Cabinets come in many different styles, woods and finishes – but they also come with very different construction features. Let’s take a look at a few of these features.
Custom is the top of the line in cabinetry. Custom can mean something different to various people, but we will be looking at custom manufactured cabinets. Almost always, custom cabinet lines will include all plywood and solid wood construction as their base and will include soft close on both doors and drawers. With custom cabinetry, there will be many options for door styles, woods and finishes and these manufacturers will be able to build a truly “custom” piece of furniture for your kitchen.
Semi-Custom is the largest category in cabinet construction. Most of these lines will start with some furniture board in their cabinets but will offer upgrades for more plywood. The front frame of cabinets are almost always solid wood, with the furniture board making up the remainder of the cabinet box. Here, you will need to upgrade to get the all wood, full-extension, soft-close on the drawer box – but this is a very important upgrade that should always be included.
The final category of cabinet construction is often referred to as “builder grade”. These cabinets again will start with furniture board construction, but still have solid wood for the face frame and most doors will be either solid or veneered wood. Again, you can (and should) upgrade the drawers and there will be options for upgrades to plywood construction as well.
There are other differences in the grades of construction that are more difficult to see. Basically, the semi and full custom lines will be a bit more selective in the wood they use, have longer drying times and more layers of finish. It is difficult to see these differences in a showroom of newer cabinets, but over time these differences will become more apparent.
So, what is best for your kitchen? Basically, buy the best construction that you can comfortably afford. If you can only afford builder grade – upgrade the drawer boxes! And if you are getting a stained wood product, upgrade the exposed cabinet ends to plywood with a veneer wood end. This way you won’t have a two-toned kitchen in a few years as the real wood deepens in color and the laminated ends fade out.
Here at J & D Kitchen we carry a full menu of all the various construction options. Our Quality and Woodstar lines are less expensive, but still offer many options where you can create a beautiful, affordable kitchen. Our Marquis and Homecrest lines cover the Semi-Custom offerings within our showroom in a moderate price point and offer many “custom” options. Finally, our Omega and Candlelight offer a huge selection of beautifully made door styles, woods, and finishes. Stop by and visit with us soon and we will be happy to offer a tour as well as advice for your remodel.