Rta kitchen cabinets

[Robbie Stanford]

Does anyone have any experience with using RTA kitchen cabinets? Do you have a good supplier, that makes quality cabinets with quality material?

[JS Berkenkamp]

If you are still looking, I am a RTA cabinet distributor.  About 9 years ago, I started flipping out of state and could not find cabinets in the local markets that were quality and inexpensive- so I bypassed the online stores, and big box stores and started working directly with the importers. 

Here are my experiences with RTA for both flips and rentals

Positives-

• They are all plywood boxes- no swelling
• They can be shipped anywhere-fast
• You can either have them shipped flat boxed or prebuilt
• If you build- screw and glue for durability
• They are a lot easier to assemble than IKEA 
•            (not a box in a box, Not a thousand pieces and no Schmoo directions)
• quick turnaround once ordered
• Soft close drawers and doors
• The quality is high enough for 750k homes (in Denver). 
• Most carry a multi year or lifetime warranty

Negatives-

• You need to know your dimensions- once they arrive, you can not run to the store to get a piece of filler or scribe
• Hinge and soft close hardware is not nearly as beefy as Blum. (some do offer Blum)
• There is a learning curve- the directions are usually crap, but there are videos and not too many parts. It takes roughly 20-30 minutes a cabinet after you get the hang of it. I pay guys $20 per box to glue and screw them for me. This way the cabinets are put together for me and they make money without any whining. The first couple cabinets will take a bit longer (as will utility cabinets), but the average per hour is roughly $40.00. With a cost per box build out you can figure you budget up front and not be at the mercy of a unscrupulous sub.
• Their inventory is sometimes backed up
• Selection of sizes and styles is what it is. 
• They are not custom.
• Occasionally, they have damage from shipping- slows down production, but only usually by a few days

For the price and time for install, I really like RTA. I have done a few IKEA kitchens and there is a large learning curve- and a lot of parts. If you blow out a cam on the IKEA box, you are screwed. IKEA recommends that you use one of their installers for the build out and they are expensive. THe average per box install cost for a remodel is roughly $100/box (this includes all filler and the like.

If you are interested or have any questions, email or private message me. I do kitchen remodels as well for some of our customers and have no issues using RTA. I always bring a pre-built box out to show the customer and do a side by side. For flips and rentals- these work great and are affordable.

I hope that helps.