I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
> is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
> Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?
>

What do you mean by value? The highest price may be the "best" but are not
the best "value" in most cases. Lamborghini is a beautiful car, but a Ford
is far better value for driving to work every day. There are many cabinets
of excellent construction available. This will give you some idea of what
good and bad construction will look like.

http://www.kitchenplace.com/closeup.html
http://www.kitchenplace.com/junk.html

Far as I can tell, someone wrote:
>I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
>is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
>Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?

Start by visiting a few places that sell and display cabinets.
Open doors and drawers, envision your stuff in them.
Look for features you like and need.

Go to Home Depot or Lowe's, and one or two local kitchen places.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
> is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
> Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?
>

The quality of the hardware is very important. Are the drawer slides - or
whatever they are called - sturdy and smooth, using mostly metal parts? Do
the drawers open all the way or just 3/4 of the way? Best quality slides
mount under the drawer, not at the sides where they reduce the width of the
drawer. Are cabinet doors and drawer fronts adjustable so you can square
them up for a neat appearance? We got Woodmode cabinets a few years ago and
have been very happy.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
> is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
> Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?
>

The most important issue is your budget. If you can't afford cabinets over
$X then you are wasting your time even discussing them. Also, how long do
you plan to live in your home and how much abuse do the cabinets get? Some
of the cost will depend on the species of wood you select and the style -
i.e.., full overlay, etc.

Within lines of cabinets you will find many options. The base level will be
made from particleboard wit veneered plywood frames and doors. The doors
and frames may be solid wood or veneered. The end panels will be a printed
paper veneer. You can select all plywood construction. You can get various
options for exposed end panels like veneered plywood or an applied skin.
There are generally upgrades to draw hardware available. Lots of money can
be spent customizing cabinets with applied moldings, pull out trays,
dividers, specialty cabinets, specialty hardware, etc. Therefore, it is
hard to compare an entry level cabinet from Home Depot with one in a kitchen
showroom unless you know exactly how each is constructed. Furthermore, I
understand that Home Depot has its cabinets made to a cheaper specification.
Therefore a Krafmaid cabinet at HD may not be the same as a Kraftmaid
cabinet at a kitchen showroom.

Another consideration is how much you want to spend. If you will live in
your house of the next 20 years, then getting really sturdy cabinets will
all plywood construction might make sense. If you think you will move in
the next 5 years, then I wouldn't bother because no one will pay extra for
the better construction and you will be wasting your money. Also, if you
only cook twice a year, then it might not make sense to spend money on heavy
duty construction.

On 11 Feb 2005 18:17:17 -0800, wrote:

>I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
>is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
>Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?

Hey Suzy!
There are thousands of cabinet makers in the United States alone. You
will probably get what you pay for. I recently noticed the kitchen
cabinet displays at Home Depot were very attractive. You can give them
the dimensions of your kitchen and they have a computer simulation you
can look at to see what your new cabinets will look like in your
kitchen before they are even installed! Pretty kewl huh...

Bill

On 11 Feb 2005 18:17:17 -0800, wrote:

>I'm in the middle of designign my new home and the cabinent selection
>is overwhelming. I hear DBS and RUTT are the best but cost a fortune.
>Can anyone tell me how to get a feel for value?

First thing there are three ways of making cabinet doors. (1) The doors are
on the outside of the case. (2) The doors are on the outside, but larger,
and the doors all abut each other and you don't see the case. (3) The doors
recess into the case.

In the far past all cabinetry was (3). (All built in cabinetry in my 1891
house is that way.) But it is more expensive, so rarely done these days.
But a much better way of keeping dust out of the cabinets.

Who says DBS and RUTT are the best? Personally I think Penville Cabinets
are the best. See http://www.pennvillecabinetry.com/ Everything is totally
custom.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.