Cheap Cabinets

[Dennis McDonaugh]

When we moved into our house four years ago I was in need of some wall cabinets for the garage and had no time to make them. I went down to a "custom" cabinet shop which advertised surplus cabinets for sale. They had two 42" X 48" wall cabinets that normally sold for some astronomical price that they'd let me have for $100 for the pair. They had built them for a custom kitchen, but for some reason they didn't fit and had to be redone. I took them and put them on the wall.

Last week Katherine said one of them was coming apart at the top. I went and looked a sure enough there was a 1/2" gap in one of the corners. There couldn't have been 15 lbs of stuff in this cabinet. The doors weighed more than anything we put inside. I took it down today and I don't have words (at least words I can use here) to describe the workmanship. There was no glue in the cabinet. None, nada, zip zero. The top and bottom shelves were dadoed into the sides and the face frame and back were stapled to the sides and held the top and bottom in place. The back was stapled to the side every inch or so and the face frames are held on by staples toenailed into the frames from the inside. The other cabinet was of similar construction.

I took them apart and glued the top and bottoms to the sides then made new backs out of 1/2" ply, made new hanging strips out of 3/4" oak, then glued and stapled everything back together. Doesn't look great, but at least I know they won't fall off the wall again.

Don't know why I didn't see how they were built in the first place. I suppose I was in a hurry and just didn't look.

[Ken Garlock]

Hey Dennis, don't you remember that cheap cabinets require cheap solutions like 'the handymans secret weapon, Duct Tape.' :D ;)

[Mike Cutler]

Imagine you are the client that paid full price for the "remade" cabinets :eek:
It's hard to find good cabinets these days, and after building a few sets you quickly realize that the guys that are doing quality work, with quality materials are rare and worth their asking price.
I know of a few, and there is no way I can afford them, and they are backed up all the time.
Nice fix, and try not to be too disappointed, of course this was the perfect opportunity to pitch a shaper purchase and a promise to build a custom set. ;)

[Steve Clardy]

Nothing wrong with the toe nailing of the face frame on the inside, but there was no glue?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

That's right Steve, no glue at all, just a staple about every inch or so. The face frame was actually pretty tight so I didn't mess with it since it was the only thing holding the cabinet together when I took it off the wall. You could wiggle it just a little, just enough to see there wasn't any glue in the joint.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Wow...that's scary. I have come closer to hearing everything after reading this!! Glad I don't build things that way.

[John Renzetti]

Hi Denis, The words "custom" and "quality" don't necessarily go together. Custom can just mean the product is just built to whatever dimensions are required. Do these guys have a showroom or do they just build for remodeling contractors and builders. Sounds like the word custom for these guys is more advertising gimmick than anything. It's like the contractors who state they build to meet or even excede code. Well I hope so.
One nice thing is that this makes you realize what goes into a lot of the fine work you see from the men and women who post their work here on SMC. This is where the words "custom" and "quality" do go together and they always excede the code, by a lot.
take care,
John

[Phil Phelps]

When I saw the headlines, I knew this was trouble. Incidentally, I am looking for something "inexpensive" for my garage, in the way of a locker or a cabinet. But, I'm going to look for metal instead of wood simply because of the exposure to the elements.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Hi Denis, The words "custom" and "quality" don't necessarily go together. Custom can just mean the product is just built to whatever dimensions are required. Do these guys have a showroom or do they just build for remodeling contractors and builders. Sounds like the word custom for these guys is more advertising gimmick than anything. It's like the contractors who state they build to meet or even excede code. Well I hope so.
One nice thing is that this makes you realize what goes into a lot of the fine work you see from the men and women who post their work here on SMC. This is where the words "custom" and "quality" do go together and they always excede the code, by a lot.
take care,
John

John, I think they started out as a salvage/liquidator operation and decided to get into building cabinets. It took off so they were winding down their liquidation side of the house. I took a look in their workshop and and they were building whole kitchens so I think they must sell to builders and remodelers. I don't even know if they are still in business because after my experience I have no reason to go back.

[John Lucas]

Dennis,
When your main cabinet strength comes from 5/8" particle board and the hangar strip is 3/4 by 4" but not really well fastened to the carcass, you can be sure it just gets worse and worse. I wont tell you whose specs these are but they are a national mfr of quality products....or so they claim. And they are expensive.
I am not ridiculing white melamine/particle coreboard at all. I use it all the time. But when you use it, you have to design for it. Full 3/4 carcass and full back (yes its heavier but it will hold up). Dados for bottom shelf, rabbets for back and sides. Glue plus mechanical fasteners (staples or Confirmat type screws....and so on. What I just described is a cabinet that can hold tools or china and glassware. And when doing ply and/or solid, the same care in design is neccessary.
The national mfr very often constructs for the showroom and not the kitchen.