Replies

1. 
   mr_kramer | May 22, 2009 04:23pm | #1

   Multi-laminated Baltic Birch. Butt joinery with a good glue, and just use your common sense and budget on the hardware. Hard ware will be noticed more than the hidden joints.

2. 
   489tad | May 22, 2009 04:48pm | #2

   My opinion, depends how long they plan on staying in the house.  Four years ago we build our "dream home" with a high end kitchen.  Quarter sawn red oak faces, maple dovetail boxes, slick hardware, soft close drawers and matching crown molding.

   Now we live in another state in a house thats twelve years older with a kitchen from a big box store.  Finish is still good, the glue butt joints are still holding and the drawers slam on request.

   I hope that helps.

   p.s. My wife hates this kitchen.

3. 
   boilerbay | May 22, 2009 05:17pm | #3

   Talk to Dusty.

   Close your eyes and throw a dart.
   These days even top of the range stuff is so so.
   My experience is most all except really high end manufactures have MDF as a maximum (most chip) material for case work - and floor kicks. Other than that, they cheap out with almost flexible plastic 45s for corner block reinforcement / attaching the face frames and the back mounting strip. MDF or chip top front tie strip (behind face frame). Chip floors. Cheap ganged wood and stapled coping on doors. Drawers- lock miters in front with staples on back over vinyl wrapped LDF (Less Dense Fiberboard) :-) Sliding drawers with solid front and white chip sides instead of solid wood or birch ply sides and bottom. Veneer surfaced MDF (casework) that people think is ply. No auto or soft return glides.

   And that's the "High end".

   You don't seem to get veneer surfaced ply or matched panel doors until you get to Ultra High end. These days that means hand built like Dusty does.
   Most kitchen places, including the Borgs declare their high end stuff as different because it has 2 coats of glaze. It's miles from real custom stuff but the customer is clueless.

   What I consider what "they" -the industry, considers quality in todays market would be represented by Kraft Made or a similar company. Kraft seems to have three ranges. Pretty good (their "custom"), Medium (ten years) and tenement / motor home - really bad. The higher end lines are designed to last a couple-15 years before being replaced. 15 years is the industries judgement of how often a kitchen is replaced/updated. Less if HGTV has anything to do with it.

   Have them get Borg at the best price they can and be done with it. Save the rest for their next kitchen.
   Ask to see a freestanding unit without the countertop attached - it will reveal a lot.
   You install if it won't bust their warranty.

   Young couples are caught between HGTV - Fine Living channels and what they can afford.

   Just some early thoughts

   Boiler

1. 
   davcefai | May 22, 2009 09:29pm | #4

   Thanks people. I would have had kittens over butt joints if you hadn't raised the subject.

1. 
   mapleman | May 23, 2009 09:21am | #5

   Dave,

   I build custom cabinets, and I would have kittens over butt joints. My boxes are dadoed and glued, with staples holding the joint until the glue dries. The face frames are also dadoed and glued on, toenailed from the side with brads to hold the frame in place until the glue dries.

   Sounds like this is "ultra high end" but it's standard for every cabinet I build. I would talk to as many custom shops as possible - a lot of custom guys are having a hard time keeping their shops open due to lack of work. As a result, the prices of custom cabinetry are falling in some areas. You might be surprised to find out that a custom guy like me is very competitive with an all wood Lowes or Home Depot cabinet. Custom guys couldn't touch the price on particle board cabinets from any supplier.

   If you do not go custom and you do go with a big box store or the like manufactured cabinet, I would request:

   Solid wood drawer boxes

   plywood drawer bottoms

   Plywood interiors (personally I would stay away from the plywood with the printed wood grain because I think it looks cheesy)

   I would not accept particle board or mdf anyplace in the cabinet

    

   Also keep in mind is this the "last house" your daughters will have/own or is this a starter type home? If there is no long term interest in staying in the home then they can get by with something decent but not necessarily top of the line. Even a new particle board kitchen will up the resale value of the home.

   Any specific questions you have I would be happy to help. Friends don't let friends buy crappy cabinets.........ha ha ha

   Good luck,

   Lee

1. 
   davcefai | May 23, 2009 03:22pm | #6

   Thanks for this. It's their first house. Both are young, single and essentially want to leave the nest (all very friendly and civilised). The house is a good investment. They are buying at, probably, the bottom of a recession. So they want an affordable but good kitchen since they are both good keen cooks and the quality of the kitchen will affect the resale value of the house.It will be interesting to see what is actually on the market and I will post back anything interesting. At the moment I would guess that furniture makers are feeling the pinch. The problem is that they may be lowering their standards to lower their prices.One place that particle board would not bother me is postformed laminate tops. Some brands are very good, strong and water resistant. I put "Getalit" (a German brand) 1 1/2" thick postform in my kitchen 20 years ago and it still looks brand new.OTOH I used MDF in the cupboards I built for our beach house (low budget!) and regretted it within months.

4. 
   4runner | May 23, 2009 05:44pm | #7

   Go to Marc Sommerfeld tools .com and see his dvd series on building cabinets. I took the class at Marc Adams and have just received a deposit on $25,000. worth of cabinets. This is my second kitchen. The one video on cabinets is all you need. He has an incredible router setup that makes joinery really great. Also you can call there and talk to someone ( tech support).

   You still have to figure everything out.