcontractor to give the job to. This subcontractor in most cases has never seen the job and is working off a pay sheet that dictates what they get paid for each task of a project.

It is worth noting that the primary subcontractor, rarely if ever, works on the project himself. They pass the project to one of their subcontractors who in turn uses whatever labor is at their disposal to do the job. None of the subcontractors who actually do the work want to continue working under this arrangement any longer than they have to. For one thing, the pay isn’t that good. The box stores squeeze the primary subcontractor so they can offer attractive pricing to their customers. The primary subcontractor in turn squeezes his subcontractors so that he can make as much as possible on each job. The subcontractor who does the work will quit as soon as he has a better offer or can get a job of his own. Sometimes this happens in the middle of a project. It’s not hard to imagine what kind of problems that creates.

The cabinets are shipped directly to the customer’s home where someone must be waiting to accept the shipment. If the subcontractor who is to do the work is even slightly professional he will inspect the order for damage before deconstructing the homeowner’s kitchen thus avoiding a major inconvenient delay if one of the primary components has arrived damaged.

Now you have some idea of the number of people involved and how no one person has followed the project from the very beginning to a happy conclusion.

This method provides too many opportunities for miscommunication, lack of follow up and general apathy which result in the horror stories everyone has heard of many times.

If a kitchen or bath remodel is in your future, consider finding a smaller, perhaps family owned company where personal attention and responsibility are the hallmarks. Cabinets and countertops are commodities. The success and stress level of the project will be determined by the care and professionalism of the person you work with and they should be there for the entire project.

Good luck with your remodeling project, David Allen (Preferred Cabinets)

Wm David Allen

First let me mention why I feel qualified to address the subject. I have been in the remodeling and construction industry for nearly 40 years. Currently my wife and I own and operate a kitchen and bath remodeling firm in southern California. We were involved indirectly with the importation and directly with the installation of hundreds of sets of Chinese cabinets in the past. We purchased, with others, from several manufacturing sources and have experience with over a dozen types of product. I also have numerous friends and contacts in the remodeling and construction industry across the country, who have shared their experiences with me. Also my wife is Chinese.

First let’s talk about the channels of distribution and then get into the features of the product itself.

Most of the people importing Chinese cabinets to the states are Asian or Middleastern. This is only natural since they are from that part of the world and are accustomed to bringing eastern wares to the western market. Typically a sizeable company or consortium will contract with a manufacturing facility in China either directly or thru a proxy. They obtain pricing based upon a agreed number of units/container loads over a specified period of time. They receive the containers from the Long Beach or LA harbors and warehouse the product locally or ship it overland to be warehoused in some inexpensive logistically advantageous location.

The product is then disbursed thru a loose network consisting of builders, remodelers and retail outlets. These retail outlets are generally small showrooms in strip centers or flooring and carpet centers.

The product is hawked as quality for cheap. It is not uncommon to see ads in the newspaper offering complete 10×10 kitchens of solid oak including granite countertops for under $3,000.00.

This massive onslaught of inexpensive cabinets has taken considerable market share away from US manufacturers who catered to the new construction and low end remodeling markets. This has had only a marginal effect on manufacturers who cater to more upscale clients. However, as occurred in other areas, most notably the automobile industry, the competition from the east began with inexpensive low quality offerings but later adapted higher quality standards such as those employed by Lexus. You know the rest of the story. The same scenario is likely to play out in this market as well and astute manufacturers need to avoid the complacency that sent the US automobile industry into bankruptcy.

Let’s take a look at the product. In the interest of time we will only deal with the general characteristics of the product. This will suffice to make consumers aware of the products limitations.

First let it be said that the Chinese have done their homework to the extent that they know which buzzwords to use for American audiences. They have learned how to position their product so as to appear nearly the same as the competition yet for less than half the cost.

Let’s start with the wood itself. The most common types used for the doors, drawer fronts and face frames are oak, beech and birch. They are plentiful in that part of the world. The oak is sold as oak whereas what passes for maple or cherry is beech and birch stained to look the part.

Secondly, the wood is not kiln dried but dried using other quicker, cheaper methods. This is important because kiln drying stabilizes the wood which in turn prevents warping, cracking and checking.

The balance of the cabinet box is made of plywood but not of the quality typical of western manufacturers. If you were to saw cut the plywood sides you would see that the plywood panels have large voids inside, out of view that compromise the stability of the construction. One only can wonder about the adhesives used since the Chinese are notorious for using toxic materials, when cost effective, with little if any regard for consumer safety. Think candy and sheetrock.

The finish is not the oil based pre-catalyzed varnish that distinguishes the best quality for durability and appearance. It is also not dried with lights like a car finish but with other quicker cheaper methods. Also, because the methods and materials are changing rapidly, finishes that were available at one time may be impossible to find or duplicate the following year.

Finally the hardware, while it is made to look like the good stuff, is made of cheap metal that allows for fatigue and breaking after a short period of time.

In conclusion, the market for these cabinets is currently the very low end for good reason but over time these products will continue to improve and perhaps in 10 years will be highly regarded.

Good luck with your remodeling project, David Allen (Preferred Cabinets)

Wm David Allen

The dictionary defines “custom” when used as an adjective as meaning “made for an individual”. It says nothing regarding the quality of what is made. This is an important distinction primarily because people make assumptions and decisions based on the meaning they associate with a word.

To illustrate, let’s say that I offer to build a “custom home” for you. You agree and I proceed to construct one out of popsicle sticks. This would by definition be a “custom home” but would not meet any sane person’s criteria for quality nor match your idea of what a “custom home “should be.

Something similar occurs when people consider, as one of their options for a kitchen or bath remodel, purchasing “custom cabinets’. The problem arises when they discover that what they have purchased falls short of their expectations. This is, more often than not, the result of making assumptions based on a false definition of the terminology and neglecting to investigate the quality of the products important components.

There are basically 3 types of custom cabinetry:

Those made by fine craftsmen both here and abroad.

Those made by major manufacturers with customization capabilities.

Those made by small to medium sized local shops.

The first type ends up in exclusive high end homes or establishments. These clients have both the time and financial resources to acquire something unique. This satisfies their discriminating taste and sets them apart from others much like owning an exclusive watch, car etc..

The second type appeals to reasonably affluent clients who want something better than average and don’t mind spending a bit more to get it.

The third type is by far the most prevalent and the category with which we are concerning ourselves here. These run the gamut from one man operations to reasonably sophisticated facilities producing thousands of kitchen and bathroom cabinets each year.

At this point I should mention that my experience is primarily in Southern California, and consequently my perspective will reflect that and may not accurately describe conditions in other parts of the country. However, I believe there are sufficient similarities nationwide to make this material relevant and useful for consumers wherever they may live.

So now we know that making any quality assumptions regarding “custom cabinetry” is not a good idea. So what should one do?

The quality of each potential cabinet purchase should be evaluated on its own merit with little, if any, weight given to terms such as “custom”, “semi-custom”, “manufactured” or “modular”.

So what are the important questions to ask when selecting kitchen, bathroom or other cabinets?

They can be broken down into the following categories:

General box construction:

What are the materials and their dimensions used to construct the cabinet and drawer boxes. Cabinet boxes should be constructed of plywood anywhere where fasteners are installed since it has a much greater holding strength than furniture or particle board. The drawer boxes should be solid birch or maple with dove-tailed glued joints.

Door and drawer fronts and face frame:

What is the wood species (i.e. maple, cherry, alder, etc.) and is it solid or a thin veneer over plywood or a lesser quality wood. These should be ¾ to 1 inch in thickness and properly jointed. Veneers can be used if price is the primary consideration but the client should ask about their limitations as well as their cost.

Hardware:

What type of hinges and drawer and rollout slides are used. Who makes them and what is the warranty. This is important because the moving parts are what tend to wear out first and the cheaper imitations fail sooner and frequently have little if any warranty.

Finish:

How are all the visible portions of the cabinetry finished. How are they sanded, how are they stained and most importantly, which method is used to topcoat or finish-coat the cabinets to protect them from sunlight, moisture and oil from people’s hands. What is the warranty for the finish. The very best topcoat is what is call pre-catalyzed oil based varnish and is dried under lights to provide a durable finish that is warranted to last many years.

While these criteria are by no means exhaustive, they will provide more useful guidelines for the average consumer than relying upon mistaken assumptions regarding the various types of cabinetry.

Wm David Allen