Custom Manufactured Cabinets – vs – Small Shop Custom

Think of building your car in a garage vs building it in the factory that it came from. What’s the difference? Fit - Finish - Accuracy - Consistency

Finish

Of all of these, the most important is Finish! What does the finish consist of? First it is the number of sanding and prep steps. The way we evaluate a finish is the Baby Butt Test. If it’s as smooth as a Baby’s Butt it passes our test. This is especially true on the end grain of a door. This is the hardest to get smooth and takes the most effort. 

Why is smoothness important? If a door feels like sandpaper when you glide your hand over it, each one of those small micro-mountains is a great dust, dirt and grease collector. The result being, doors that begin to look discolored or dirty and are difficult to clean which contribute to the breakdown of the finish. And, speaking of finish. A factory finish is typically a UV cured finish that is applied in multiple steps in a controlled dust free environment. It has the ability to live up to a Lifetime Warranty as opposed to a small custom shop which often times is finished either in the house after installation or in the shop itself; neither which is a controlled environment. Most custom manufactured cabinets have a lifetime warranty which also applies to the finish. A UV cured  finish means that it is going to stand up to the everyday use that a kitchen or bathroom encounters. Over the many years we’ve  been doing kitchen remodels, we’ve observed that most typically the reason for replacing cabinets that were built in a small shop, other than style and color, is that the finish has failed. It either becomes sticky or flakes off, exposing the raw wood. The reason – it likely was an air dried lacquer finish. Small shops use this because it dries very quickly and it looks great immediately. What they don’t tell you is that it just doesn’t last very long. 5 to 8 years is typical. That’s a lot of money to be spending for something that’s only going to hold up for that period of time. 

Accuracy

The next important difference is accuracy. Today’s custom manufactured factories have state of the art computerized equipment that measures everything to the millimeter.  This is true for the cutting of parts and the finish.  What does this mean for you?  You get cabinets that are strong and square and will perform up to their expectations over many years.   A small custom shop often times does not have the level of equipment to give you nice clean, square edges that give you the proper fit and finish.  Typically where you see this are on the doors themselves, or the ends or corners of cabinets.

Consistency

Next is consistency because all the parts are cut by a computer controlled saw, you end up with parts that are EXACTLY the same and are cut to fit on a computer program. No deviation – NONE.

So if you’re considering remodeling your kitchen, don’t buy into the “Boxed Cabinets” syndrome. Yes Custom Manufactured Cabinets come in boxes, but remember, so do exquisite diamond rings.