The TRUTH About Ready-To-Assemble Kitchens Online

[@billvojtech5686]

I'm kind of surprised you didn't include Ikea. I bought an Ikea kitchen when they were discontinuing their old line and got a good deal. I've had it for about 7 years and it's holding up just fine.

[@MTKDofficial]

I only wanted to include online brands. I have done other videos comparing ikea. I may do a similar video however as you are not the only person to mention this.

[@billvojtech5686]

@@MTKDofficial Ikea has changed since I last looked. Last time you could easily access all the different cabinet sizes and order them online. Now they push you to the store or an online consultation.

[@DavidBugea]

As I’m shopping for cabinets to remodel my 50-year-old kitchen, it amazes me how attitudes have changed towards the expected lifespan of cabinets. Some cabinets - including those installed in new homes - seem like they’re intended to be replaced as frequently as a cheap sofa.

[@Dros34]

We just installed the Hampton Bay Avondale Cabinets. We are so impressed at the quality of these things. Beautiful finish, material and hardware all was excellent. Would definitely buy them again and plan to use these cabinets anytime I need a cabinet somewhere.

[@JenniferKucharski]

This has been super helpful for me as I’ve been looking at RTA companies but didn’t know what to look for specifically. Always nice to have that “insider” perspective. This is a great baseline for me to compare against as I’m shopping.

[@MTKDofficial]

Hey Jennifer! Super glad it was helpful! Thanks for sharing.

[@Cannazar7979]

Thank you so much, Mark. This is really helpful. If someone asked me what RTA options were out there, my only response would have been IKEA. I’ll be checking out the companies you highlighted in the video.

[@MTKDofficial]

Cool. Thanks so much. I’m really glad the video was helpful.

[@cleanitup_pls7893]

Bought from Buy Wholesale Cabinets out of Texas. Made in Vietnam and Thailand. Quality is great and shipping was perfect. Assembly was fine after taking my time on the first and studying the joins. 13 boxes about 3500 including some accessories and filler.

[@thehonestman26]

Hey Mark, I'm actually glad you mentioned other companies besides Ikea this time. For those wondering about Ikea cabinets, he has a ton of videos involving them. Just give them a quick search, and you will find plenty. I'm looking at RTA cabinets myself. The one thing that I do like about the Ikea cabinets that I don't seem to find elsewhere is all the neat compartments, (drawers within drawers), and accessories, etc. I just wish they had an option to buy better quality doors, as their doors look "cheap" to me, and I agree I would never use the word "cheap" for my products. My dad taught me growing up that "inexpensive" refers to less money, where cheap refers to quality. That usage seems to have gone away, and that's too bad as it has confused the ease of explanation for people.

[@keradee8742]

Thanks fo the information Mark as I'm leaning towards RTAs. The title made me wonder if you were talking about cheap price or cheap quality. Nicely done.

[@MTKDofficial]

Hey thanks!! Glad it was helpful. There are so many options out there!

[@teri-joscott8279]

Thank you so much for this Mark!! The cabinets I was looking at (they were recommended to me) are a bit difficult to price out--they want you to go to a dealer--but I know they are quite a bit more expensive than some of the options you highlighted. I have to say that I am surprised the options you chose all have plywood boxes. That is a non-negotiable for me. This is such valuable information --I can't even express!! I got tunnel vision on the cabinets and didn't even really look at other options. Now maybe I can afford the countertops to go on the cabinets!!🤪 How awesome is that!?!

[@MTKDofficial]

Haha. Awesome. Well, I am really glad this video was helpful. There are so many options out there. I appreciate the comment.

[@jordyjustine]

This is a super valuable video, maybe you could make the concept a mini series.

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks so much. There are many brands to look at, and I think doing another like this is a good idea too. Glad you liked it!

[@noahhobson3774]

Ur cheapest bet is homedepot Soft close everything undermount glides - ply wood That same layout would run like 4-6k And shipping is free considering they bring in way more items on truck loads

[@agirlnamedgoo-007]

That's so good to kno!

[@ps4402]

Very informative. If there is interest, we are looking at two European RTA companies, FORM Kitchens and Reform Kitchens. They both have more of a modern European look.

[@MTKDofficial]

I’ve heard of both and I think I’ll do a similar video comparing those brands as well.

[@jaketheauroran]

It's a good, informative video, but the one thing I would have done is compare the cabinets not just to each other, but to a pre-assembled cabinet site. You can't know if RTA cabinets are a good value if you don't know how much the other options are. Would $7500 in RTA be $8k of preassembled cabinets, or $20k?

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind when I do another one of these comparisons. I think you are right.

[@ryansoo4000]

Do it again! How about Barker Cabinets and three others? Ikea, perhaps?

[@MTKDofficial]

Yeah! IKEA has come up a few times. I think I will do another like this.

[@davidecasassa8679]

I second Barker. They are commendably open about their construction specs, which are excellent IMO. That comes at a price, of course.

[@michaellogan8359]

I built a Barker kitchen a couple of years ago and was very impressed with the quality. I think they are in a slightly different category than the companies in this video, though: they build to order (if I recall correctly) with a substantial lead time.

[@davidecasassa8679]

@@michaellogan8359 Yes - you can specify H/W/D dimensions within 1/4" to fit your space. Current lead time is quoted at ~10 weeks. They have a good range of wood species, fillers and moldings. Perhaps their weakest area is the limited choice of finishes, assuming you aren't budgeting for a professional custom paint job from a third party.

[@Caeric77]

Thank you for this review! By the way, this prompted me to look at the websites and I found the KCMA certification on the website for The RTA Store. I still haven't made the decision to move ahead with my remodel due to the cost, as I was holding out for a more premium (3/4") cabinet, rather than the cheaper 1/2" that was offered by my local contractor to reduce the cost. I *think* that the cheaper one offered (made by Fabuwood) is exactly the same as one of the styles offered by The RTA Store - at least the look and the specs are the same.

[@MTKDofficial]

That’s cool. I’m glad to hear they have the cert. and I agree a 3/4 box is probably a better way to go. But overall I think 1/2 does the trick. As long as it’s plywood.

[@jewelofwisdom8279]

@Caeric77 did you find a company to go with and are you pleased? I ask because I’m on the fence with fabuwood. Thanks!

[@Caeric77]

@@jewelofwisdom8279 Unfortunately, I haven't been able to afford the remodel yet, and I'm not sure when that time will come. I wish you good luck, no matter what decision you make about fabuwood!

[@jewelofwisdom8279]

@@Caeric77 yes, the prices put in these streets is indeed daunting…to say the least! Take your time and do your research and you should do well.

[@LeslieRiddell-n7p]

I was also hoping you included IKEA - very curious. Thank you again - great videos - been watching them like crazy and I appreciate all the information Mark!

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks so much. I may include IKEA in another similar video, but I wanted to highlight these online companies.

[@stephenbrickwood1602]

Excellent perspective 👏 👌 👍.

[@clara0hernandez]

Unfortunately the Cdn option falls way short of the online offerings from the US, a country that understands & values consumers, knows that information is not only king but inspires trust & promotes sales.

[@helendorning4450]

I considered RTA in Australia but custom was only 20% more so I went totally custom. Result = perfect.

[@luzy]

Thanks this was very helpful!!

[@maysasaber8960]

Check out lilyann cabinets all plywood boxes too

[@MTKDofficial]

Cool. Thanks for letting me know.

[@ellen8996]

This is one of the companies I was following. They had constant sales on different styles, but the available cabinets in those lines were always so limited as to not be able to build a kitchen that would function in my space. They carried the cabinets I needed, but never in the lines that were "on sale" that month.

[@KaleyHenry-b6i]

Are these prices in CAD or USD?

[@davidecasassa8679]

While I haven't surveyed the industry, I've noticed that several prominent online cabinet suppliers have list prices that are essentially a formality (to put it in polite terms). They advertise massively discounted "sales" several times a month, so it's pretty clear that nobody who is paying attention is coughing up the list price. More troubling is the lack of transparency and/or accuracy in construction details, which you encountered in a couple of cases. I've seen one site that diagrammed their boxes as having nice beefy plywood stretchers, which is great. But then I saw some customers' videos of their unboxing the same brand of cabinet, in which there were no such stretchers, just puny plastic or wooden corner braces. Hard to know what to trust after seeing that.

[@ellen8996]

And one cabinet company I checked has constant "sales" but the cabinets available in those styles are so limited that almost anyone is going to end up paying full price or going elsewhere to get the sizes and styles of cabinets they need/want/

[@whytedad164]

I am just starting my research on cabinets. I thought 100 percent wood doors and drawers was the best quality for cabinets? None of these were in this category??

[@peashey]

Try giving cabinets2you a call. They have great quality wood cabinets for half the price of other places!

[@MTKDofficial]

Most RTA companies have a mixture of particle board, MDF and plywood.

[@MrStardustt]

Thank you for this video

[@Sazonman]

He's actually sponsored, they allllll say that...yeahhhh right

[@darlene19668]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@YESITSWILL]

This was pretty useless. A 30 second video with links in the description would have yielded the same info.