Are you thinking of purchasing cabinets? Purchasing cabinets online is a convenient alternative to in-person shopping. Ready to assemble cabinets or RTA cabinets allow for quality products at a lower price. There are many reasons why online stores that sell RTA cabinets can provide better deals, one reason being that RTA cabinets are not preassembled. This allows RTA cabinets to take up less space and leads to lower shipping costs. Online stores also do not have to deal with the additional business costs that physical stores do, such as store upkeep and staff.
However, it can be easy to focus too much on price over quality or purchase the wrong type of cabinetry based on their photos. Here are some of the most common mistakes online shoppers make, and how you can avoid them.
1. Buying Particleboard
When shopping for cabinets, the last thing you want your cabinet to be made out of is particleboard. Particleboard is compressed sawdust that is held together by glue and other binding agents. This is problematic as it results in the board being structurally weak and not dense. A board that is not dense has gaps in it and does not become very smooth when sanded.
In addition to the structural problems, particleboard is not good at holding screws and does not interact well with moisture. When exposed to moisture, particleboard swells and will eventually disintegrate. This makes particleboard a bad choice for kitchen cabinets or bathroom cabinets, as those tend to have a lot of moisture. When online shopping, avoid buying cabinets with particleboard listed as a building material.
2. Choosing MDF and HDF
MDF, medium-density fiberboard, and HDF, high-density fiberboard, are similar in some ways to particleboard, but they are of better quality. Like particleboard, MDF and HDF are made of very fine particles that undergo a more intense bonding process. These boards are then more dense than particleboard and sand very smoothly.
While MDF and HDF are less expensive than solid wood and are of better quality than particleboard, they do have some disadvantages. Like particleboard, MDF and HDF don’t hold screws well and absorb water. These boards also don’t stain well. Not only do they absorb the stain like water and swell, but they also don’t have any wood grain pattern, so there is no reason to stain in the first place. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as these boards would be fine when painted. It is wise to weigh the pros and cons of MDF or HDF before deciding if these boards are the right material for your cabinets.
3. Choosing the Wrong Color
Looking at a picture of a product may not give an accurate representation of what the product looks like in real life. Different monitors or screens will make the same product look different, which could result in a drastically different color than what is desired. To prevent this, look at the same product on multiple screens with the same brightness to get the best idea of the true color of the product. We recommend checking at least one mobile screen and one desktop or laptop monitor.
4. Not Considering Customer Service
When online shopping, problems may arise with the product. This is where customer service comes in handy. But if the customer service is slow or not helpful, this could make your online shopping experience frustrating. It is a good idea to get a sense of what a company’s customer service is like before purchasing from the company. Be especially aware of the company’s return policy. This way, you don’t end up with a headache from bad customer service on top of receiving a bad product.
5. Ignoring Your Instincts
With everything in life, sometimes the best advice is to trust your gut. If something seems too good to be true, it just might be. This is especially true for online shopping. When online shopping, it is in your best interest to think critically and use techniques that will lead to the most stress-free online shopping experience. One way to ensure a pleasant online cabinet shopping experience is to shop with a trusted business that provides quality products like National K&B Cabinetry.
Choose Quality Wholesale RTA Cabinetry
Online shopping can be an enjoyable experience when you are armed with the proper knowledge. Knowing what to expect from products and how to adjust to a virtual shopping experience helps make the shopping process go smoothly.
When shopping for cabinets, National K&B Cabinetry has high-quality products for reasonable prices — and with excellent customer service! Contact us today to learn more about how you could save time and money with an RTA cabinet.
The high quality, beautiful design, and fast turnaround of ready to assemble cabinets makes them an easy choice for contractors who are building or renovating kitchen cabinetry or bathroom cabinets.
RTA cabinets are also conveniently sized in standard heights, depths and widths to make selection even easier, as nearly all manufacturers follow these sizing guidelines. Contractors can read ahead to learn what are the standard sizes for base, wall, and kitchen island cabinetry
Base Cabinets
Base cabinets are used to house sinks, surround dishwashers and oven ranges, and store much of the larger kitchen items like small appliances or pots and pans. For bathroom cabinets, base cabinets are the foundation for what most people refer to as a “vanity.” Standard dimensions for base cabinets are as follows:
Height – Due to generally accepted design practices and building codes, which demand that their height must be accessible, base cabinets are typically 34.5 inches tall without the countertop and around 35-36 inches with it.
Depth – Depth is measured beginning at the outer edge of the cabinet and ending at the wall. The standard depth is 24 inches – any deeper and it would be difficult to reach in and retrieve items. For smaller kitchens, there are base cabinets that have a depth of only 12 inches.
Width – You’ll see the most variance in width dimensions, as width should depend on how the cabinet will be used. Widths range from 9-46 inches (in 3-inch increments). Here are some examples for cabinet uses and recommend width dimensions:
For pull-out drawers, rolling racks, or baking pan storage – 9, 12, 18 or 24 inches
Single basin sink – 30 inches
Double basin sink – 33-36 inches
For a lazy susan – 42 inches, which is the largest width size.
Wall Cabinets
Wall cabinets store food, dishes, glasses, and lighter kitchen tools. These kitchen or bathroom cabinets are attached to the walls with screws and studs. They can also be suspended from the ceiling if they’re placed about an island or peninsula, in which case they are attached to soffits. Standard dimension for most wall cabinets are shown below:
Height – Height can only be as tall as the space between the countertop and the ceiling.
Heights are typically 12, 36, or 42 inches tall.
If the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, a 48-inch cabinet height usually works.
Where the cabinets are enclosed by soffits, the standard wall cabinet height is 30 or 36 inches tall.
For cabinets above a refrigerator, the standard height is either 12 or 15 inches.
Depth – Because wall cabinet depth can’t exceed base cabinet depth, the maximum depth is 24 inches. But since a homeowner typically wishes to have more workable counter space, a shallow wall cabinet would allow for less obstruction. For that reason, most wall cabinets are 12 inches deep.
But for cabinets above microwave ovens, common depth range is 15-18 inches, and 24 inches above the refrigerator is standard.
Width – As with base cabinets, widths run in 3-inch increments, and the range is typically 9-36 inches (although sizes can extend up to 48 inches). The most common size is 30 inches for a double-door cabinet or single side cabinet.
Tall Cabinets
These cabinets are usually labeled as pantry or utility kitchen cabinets. Tall cabinets can sometimes run from the floor to the ceiling. Dimensions range as follows:
Height – Standard height for tall cabinetry is 84 or 96 inches tall, with the floor-to-ceiling cabinet measuring 96 inches.
Depth – For a pantry cabinet that likely stores a lot of canned goods, 12 inches is considered a good workable depth. For utility cabinets that may store brooms,mops, and appliances like a floor vacuum, 24 inches in width is a popular option.
Width – Tall cabinet widths range from 12-36 inches. Most homes find that 24 inches fits their needs, but if the homeowner wants pull-outs or storage on the cabinet door, they’ll need a wider cabinet.
Kitchen Island Cabinets
Height – Height should match that of base cabinets because of the need for accessibility.
Depth – If you plan to have two sets of back-to-back 24-inch-deep cabinets, the total depth of the island will be 48 inches. But if you’re going to install a breakfast bar, only 24 inches are needed.
The width of a kitchen island must be determined by how much space surrounds it, so that there’s a good flow in the room. Experts say that you should allow for 42-48 inches of unobstructed space around the island.
Wholesale Cabinetry and RTA Cabinets Near Me
Contractors can find the quality cabinetry they need at National Kitchen & Bath Cabinetry. We’re cabinet wholesalers that manufacture and stock semi-custom all-wood cabinets, built using the highest standards. You’ll be sure to find a style and finish to satisfy any customer’s needs in our 30,000-square-foot Austin showroom.
Not only do we stock products of exceptional quality, but they’re affordable too! We offer a limited lifetime warranty on our cabinetry and we even make design services available. To receive a quote, call us at (737) 777-0556 to learn more about how our cabinet wholesale operation can help your business.
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