Stock vs Custom Kitchen Cabinets

How do you choose between stock and custom cabinets? What factors should you consider other than cost?

Stock cabinets are mass produced, easy to find, cheaper, and have a short wait from the day you order to actual delivery. You can get them at major hardware stores such as Menards, Home Depot and Lowes. The most basic pieces are carried in stock so you can take them home immediately. Some people would say you sacrifice a lot of quality by getting stock cabinets, but it all depends on what you can afford, where the cabinets are needed and the look you're trying to achieve. Don't forget, the reference to "cheaper" is relative, its still overall cheaper to do cabinet refacing. Stock cabinets generally have hardwood fronts with particleboard sides to cut down on the expense. Often homeowners will get the cabinet ends in hardwood also as its the visible side of a bank of cabinets.

Custom cabinets are made to fit your specific kitchen layout. They give you the most room for choice as you can get anything you want. Oddly shaped rooms almost demand at least one custom piece just to make the cabinet layout fit. The custom work is done by local cabinet makers, specialists who are skilled craftsman. Quality is the name of the game and the cost goes up accordingly. With a local cabinet maker you can be picky about wood grains, color and finish, whereas stock cabinets have a small selection of choices with little to no customizing.

Custom kitchen cabinets are purchased by the wealthy who's primary goal is 100% authentic and original cabinetry. You could easily spend months working closely with your cabinet maker fine tuning every little detail. As a rule you know that custom built cabinets will tend to last longer and be more durable than off the shelf store cabinets.

Stock cabinets are typically made of particleboard, at least partially if not entirely. Custom cabinets are generally all hardwood, although you can request less expensive materials such as particleboard, MDF and plywood (usually for the pieces that aren't visible such as the back and interior sides).

If you're in the market for new kitchen cabinets we advise that you investigate all your options. Even if you're on a tight budget its not fair to assume that you can't afford custom cabinetry. Your local craftsmen may surprise you with how competitive they can be. The local market as well as the price of wood will play into the factors of cost, availability and time to delivery. Get estimates from several sources and make your decision based on more than one option. It helps if you have a layout in mind, but pretty much all stores and cabinet makers will help you design a layout based on your measurements. If you're unsure how to measure (don't mess that up!) then you can have someone come out a measure for you, often for free, as part of the estimate process.