How to buy stock and custom wood cabinets

Cabinets & Environmental and health questions

Pay attention to the environmental side of home cabinets. Do not contribute to forest destruction buying cabinets made of wood originated in forests with non sustainable management. Prefer cabinets made of environmentally friendly materials: cabinets made of FSC-certified wood are a good option.

Take into account the materials used in the cabinets construction. Wood, sawdust, bamboo or straw are good alternatives to pressed wood materials (particleboard, MDF…), often involving formaldehyde-based resins that are hazardous and a cause of cancer and respiratory disorders.

See, for details: Certified FSC Wood and Cabinets and Environment


Look for top and reputable manufacturers

Reputable manufacturers will back their cabinets - either custom or stock - with solid warranties, and are a guarantee of quality. Look also for manufacturers offering cabinets based on environmental practices.

See, on this issue: Cabinet Manufacturers

The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association Seal

Cabinets with the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) seal offer an extended guarantee of quality.

The KCMA has established a set of quality standards and tests covering the several levels of the cabinet's construction: hinges, doors, corner bracing, finishing details, etc.  If a manufacturer wants the KCMA certification, it has to subject their cabinets to the KCMA tests…

KCMA also provide the Environmental Stewardship Program certification and the correspondent seal, attesting a sound environmental management and forest sustainable practices.

See, for more information: Cabinet Manufacturers


Examine Cabinet Construction and Quality

Be careful when checking stock cabinet quality and their eventual flaws. A good starting point when checking quality, is the drawers. See how they extend and how they are constructed. Study the details of inner surfaces, the fitting of the pieces, how well drawers glide and the quality of the runners. If they are of poor quality, beware.

The cabinet doors are other good element for studying the quality of cabinets. The edges, the hinges, the way they fit and act are major hallmarks of quality or non-quality.

Pay also special attention to the finishings. Finish layers are particularly important – and should be thick and shouldn't dull or yellow with age.

Professional support for custom cabinets

Some of the bigger manufacturers and stores – the Home Depot, IKEA or Lowe’s... - offer representatives that may visit your home, confirm measurements and discuss options and configurations for stock, semi-custom and custom cabinet models.

They use computer-generated solutions to design the cabinets, and installers to verify the plans before the cabinet construction. The final installation is also insured by their professionals

Professional advising

You may look for a professional cabinet design. A good one will offer ideas, and help you find design solutions either for custom or stock cabinets. There are many aspects that may reflect your personal style and preferences, or that depends on your house characteristics or the way the kitchen opens into the adjacent rooms, but there are also many arrangements and solutions that may be suggested by professionals.

Cabinet warranty

Ask for cabinet warranties: the number of years the warranty covers and the parts of the cabinets the warranty applies to.

Five years limited warranty on cabinets are very common. But there are also some manufacturers offering a wider warranty: 10 years or even 25 years or a limited lifetime warranty.

Sometimes, the warranty varies with the product lines. The same manufacturer offer different warranties for different products with different qualities.

Anyway, the most important is not just the number of years. It’s also the parts of the cabinets covered by the warranty.

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