Rehabbing & House Flipping
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Best source for kitchen cabinets?
Hi All,
I have a potential flip that needs a new kitchen. Who do you use for inexpensive kitchen cabinets? Big box store? In the past I had an awesome custom cabinet guy but I've moved to a new area and don't have one yet.
Thanks!
@John Hickey--I hope I didn't offend--I meant it jokingly, in a good-natured, teasing kind of way when I said that most (notice I did not say "all") male builders/investors seem to be clueless about what is on-trend in kitchen design! I also meant it as a helpful hint, because
sometimes people just aren't aware of what they are not aware of!
Yes, I know that there are also many women who also don't know, or care about what is "on-trend", and that there are many men who are very design consious, (heck, I used to be an architect and most of them are male and very design savvy) but, in my unscientific, very subjective opinion, let's face it, there is probably a far greater percentage of women who follow (and care about) interior design then men. Houses with dated kitchens still sell, because there usually isn't much of an alternative with what is out there--at least in my area.
If the cabinets are solid wood and the layout is the best solution to the space already have them painted white-makes all the difference in the world. In a rental of ours I had a kitchen gut on my hands between vacancies in a 100yr old home. I prefer to use Cabinetstogo.com but I was pressed for time. I used Hampton Bay lower in Mahogany from HD and stone-look laminate with the ogee edge and uppers from Ikea. Mounted hardware horizontal and centered on the frame for a more up to date look. To maximize the space and double storage I created a breakfast bar and pantry from an old hutch painted Lacquer White and frosted the glass to coordinate with the IKEA uppers, built custom shelves/legs stained to match the mahogany in Varithane (American Walnut) which sandwiched the IKEA solid birch butcher block shaved down to 16" to counter lever the breakfast far-Opposite side had simple stainless HD bracket. Found modern black stools on sale at Target $25/ea. between HD & Ikea did slide out garbage, recycle bin, paper towel mount, new 17cu. Refrigerator, new hardware, Elkay stainless sink and Kohler pullout faucet and soap dispenser for @$1200.
This was before the slide out spice rack with matching counter top was between the refrigerator and stove. Every room in the apartment was upgraded, matching vinyl plank from Traffic master including closets, Bathroom got a mini makeover including plumbing ugrade to single handle diverter and semi-new mahogany colored vanity that I took out of our place when we remodeled. The Apartment hadn't been modified except for painting the paneling in 30yrs so you can imagine...everything especially the cheap squeaky subfloor.
Just after re-grout but before caulk. This mosaic stone/glass combo pulled the dated butter walls and mismatched bone flooring out of the 70's and gave it a spa feel. I know the vanity is a tight squeeze but it works for now. The toilet is original except for the guts so when that goes the new ones tank will be a lot sleeker.
(Excuse the shaky panarama the bathroom is barely bigger than a bath mat)
no worries, just after seeing a couple of posts about it, seemed like you were convinced that very few if any male investors know what they are doing with kitchens/design. You could be correct, although a lot of what I see on this site are nice looking finished products.
Here are a few of my previous kitchens. I have actually never done shaker white cabinets. I however plan to on my next flip.
The brown cabinets were in an 800 SF house and in total cost just over $1000 if memory serves me. These were JSI brand, delivered assembled.
The white cabinets with one wall and an island were Lilyann cabinets RTAs, however I paid a little more to have them assembled. I believe around $3200 total.
The larger white cabinet kitchen with the island was JSI brand as well. All assembled and delivered for $3600. I also had two small island open cabinets made by a local high school shop class for the cost of materials.
Brian Pulaski nice kitchens. That white one is a sick kitchen at that price.
Michael Plante that sounds great thanks for the heads up.
@John Hickey thanks, there are actually 2 white kitchens above. Probably hard to tell but the first two are one, and the last is another kitchen. All of them done on a flippers budget, but each of these houses sold within a couple of days, and 2 of the 3 went for asking price.
@Brian Pulaski Thanks for sharing the photos, the manufacturers, and the prices! Wow--you just can't beat the look , price and build quality (for the price) of those knock-down cabinets. I love the white (cream?)cabinets! Those are gorgeous wood floors, too! Very nice. I can see why your flips sell quickly.
I haven't been on this site too much until lately, so perhaps I just haven't seen a good representative sample of what some of you male flippers are doing, LOL. (I mainly decided to take a break from all my beloved interior design blogs and websites, and get on the BP forums, because I listen to all the BP podcasts and they are always driving home the point that we should get on the forums, LOL!)
John Hickey you said you for these at IKEA? That's an amazing price. I'm currently working in my first flip and looking for an inexpensive option and those look amazing. You said you could of gotten them down to 1200?
@Meti Kay yes. I would go look at it in the Ikea store. The kitchen with the peninsula I could have gotten down to 1200. I would have had to leave out the pantry, fridge panels and used a cheaper door configuration. I think there is also some door styles that can bring the price down but you might sacrifice the look a bit.
Sign up for the Ikea kitchen event. You can save 15/20 percent.
Thanks, for those pictures they look great, I order JSI cabinets from rtawoodcabinets.com pricing and quality is great and they have a lot of options if you want to make it more decorative. They also offer CNC cabinets which I've used a couple of times for lower priced flips, its a white shaker plywood box and MDF door, decent quality but looks beautiful, below are some pictures of a recent job with the cnc white shaker.
@Greg Cuncliff kitchen looks great! Funny, the house I just bought for my family to move to NY has CNC cabinets in the kitchen. They are the cheapest ones they make (I can only guess) so they look cheap, but don't seem all that bad.
I've used adisupply.com a few times with good results. This is the most recent one. Soft close doors, all wood and easy to assemble. They come quick too (around a week). About $5k for the kitchen including the appliances, granite and backsplash.
CNC has lots of styles and levels, some really nice and decent quality, the white shaker pictures I posted is their cheapest white shaker, basic glides and hinges with the full door MDF, most of the other lines are more upgraded with soft closing door/drawers and and wood construction doors. For some of my higher end projects when going with a white shaker I'll get the Fashion or Elegant (CNC) or Essex which is from JSI, btw Brian if you do reach out to rtawoodcabinets.com ask for Phil he's a great designer and gives amazing service, tell him i sent you.
@Greg Cuncliff I will keep that name in mind. I'm an easy customer, I send along my take off and all they to do is order... no designs needed!
Originally posted by @Greg Cuncliff:
CNC has lots of styles and levels, some really nice and decent quality, the white shaker pictures I posted is their cheapest white shaker, basic glides and hinges with the full door MDF, most of the other lines are more upgraded with soft closing door/drawers and and wood construction doors. For some of my higher end projects when going with a white shaker I'll get the Fashion or Elegant (CNC) or Essex which is from JSI, btw Brian if you do reach out to rtawoodcabinets.com ask for Phil he's a great designer and gives amazing service, tell him i sent you.
@Greg, the door style that you are referring to is the Luxor White, but even the Luxor White comes with an option to upgrade to soft close hinges and glides.
@Brian The reason for the MDF, is because wood expands in the cold, and will make the paint crack, MDF does not expand, so they only do that on the door, not the construction of the cabinet. It`s actually the preferred way of making the door when you will have a painted finish.
@John Hickey Your IKEA kitchen looks amazing. I see that you have properties in Newburgh, NY. Wondering how hard do you go for neighborhoods like Newburgh in terms of kitchens and bathrooms. I have just acquired two multi family homes in the historical district. Both are currently fully rented, but I will be renovating them when the current leases are up, and I am trying to a) figure out renovation expenses b) figure out how much is too much - where the balance is. Any advice is much appreciated.
@Rebecca Devlin thanks for asking.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do in newburgh. Rents are lower, tough tenant base. I think long term that will improve, but depends on the area you can get hipsters to pay higher rents with new renos but depends on the area. Here’s what I came up with. I used the cheaper Ikea door, and I’m buying applicances at the scratch and dent. Kitchen cost about 1000 for cabinets. I used a laminate counter from HD. If the area turns around I can swap that out for quartz. The bathrooms I did my usual but used a cheaper vanity. Not perfected yet but I’ll let you know how it goes. That apt is rented at 1350
We put in all new trims, solid doors and covered up all plaster with Sheetrock. New gas forced hot air, paid by tenant. I added an electric meter and gas meter for this apt. The windows were vinyl they stayed. Windows are a rough one up there.
Thanks for this @John Hickey. They look fantastic. How many bedrooms is this apartment?
Rebecca Devlin it’s 2 bedrooms, but the last tenant used the living room as a 3 bedroom. The rent was 1200 including utilities. I did the Reno and rented it at 1220 with separate utilities. It’s tight. Tenant needs to move in Friday we’re still on a 2 page punch list. That’s pretty much my life.
@John Hickey sounds about right. I am new to this all, but my best friend is onto her third property in Newburgh and it seems that her life is quite similar. Chin up! I have a lot of faith in Newburgh. I work in Soho and it's not stop chatter amongst many of the artists, chefs, guests, and everyone else about what is happening in 12550.
Originally posted by @Steve B.:
Chinese knock down over IKEA or HD for sure
I just bought a 10 foot run in white shaker for 1k installed and added a granite counter for another 1k. That's without uppers
What website did you buy these from?
I was looking for Kitchen & Bathroom cabinetry and was not satisfied with Home Depot & Lowes pricing. Surely flippers have other sources than those. So, I checked BP - What a Resource! This thread has been super informative. There were so many that I started assembling a list and thought that compiled list might helpful to others.
I was surprised at the number of folks that used HD & Lowes when my experience was unimpressive. They're convenient, but the price & wait was unappealing.
The compiled list is in what struck me as relative level of positive references and frequency of reference - by my impression, not statistical tracking. Overall, the Chinese knock-down cabinets seemed to be the most favored, some of the brands were mentioned and RTACabinetStore.com seemed to be a clear favorite. If I get to it, I'll check most of these sources for comparable cabinets and post those downstream...
Here's the list:
rtacabinetstore.com (couldn't tell if this is also a Chinese knock down)
China knock down resellers operate everywhere, generally branded as:
Fabuwood,
NEA Trading,
All World,
Sunco
jandkcabinetry.com (Website has a zip code based search function)
IKEA
Home Depot
Hampton Bay
Lowes
Menards
lilyanncabinets.com
kitchensearch.com
CraigsList (Possible source for cabinets being pulled out for remodelers)
cabinetliquidators.com
cabinetstogo.com
kitchenkompact.com
rtawoodcabinets.com (ask for Phil, great designer & service)
adisupply.com
jsicabinetry.com
CNC Cabinets (could find a web address for these, but mentioned a couple of times)
Local & Supplier Auctions (my addition from experience)
semihandmadedoors.com/
@ Phyllis E posted this like to help keep us informed about Kitchen Design Trends:
https://www.houzz.com/photos/query/kitchen-photos-with-the-most-saves/nqrwns
..again from Phyllis – the most saved kitchen picture on Houzz:
https://www.houzz.com/photo/45350-san-jose-res-2-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco
Thanks Phyllis
@Moe Hirsch suggests caution when painting wood cabinets as the wood expands and contracts, so the paint ends up cracking. MDF is preferable for painted cabinet doors since is it does not expand/contract
@Greg Cuncliff - or @Brian Pulaski - Can you provide a website or reference for CNC Cabinets - I didn't find one.
@Phyllis E. - Excellent references, thanks!
I was considering painting the 28 yr cabinets in my rental but considering the aged wood and the grain, it’s likely not the best solution. I am now looking at replacing the cabinets and counter tops. I have found a local in that area who not only an investor but also RE broker, PM, and contractor. I contacted them for the contractor work but was delighted to find they had investment properties and understood spending levels for rentals for still good quality merchandise.
One of my other rentals had new cabinets and counter tops installed by a local cabinet maker - total price (material and labor) was better than other considerations (refinishing or replacement by HD and Lowe’s).
While I have yet to really buy cabinets from places like HD or Lowe’s I don’t think they would be off my list as every project is different and presents its own unique circumstances.
Another vote for thertastore. I've put them in rentals, flips and even my personal home. For the price you can't beat their quality. I've had them in my home for 5 years and they still look brand new.
Originally posted by @Keith Thompson:
CNC Cabinets (could find a web address for these, but mentioned a couple of times)
@Moe Hirsch suggests caution when painting wood cabinets as the wood expands and contracts, so the paint ends up cracking. MDF is preferable for painted cabinet doors since is it does not expand/contract
@Greg Cuncliff - or @Brian Pulaski - Can you provide a website or reference for CNC Cabinets - I didn't find one.
@Phyllis E. - Excellent references, thanks!
@Keith Thompson - CNC`s website is http://www.cncassociates.com/, however, you need to purchase the cabinets from a dealer, they are not open to the public.