Expert: Jamie Yocono - 10/23/2006

Question
We are in the process of having our kitchen redone and had discussed with the contractor using maple (to be stained coffe-brown) for the kitchen cabinets.  The contractor came back and suggested using birch instead for the same price.  We are not very familiar with wood types and wanted to understand about birch and whether we should expect the price to be somewhat cheaper.
Thanks for your help.
David

Answer
Hi David,

Is your contractor a used car salesman, as well?  :)  

OK, I'm joking, but surely he must be kidding, telling you that he'll sell you Birch cabinets for the same price as Maple. Your question is a good one, because YES, YES, YES, Birch should absolutely be cheaper than Maple.

Every month, I receive about a half dozen trade magazines about various aspects of woodworking. One of the big ones- Custom Woodworking Business (CWB, for short)- has a chart about various wood prices. See, wood is a commodity, and the price varies from month to month, and disaster to disaster. Prices fluctuate with supply and demand.

But I just looked at a couple of old price lists (from lumber yards, as well as CWB) and I see that Birch normally sells for about 3/4's the price of Maple. So if I am buying Maple at $5 a board foot, Birch is probably running about $3.75 a board foot. I'm rounding it off to 75%, but it fluctuated from 70-80% of the cost of Maple.

Now that doesn't translate into your cabinets being 25% cheaper. The costs are fixed for much of the cabinet, like hardware, plywood, etc. But the doors, face frame (if applicable) or edgebanding is where the wood specie will show. So the cost of your cabinet should be somewhat cheaper, not a whole 25% cheaper.

There are a lot of places you can go to learn about wood, and certainly websites about cabinets. I'm not sure how in-depth you want me to go, but if you're interested, here's a link to a lumberyard website:  

http://www.kencraftcompany.com/HDWDPL.HTM

The prices this site shows are for a board foot, which is how wood is priced. I can't say for sure how much board footage is needed for an individual cabinet.

Anyway, here's a funny thought. You should go to a different contractor, ask for a price quote with your cabinets to be made in Birch. Then when you get the price, ask if they'll do Maple, instead, for that same price. I think the contractor will look at you like you're insane, since Maple is more expensive. My point is.... don't let the first guy get away with saying he can get you Birch for the same price.

Jeesh! Some people!  


OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this.  And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com