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Is anyone aware of RTA cabinets made here in the USA?
When I Goggle, I seem to see the same cabinets. I assume they are made in China.
Also, if anyone has had personal experience with this type of remodel, I'd appreciate hearing about it. I'm sorta at wits end.
I'm trying to figure out if KraftMaid makes some line of their cabinets exclusively for Lowe's. The cabinets names there are different than at other dealers. Also, they seem to be much more expensive. That confuses me since you'd think they would have quantity buying power.
The basic box of an Ikea kitchen cabinet is made in the USA nowadays. Building a factory here made was cheaper than having to ship them in from Europe.
The other components are not ... doors/drawer fronts, depending on style, originate from Italy, France, Spain, Czech, Belgium, Hungary, China, Poland, or Slovakia. The hinges and drawer boxes are Blum products and made in Austria. The mounting rail is from Lithuania.
Indeed, many RTA cabinets are from China nowadays. "No particle board" is a good giveaway ... and a reason to the issues with them warping. PB is dimensionally more stable than plywood.
As well as the economics of foreign manufacture, I'm concerned about the formaldehyde issue. If it's in the wall board, I assume it would be in kitchen cabinets as well.
Yeah, Nafcake, I think that 'no particle board' is the marker. I've been told that veneer actually hold it's shape better than solid wood. True? I certainly don't know.
Mills Pride are made in the USA and are RTAs. Good luck finding them as Home Depot lost their exclusive right to sell them. I do believe there is one more brand RTA made in the USA but I just can not think of it.
Whatever you do, DO NOT buy those formaldehyde and sulfer infested Chinese made cabinets. Your families health will be at great risk.
Why do you want RTA anyway? I can steer you to the right place. But that place will never be the big box stores who charge full list price. Buying power you say? Huh!! Yea they have buying power but do not pass it on to the consumer. You would not pay list price - MSRP - sticker price for your new car so why pay it for cabinets?
IKEA is not American made by any stretch. They are basicly the same junk as the Chinese made boxes but just not a cancer or asthma risk to put in your home.
Keep in mind that RTA lines of cabinets have very limited sizes and options. You might not find such items as a lazy susan or pot drawer bases.
As well as the economics of foreign manufacture, I'm concerned about the formaldehyde issue. If it's in the wall board, I assume it would be in kitchen cabinets as well.
Yeah, Nafcake, I think that 'no particle board' is the marker. I've been told that veneer actually hold it's shape better than solid wood. True? I certainly don't know.
It is true that veneer over particle board does remain flat and true for a thousand years. Plywood does not. Do not let the words "solid wood" spoken by a cabinet man mean plywood to you. Plywood is NOT solid wood. Solid wood is solid stock board feet right from the tree and cut to nominal marketable size.
Using the term "all wood" to include plywood is the worst kind of uneducated snobbery designed to force consumers into "upgrading" unnecessarily. Partical board isn't any less "all wood" than plywood is! It's just smaller particals (thus the origination of the name) VS very thin sheets of veneers.
In a flood situation, plywood is NOT any more resistant to moisture damage than partical board is. Some grades of plywood delaminate quite easily. It's all about the grade of each product and the glues that hold it together. The furniture board partical board plywood isn't the 16 PSI that those round "decorator tables" that you buy from WalMart are made of. That type of partical board DOES fall apart almost instantly when exposed to water. Furniture board partical board is made from much better glues and uses much higher pressures nd to set it. It's so much more "all wood" than plywood is that it is a LOT heavier than plywood!
Hey, desertsun41! I was looking for you on another thread in this forum. I was reading some of your posts about kitchen cabinets.
We have the whole house gutted here. Major remodel....but it's a small house. You know how that goes. 3x more time than planned, and 4x more $$ than expected.
We were thinking that RTA would be less expensive, and we have the skill and time to use them. However, I'm not happy with where they come from and the health risks involved.
Are all tall cabinets for ovens/microwaves insulated for a self-cleaning oven temperature? That's another concern.
I went to a local kitchen place, got a price and design, but the guy made several errors with measurements. He didn't seem real anxious to do a supply only, and didn't put much effort into what I need. His price for KraftMaid was much less than a KraftMaid (same cabinets) supply only at Lowe's.....by 2,000 - 3,000 $$. If he was more on the ball, I would stick with him. As it is, I'm movin' on.
This is a 20yo beach house in southern DE. (19970) Any suggestions where else to look? I have an appointment with Just Cabinets tomorrow.
If I recall, you are a Merilat fan. I'm open to other suggestions. I guess I'm spoiled. We used to live where they make Yorktown Kitchens, and they had a great outlet store locally. I thought I'd just go there and snap up what I needed. I think the outlet store is gone. I can't find it.
That'll be news to me that Virginia just succeeded from the Union. For over a year now, they've been making the kitchen cabinet boxes, along with other furniture lines, in Danville, VA, USA.
Hey, desertsun41! I was looking for you on another thread in this forum. I was reading some of your posts about kitchen cabinets.
We have the whole house gutted here. Major remodel....but it's a small house. You know how that goes. 3x more time than planned, and 4x more $$ than expected.
We were thinking that RTA would be less expensive, and we have the skill and time to use them. However, I'm not happy with where they come from and the health risks involved.
Are all tall cabinets for ovens/microwaves insulated for a self-cleaning oven temperature? That's another concern.
I went to a local kitchen place, got a price and design, but the guy made several errors with measurements. He didn't seem real anxious to do a supply only, and didn't put much effort into what I need. His price for KraftMaid was much less than a KraftMaid (same cabinets) supply only at Lowe's.....by 2,000 - 3,000 $$. If he was more on the ball, I would stick with him. As it is, I'm movin' on.
This is a 20yo beach house in southern DE. (19970) Any suggestions where else to look? I have an appointment with Just Cabinets tomorrow.
If I recall, you are a Merilat fan. I'm open to other suggestions. I guess I'm spoiled. We used to live where they make Yorktown Kitchens, and they had a great outlet store locally. I thought I'd just go there and snap up what I needed. I think the outlet store is gone. I can't find it.
RTA is a bit less money but not because of the reasons you might think. It cost less because they are made in China. Any high school science major can tell you that formaldehyde disolves glue. Now think about those formaldehyde infested Chinese made cabinets, now what do you think will happen in short time? Just dont put anything valuble in those cabinets because when they come crashing down........................
There is no such thing as an insulated oven cabinet. An oven micro combo tall cabinet will have sufficient space already built in. Only think I have to tell you that few people know is when you set the oven floor in that tall cabinet you MUST cut about an 8" x 8" hole in the center of that floor or the oven warranty will be void. In 30 years I only met 3 cabinet professionals who knew this.
I always tell people to go to small kitchen showrooms so it upsets me that you had a bad experience in one. I say try again. Go try Reico Kitchen and Bath in Wilmington. They carry Merillat. go see the nice Designer with the long pretty red hair. Hope she is still there.
I also know Just Cabinets intimatly. I suspect you are going to the Village Shopping Center but they have a store in Wilmington too. They know their stuff and always sell for 50% or more off list price every day to every one. If Kraftmaid dont thrill you then take a look at Quality Cabinets. It's another company owned by Masco just as Merillat and Kraftmaid. It's less costly too !!! Sheesh, dont tell anyone.
I didn't know that about Yorktown. Most cabinet manufacturers have closed major plants because of the economic depression.
As well as the economics of foreign manufacture, I'm concerned about the formaldehyde issue. If it's in the wall board, I assume it would be in kitchen cabinets as well.
Yeah, Nafcake, I think that 'no particle board' is the marker. I've been told that veneer actually hold it's shape better than solid wood. True? I certainly don't know.
I found a kitchen place that my LL uses, but it is a Chinese Company, the cabinets are not expensive and I was thinking of using them, but I too, am concerned about the formaldehyde and sulfur thing.
Question is, How do I know if those chemicals are in the cabinets, would it be because it is comming from China?
I found a kitchen place that my LL uses, but it is a Chinese Company, the cabinets are not expensive and I was thinking of using them, but I too, am concerned about the formaldehyde and sulfur thing.
Question is, How do I know if those chemicals are in the cabinets, would it be because it is comming from China?
Nightcrawler, if the place you found is advertising a whole all wood cherry kitchen for $995 does that raise some red flags that there is something wrong?
China steals the trees they use for the production of cabinets as well as all other furniture products. Due to a bureaucratic disaster created in a treaty from back in the 1940s, this allows them to afford to sell their product so cheap. China owns a large forest inside of Russia called Suifenhe which they owned since the 1940s. All the outgoing trains leave Suifenhe with just one valuable commodity.... wood, and lots of it. No machinery is used in harvesting these trees.
6 Chinese peasants each carry a log to the train to ship to a China mill. In the factories they have huge CNC machines that cut out all the componants that make up the various sized cabinet boxes. When one buys a cabinet they come in a box of pieces that the consumer has to assemble at home. These are called RTAs (ready to assemble). This is not a strong box. Cam locks hold the box together. This and the labor paid to Chinese peasants who make these parts is laughable and allows China to sell cabinets so cheap.
Here is why Chinese cabinets are very bad:
1. The 5 ply panel stock is weak and delaminates in under 3 years. Formaldehyde weakens any glue and they use plenty of this dangerous toxin when manufacturing their plywood.
2.The finish almost looks like the cabinets were used. The finish appears dull and thin.
3. They do not use hardening agents in their clear coat. Hardening agents also allow the finish to dry instantly preventing dust to settle on the finish. You could scratch their doors with your finger nail.
4. The drawer guides are stamped a light guage white metal, not steel and are of such low quality that it is common to see the drawer collapse under just 15 pounds. Any American cabinet company uses Blum or Grass guides and their drawers are rated at 75 to 125 pounds.
5. You will never ever see a warranty on a Chinese cabinet. Little known to the consumer, say you scratch a door 3 months after your new kitchen is installed, with most domestic manufactures you can call up your cabinet supplier and order just the replacement door you need. With Chinese suppliers you have to reorder THE ENTIRE CABINET!! Make sure you ask your supplier about this and if they say you can actually get the part you need without ordering THE ENTIRE CABINET be sure to get that fact in writing!
Another warranty item to consider is that with all the regulatory issues and other nonsense going on with Chinese wood, many of the manufactures are looking to move their operations to other countries, this presents two big warranty problems #1 there is a high probability that the manufacturer will not be around in a year or two when you need the replacement part, and #2 changing wood and manufacturing plants will cause consistency issues with the finish and color, so your Mocha Java Glaze might look more like a Mochafrapuchino Java Glaze when the replacement part comes in!
Do not be tempted by the price. Your families health is at risk.
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would it be because it is comming from China?
