RTA Cabinets - Any lessons learned?

Question

I'm looking at purchasing RTA cabinets from rtacabinetstore.com, which came out on top in terms of price when compared to a few other places. Unlike lily ann, I wouldn't have to pay sales tax in TN either, which is an added savings. I have a small kitchen that we've gutted and will be installing RTA cabinets. I have no experience with RTA and realize that I'm about to drop some money based on just a few measurements and sketches and I'm sitting here wondering what I don't know about this whole process. I'm hoping to learn some lessons from you guys' experience and hopefully avoid making some mistakes here.

On a related note, does anyone have experience with rtacabinetstore.com they'd like to share?

Mike McCarthy · Answer

I’ve used them twice and they are great, very helpful when I’ve called, and the quality is better than I expected.

Their kitchen design folks can help, but it’s important you spend the time making sure it’s all right and all the pieces will fit. Same if you buy with Home Depot or wherever.

I’d highly recommend!

Tori Anderson · Answer

My experience isn't in measuring cabinets, but blinds and intricate drapery hardware.  I'd say it's likely your ceiling and walls are not even or square - I've never seen any that are.  so make sure you allow extra for that.  It's better to have cabinets a bit too small which you can fudge in with a piece of moulding, than it is to have them too big.  I'd make an allowance for both height and width being wonky.

I measure blinds & shutters top, middle and bottom, as well as right, center and left to make sure of the smallest measurement.  That's harder with a room.  Although if you know principal of measuring the 2 diagonals of a space, you can see how close or far from square your space is.

Good luck!  post pix when done!

Jason D. · Answer

@Jon Mason I've used rtacabinetstore twice. 9nce in my own home and once in a rental and have had positive experiences both times. Very good quality, easy assembly, and nice finishes. The delivery time is much longer than I tho8ght it would be. Expect it to take a month to have them delivered. I've never had to return anything so I cant comment on that. Measuring is critical but if you use their template, it matches right up. I will continue to use them going forward.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

I have used both companies, Lily Ann and RTACabinetstore. Lilly Ann does not charge shipping over $2500, RTA does, so make sure you have factored that in.

Both will be delivered via trucking company. Most of mine have come via tractor trailer, the most recent was a large box truck. Keep this in mind when having them delivered to a residential address. You will also get a myriad of delivery drivers, I have had awesome ones who are helpful. I have had others who wouldn't work with me and left my cabinets on the street in the rain. I have had more good than bad however.

Assembly was easy on all the styles and brands. They all go together with slightly different hardware, but none were challenging.

Both companies I have had mismatched parts or missing hardware. Both got resolutions quickly.

Quality seem to be on par with one another. This will probably vary more on what cabinet verse the company.

I installed a white Shaker from RTA cabinet store on a previous house. I am currently installing a different white Shaker from RTA cabinet store on a house. The doors and drawers look the same, the face frames are different and the pricing was different. They have a LOT of choices for white Shaker... makes deciding tough.

I would buy from both companies again.

Lee Bell · Answer

I agree with the comment that walls and ceilings are probably not straight.

They may look OK, but when you get in close with your work pieces, hahaha.

Jason D. · Answer

@Jon Mason yes, I was referring to the template that you can use to design the layout. It was very helpful for me and then once you lay it all out, you simy pick the design and color, and it gives you the list of what you selected.

Jon Mason · Answer

@Brian Pulaski - thanks man,  that's super helpful. I'm definitely going to take you up on that, but it will likely be early next week before I can post photos. I'll try to put together some useful photos and measurements as well.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

@Jon Mason, I'm not sure if they do any research on whether a truck can deliver or not. My latest house (I received my RTA cabinet store cabinets two days ago) is on a small residential street and I was worried about the power lines. I asked them to call if the driver was not going to come into the neighborhood and I would meet him to load the pallet into my truck. They came in a box truck with no issues.

The line I bought was Arlington White Shaker, which is one of their cheaper white shakers. They look nice, soft close doors/drawers, plywood boxes etc. they go together with clips already attached to the cabinets and go quick. The previous ones I bought had brackets I had to screw in and took a little longer. The Arlington white took 12-15 business days to ship... just FYI.

As far as any things to look out for, laying out kitchens can be easy, or a nightmare, depends on your experience. I would double check your fridge, stove, DW clearances. Make sure you get the correct fillers, trim pieces, and line things up well.

If you have a layout you're working with post a photo and I can look at it for you. I've layed out hundreds of kitchens.

Jon Mason · Answer

@Jason DiClemente - when you say template, are you referring to something on their website? I tried to use their online designer thing and it just kind of went blank screen on me, so I eventually gave up. I've measured the space and put down tape to kind of map everything out, but maybe I'm missing something. I didn't see anything else on their website though..

Jon Mason · Answer

That's great feedback @Brian Pulaski! I read about the semi truck bit and was a bit concerned by that. I think the truck could get on to the street the house is on, but I wasn't sure if that was going to be an issue. I suppose they would tell me in advance if the delivery location is a problem.

The house we're remodeling has a smaller kitchen and we're going with a bit cheaper finishes. We have been looking at the Dover White line on rtacabinetstore.com, although they do have a shaker line we considered that came out to be only about $75 more. We're sitting at about $1700 right now with shipping, so we wouldn't qualify for the free shipping at Lily Ann.

Are there any "gotchas" in terms of measuring the space and making sure everything will fit? Any clearances you need to take into account or anything like that? We're dealing with a somewhat tight space and I'm a little concerned having never done this before.

RTA Cabinets - Any lessons learned?

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