Episode 1877
The Kitchen Cabinetry Trap: What You Need to Know Before You Buy
Many homeowners are making critical mistakes when it comes to selecting kitchen and bath cabinetry for their remodeling projects. One of the biggest pitfalls is the choice of finish, as many small cabinet makers still rely on outdated lacquer finishes that can lead to problems down the line. It's essential to prioritize high-quality finishes such as conversion varnish or modern water-based options, which offer better durability and aesthetics. Additionally, failing to have a detailed contract, color samples, and approved drawings can set homeowners up for costly disappointments. As you prepare for your next renovation, understanding these common errors can help you avoid frustration and ensure a successful outcome for your kitchen or bathroom.
Renovating and remodeling kitchens and bathrooms can be an exciting yet daunting task, especially when it comes to selecting cabinetry. Eric G. dives deep into the common pitfalls that homeowners encounter during this critical phase of home improvement. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the types of finishes available for cabinetry, arguing that the finish is often more crucial than the materials used in the cabinet structure itself. Many consumers mistakenly opt for cheaper cabinet options without realizing that inferior finishes, such as lacquer, can lead to significant long-term issues. Eric highlights that while lacquer finishes may have been acceptable decades ago, modern alternatives like conversion varnish or high-quality water-based finishes offer durability and aesthetic appeal that far surpasses outdated options.
Furthermore, Eric stresses the necessity of thorough preparation before ordering cabinetry. He outlines a checklist that includes having signed contracts, color and door samples, and detailed drawings that accurately depict how the cabinets will fit into the planned space. This meticulous approach is vital to avoid costly mistakes and ensure satisfaction with the final product. Eric warns against the risks of ordering cabinets from less reputable sources, such as small cabinet makers or big-box retailers, unless they specialize in high-end cabinetry. He also touches on the significance of warranties, urging listeners to read the fine print and understand what is covered, as many warranties only cover the lifespan of the cabinets, which is typically around 15 years.
As Thanksgiving approaches, Eric's message serves as a reminder for homeowners to be thankful for their spaces and to invest wisely in their renovations. His insights aim to empower listeners to make informed decisions that will enhance their homes, ensuring that joy and functionality accompany the beauty of their new cabinetry.
Takeaways:
- The finish on cabinetry is crucial; a poor finish can ruin an otherwise perfect project.
- Always have a signed contract and color sample approval before ordering cabinetry.
- Natural wood finishes can vary greatly; ensure you approve samples to avoid mismatches.
- Beware of tiny cabinet makers using outdated lacquer finishes that won't last long.
- Invest in quality cabinetry; big box retailers typically offer mid-grade options, not premium.
- Understand warranties carefully; lifetime guarantees often only cover a 15-year lifespan for cabinets.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Kraftmaid
- American Woodmark
- Schuler
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Transcript
It's around the house.
Eric G.:When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know, but we've got you covered.
Eric G.:This is around the House.
Eric G.:Welcome to the Round the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Eric G.:Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all you people out there in the United States or anywhere else in the world that are enjoying Thanksgiving.
Eric G.:Something that we can all be thankful for.
Eric G.:And I want to say that here at around the House, we are thankful for you, all of our listeners, viewers of the television show, the radio show, the podcast, all you people out there that tune in each and every week to the show.
Eric G.:I want to personally say thank you and I'd love to help grow this so we can keep getting bigger and bigger.
Eric G.:And we are the third largest radio show in the country for home improvement, which is pretty crazy when you look at it, how much we've grown over the last few years and how we just keep getting bigger and bigger.
Eric G.:So to all you out there, I'm very thankful for all of you.
Eric G.:So today I wanted to talk about something that has been a hot item here on around the House and My stuff that really I've been commenting on social media, I see trends, right?
Eric G.:And in social media, I'm in a bunch of different groups.
Eric G.:I'm group experts in everything from home stuff to cabinetry to everything else.
Eric G.:Lots of different things that I comment and help people out with on their projects.
Eric G.:And it's a lot of fun.
Eric G.:But I'm starting to see some trends that get interesting.
Eric G.:And one of them comes to kitchen cabinetry right now because of course, budgets are tight, a lot of people don't have extra money around, so they're trying to squeeze every lance last bit out of it.
Eric G.:But the problem I see is that there's some decisions that we made in the wrong places.
Eric G.:For instance, instead of working with a cabinet shop, I'm seeing somebody going out and finding this little tiny cabinet maker to build their cabinets because they got a better deal.
Eric G.:Let's talk about the problems that creates.
Eric G.:First off, your finish on the cabinetry, whether it's kitchen or bathroom, is one of the most important parts of the project.
Eric G.:You can have the finest woods, you can have everything dialed in perfectly.
Eric G.:And if the finish sucks, so does the rest of the project.
Eric G.:And it's something that's not going to last and you're going to be trying to fix it later.
Eric G.:Things get ruined, finishes come apart.
Eric G.:So the finish is one of the most important parts of this project and it doesn't matter if you're going to go into the home center and buy unfinished cabinetry and try to refinish it yourself, not a good idea unless it's garage or something like that.
Eric G.:But really that's where the problem lies if you're dealing with a tiny little cabinet person, unless they are some crafts people.
Eric G.:And there's a lot of these guys out there, so I don't want to disparage them at all.
Eric G.:But a lot of your, what I'd call garage cabinet makers are using lacquer finishes.
Eric G.:And lacquer finishes.
Eric G.: Are we on a: Eric G.:And if you look at it, think about this, 60s, 70s cars, right?
Eric G.:50s, 60s, 70s cars.
Eric G.:If you go back in history, what did everybody do on the weekends?
Eric G.:They were out waxing their car to make it look shiny because the finish would break down, it would dull up.
Eric G.:And every summertime, every month or two, you're out there waxing up, polishing and doing all the things.
Eric G.:So anybody doing that now?
Eric G.:No, because finishes are way better.
Eric G.:They're getting the ceramic wax, that's ceramic.
Eric G.:At their auto car wash that they went through that took care of it for 15 or 18 bucks.
Eric G.:That's what you're seeing out there.
Eric G.:Well, the problem is cabinet finishes really have gone the same way.
Eric G.:And so if you've got somebody using lacquer finishes, whether it's a cat lacquer or whatever else, which the catalyzed lacquer, these are things that still are going to break down.
Eric G.:Those car finishes were cat lacquer.
Eric G.: problem is that you got now a: Eric G.:And one thing with metal is it moves, but wood really moves with humidity and temperature.
Eric G.:So I don't want to have something like that on there.
Eric G.:I think lacquer is just a horrible finish.
Eric G.:Now if you're going to go into an old school restoration, I get it.
Eric G.:If you want those 22 coats of high gloss lacquer, I understand that because you're doing some contemporary project, you want it to look more like a bar top.
Eric G.:I get it.
Eric G.:But really anything from conversion varnish, which is a catalyzed product, but it's more of a, of a two part that is either baked on or air dried on or UV cured, those are better finishes.
Eric G.:As well as some of the new urethane finishes out there, the are water based.
Eric G.:Eight or 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago, water based finishes especially the clears looked a little milky.
Eric G.:They looked a little plasticky to me.
Eric G.:Now they've Got them dialed in and they're looking really good.
Eric G.:So pay attention.
Eric G.:When you're out shopping for cabinetry, take a peek at what that finish is.
Eric G.:It's super important.
Eric G.:I'll be honest, I'll be more worried about what's on that finish than I am.
Eric G.:Whether it's a particle board or plywood construction, that finish is way more important than what the carcass of the box is.
Eric G.:As long as it's built with something bigger than a half inch material, then you're fine.
Eric G.:So think about that.
Eric G.:That's one of the biggest issues that I'm seeing.
Eric G.:Second of all, as a consumer, if you're ordering cabinetry without a contract, without a color sample that you have initialed and approved, without a door sample that you've initialed and approved, and without perfectly drawn out drawings with your appliances and everything dialed in, and you don't know exactly what's going on there, if you have not approved all these things, you are setting yourself up for a kitchen or bathroom disaster.
Eric G.:My rules when I was running my kitchen and bath companies, and I ran a lot of them over the years in my 30 years of doing design, is that homeowners, contractors, friends signed the contract, we had a color sample, they initialed the back of it, that stayed in the job file until it was ready to go.
Eric G.:Door sample signed off and approved, initialed on the back of it.
Eric G.:Cabinet drawings, exactly how they're going in, all the details there.
Eric G.:Color, wood, stains, paints, hardware, cabinet construction should all be on those drawings.
Eric G.:If you're not doing that and you're placing cabinets, question what's going on?
Eric G.:Because here's the thing, you need to know exactly what that's going to look like.
Eric G.:And you're better off to wait a week or two, maybe even three, to get a door sample over the holidays that you can sign off.
Eric G.:But when your white oak kitchen shows up, that was natural.
Eric G.:And the little two by two color block you looked at was nice and white and the whole kitchen is pink and you hate pink.
Eric G.:Probably should have waited for that.
Eric G.:Cabinet sample.
Eric G.:Wood is natural.
Eric G.:And the more natural it is, the more problems that can occur.
Eric G.:Like when I'm doing a contemporary kitchen in the past with flat slab veneer doors.
Eric G.:And yes, I do not do cabinet doors of solid wood.
Eric G.:There's another mistake.
Eric G.:They move around too much.
Eric G.:I want to do a veneer that is a higher quality product.
Eric G.:I want to have grain matched veneers.
Eric G.:I want to have them flitch matched, which means many times, almost always, that came off the Entire tree shows up and they've matched them within that.
Eric G.:So you can do a natural maple kitchen.
Eric G.:And if you have two different trees in that kitchen, many times you're going to have two different colors depending on how much sunlight, what the minerals grabbed out of the ground.
Eric G.:If they came out of the same forest, they can look way different.
Eric G.:And you don't see it until the finish is on and they're getting installed.
Eric G.:So natural finishes are the most finicky to show you everything because there's nothing to hide.
Eric G.:Mother nature and what that tree went through till it gave its life to your cabinetry.
Eric G.:So think about these things.
Eric G.:I want to make sure that if you're doing veneer matches that you have that spelled out, you've got veneer samples, you know what they're doing.
Eric G.:And if you're doing this stuff through a home center, nothing against the home centers.
Eric G.:They are not going to be doing medium to high end cabinetry.
Eric G.:They do great stuff.
Eric G.:Those major national cabinet companies that home centers work with do great cabinets, but they are entry to entry mid level cabinetry.
Eric G.:There is not a premium brand that gets sold in a big box retailer.
Eric G.:It just doesn't happen.
Eric G.:That's a whole different world.
Eric G.:When you get into that stuff where they're matching veneers, where they're custom colors, they're doing all that stuff.
Eric G.:And no offense, Kraftmaid makes a great product.
Eric G.:American Woodmark, Schuler, go down the list.
Eric G.:They do great stuff, but that's not what they do.
Eric G.:They do middle America, awesome mid grade cabinetry.
Eric G.:If you want high end or a premium product that you want to look like it came out of Architectural Digest, you're gonna have to go to a company that deals with things like Architectural Digest.
Eric G.:And your little tiny shop is not going to be doing that unless that's what they specialize in.
Eric G.:And that's where you got to have that door sample.
Eric G.:That's where you got to have this stuff figured out.
Eric G.:Now let's talk warranties real quick before we run out of time.
Eric G.:And this is another one here.
Eric G.:You see major national companies go, hey, I give a lifetime warranty on the finish.
Eric G.:And you know something those guys do.
Eric G.:You got to keep in mind the average lifespan of a kitchen cabinetry is 15 years.
Eric G.:So that's the lifetime is only going to be 15 years in many of them.
Eric G.:So take a look at the warranties.
Eric G.:When you read it, they cover the lifetime of the cabinet, but the lifespan of the cabin is 15 years.
Eric G.:You're not going to get a door Swapped out at year 20 for most people.
Eric G.:The same time, though, if you got your little Chuck in a truck building it on his home table saw on his shopsmith, building your cabinets, six months later, if you got a problem or even worse, you're buying some of the import cabinets that are coming in from Southeast Asia and that company has a new company that came into the spot every six months, you're not going to find hardware, you're not going to find something to match.
Eric G.:You're in a world of herd.
Eric G.:And that is one of the biggest problems we see of the import KD or knockdown cabinetry is that if you're going to live in that place, that's why it's the house flippers dream.
Eric G.:If you're going to be living in that place and you need to go find a drawer glide, yeah, it looks like a bloom drawer glide.
Eric G.:Yeah, it looks like a gross, but it's not.
Eric G.:It's the Chinese knockoff of it.
Eric G.:All of a sudden now you're machining new drawers to fit in there because the hardware is non existent because somebody was knocking it off and making a copy of it, but not a good enough copy.
Eric G.:We can swap out the real thing for it.
Eric G.:So be careful with cabinetry out there.
Eric G.:Guys, as we're thinking about Thanksgiving and you're sitting there cooking tomorrow, or maybe today, if you're tuning in on Thanksgiving or yesterday, as you're cooking, maybe it's Friday and you're tuning into this and you're like, this is the last year in this kitchen.
Eric G.:Don't make some of these big, expensive mistakes.
Eric G.:We'll cover more into detail here in the first of the year on this subject because I think there's a lot for us to talk about.
Eric G.:But that is something that can really cost you a lot of money and make you very unhappy when you don't get what you think you paid for.
Eric G.:All right, everybody, we had a great show coming up this weekend.
Eric G.:We are going to be talking about a bunch of stuff.
Eric G.:I'll show you that on Friday.
Eric G.:Tune in.
Eric G.:We're going to be talking about, well, is your home ready for the next storm?
Eric G.:Is it a wildfire?
Eric G.:Is it a tornado?
Eric G.:Is it a windstorm?
Eric G.:Is it a hurricane?
Eric G.:We've got some experts coming on to talk about that.
Eric G.:And then an hour number two, we're going to be talking outdoor living.
Eric G.:I'll give you some more details on Friday.
Eric G.:It's going to be an epic show that I can't wait to show you.
Eric G.:All right, everybody, have a great Thanksgiving.
Eric G.:For all you celebrating out there, I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:Thanks for tuning in to around the House.
Eric G.:We'll see you on Saturday.
Eric G.:Somewhere unseen and undiscovered Anywhere beyond the means Love is a love song let's be lovers we're all over the radio Take mine out Nowhere to go all over the radio with.
