Expert: Jamie Yocono - 2/19/2008

Question
I just bought a house and wanted to do a whole new kitchen.
1. What books would you recommend for a beginner?  That has a lot of steps with pictures and details.  I'm pretty good with my hands.  Sometime instructions can not explain what a picture can.  I plan to do a new floor, some rewiring and install new cabinets along with appliances.  I thought about going with a hardwood floor to match with the rest of the house instead of tiles that people ususally go with.
2.  Which way is cheaper, buy pre-fab parts and do the assembly myself or make my own?  I thought making my own would be cheaper if I had a router, table saw and few tools and very good books to guide me thru it.
I'd appreciate any advise.
Thanks,

Answer
Hey Sean,

Ah, the elusive question for most woodworkers... is it better to build kitchen cabinets, or buy the components. I've gotten that question here more than a few times.

Since I've answered the part about books so many times, I am going to cut and paste part of my answer here:

Although making kitchen cabinets is a difficult undertaking, it's certainly a project that is doable for people who have basic tools and some skills. There are 2 books that I consider to be the best on this subject, and I recommend that you try to find a copy of each one. I have seen them on eBay, so perhaps you can save some money and buy them there if you can't find them at your local Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Basically, there are 2 kinds of kitchen cabinets, face frame cabinetry and frame-less cabinetry. The face frame cabinets are the traditional cabinets what have a 1 x 2 face frame that is applied to the plywood box of a cabinet. Frameless are more modern and do not have 1 x 2 frames. They use a better hinge than traditional cabinets. The hinges are fully adjustable, which is often a problem area for traditional cabinets.

Anyway, the 2 books that I recommend are books on each different style of cabinetry.  The first is Making Kitchen Cabinets by Paul Levine. His book discusses building frameless cabinets, and there is some excellent information on countertops, drawers, doors and hardware. He even made a video to go along with his book. When I was just getting into kitchen cabinets, I studied his method and built several. In fact, I would still use his method. It's smart, simple, and pretty much dummy-proof.

The second book to check out is the book on traditional cabinetry. It's a very valuable book, if that is the style cabinet you wish to build. The book is
Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets (Layout, materials, construction, and installation) by Jere Cary.

This book tells you in clear, straightforward language everything you need to know to custom-build your own kitchen cabinets -- even if you've never tried a large-scale project before. You'll learn about preparing material estimates and cutting lists, buying wood and hardware, cutting and assembling the parts of each cabinet, and finishing the final piece. Nothing is left out, from laying out the cabinets to installing them in your kitchen.

My choice for the better of the two books is Paul Levine's book. His style is simple, versatile, and you can build his designs with a minimum of tools. The design is modern looking and easy to customize.  Both books are published by Taunton Press, which is the home of Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking magazines.

Something else to think about- both of these magazines publish articles about kitchen cabinet making on a regular basis. You might want to do a search their index online and read some of their older articles. I find their pieces extremely helpful.

OK, finally to your question - is it better to build cabinets yourself, or buy the components? I am really mixed about this, but I've come to the conclusion it's better to buy all the components and assemble them.  I highly recommend that you look at a company called CabParts out of Colorado. They offer a lot of choices in cabinet box styles, drawers, doors, woods, etc. Their website is www.cabparts.com.

Next, depending on what side of the country you live on, look for a door manufacturer in your area. Because shipping is expensive, you'll want to use one that's close to you. I use California Door Co (www.caldoor.com), and highly recommend them, but I've also used a couple of door companies (from Ohio and PA) when I lived in Ohio.

The bottom line is- I simply can't make them better, for that price. Yes, they're particle board with a melamine face, but they are edged in solid wood, and sturdy really well made. You have so many choices when ordering them, it's amazing. Need veneer on one side? A stack of 3, 4 or 5 drawers? A stacked double oven? No problem.

One last thing- I just helped a friend with a kitchen. She was quoted $22,000 for an installed kitchen from one of the major hardware stores out there. I ended up ordering all the cabinets, hardware and doors/drawer faces for her from the companies I mentioned above. The total for the materials was around $9000. If you're installing them yourself, you're going to save a TON of money.

Write back if you need more info, this is getting long, and I don't want to overload you. Good luck, kitchens are pretty simple projects if you think them through thoroughly. It sounds like you know what you're doing, you should be fine.

Jamie Yocono
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV