Apr 18, 2011

Easy Installation: RTA Kitchen Cabinets

Ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets have been around for longer and in various forms than people think. From the manufacturing improvements over the past decade, there are now more companies selling RTA  Kitchen cabinets with better quality standards. The kitchen is the most expensive room to renovate and other than your countertop selection, the kitchen cabinets are going to be the most expensive section to remodel. Many homeowners go for the expensive custom kitchen cabinets because they don’t realize they have other options. Custom kitchen cabinets cost from $10,000-$100,000 depending on the details. With the housing market in a rut, many people are looking for a way to increase the value of their home without putting themselves into bankruptcy.

RTA kitchen cabinets are a great solution to the budget conscious homeowner. Many ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets you find online are much stronger and more durable than the expensive name brand cabinets. When looking at how the kitchen cabinet is built, always make sure that they are using plywood for the cabinet box, solid wood for the cabinet face and stiles, and a solid wood or plywood back for a sturdy connection to the wall. The secret to a high-quality RTA kitchen cabinet is how it is held together. Many lower quality ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets use screws, wood glue, or staples to hold the cabinet box together.

Ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets constructed as suggested above have a tendency to come apart where the staples or screws connect to frame of the cabinets. High-quality kitchen cabinets use a cam lock assembly to connect to the frame. Cam locks have two varieties: one is an exposed cam lock that uses rotating locks to secure the construction and the other one is a hidden assembly that combines the use of pegs and rotating locks for a more secure design. Both systems are simple to use, which makes it a great option for a novice DIYer or an experienced carpenter.