Great quality cabinets, but not for a low budget project. They aren’t cheap Chinese, in quality or price. You won’t save nearly as much as you think you will if you have expectations of “budget”. If you have expectations of “discount high end” that’s more like it. You need a high medium to high budget project and a LOT of personal skill and involvement to make the numbers really work. If you are paying a contractor for anything, forget it. Just buy already assembled.

You also still need someone who understands Kitchen Design to create the overall design, and specify the cabinets and everything else. Unless you know all of the building codes, material properties, and best design practices.

I have pantry shelving in my home that I ordered from The Cabinet Joint. The sales folks are helpful, the product quality and order lead times were good and the shipment was easily tracked.

I agree with GreenDesigns that you won't save anything if you're paying to assemble and install them. I ordered RTA only because my custom cabinet maker was backed up (it was mostly with projects for my customers which I didn't want to interrupt.)

I have pantry shelving in my home that I ordered from The Cabinet Joint. The sales folks are helpful, the product quality and order lead times were good and the shipment was easily tracked.

I agree with GreenDesigns that you won't save anything if you're paying to assemble and install them. I ordered RTA only because my custom cabinet maker was backed up (it was mostly with projects for my customers which I didn't want to interrupt.)

I am waiting on the rough estimate from them based on a design drawn by a local architect. We will not be hiring anyone for the assembly or installation process - husband is very capable and we are actually doing the entire remodel (down to the studs) ourselves so I have no worries with that. Quality is what we are looking for and want the inset doors, dovetail drawers and full plywood boxes. Just hoping to save some $ over full retail for custom cabinetry. Glad to hear that both commenters felt the quality of their cabinets was good! Any other words of advice are greatly appreciated!

Junky Chinese manufactured sub assemblies that are just put together in America are NOT "American made". It's totally false advertising to claim that. The shame of that lie should cause you to delete your account, clickycabinets.

Then to SPAM a thread with that low quality import stuff too? Way to really shoot yourself in the foot and turn everyone off from ever buying that product. More jobs for Americans, yay!

I bought through the Cabinet Joint and had my GC assemble. I don't think it was a bad decision, but in hindsight would have researched more on similar quality, fully assembled cabinets with an experienced KD overseeing. There was definitely loss in design/ coordination/ accountability in the way I did things....maybe not as big a concern if you're doing the work yourself rather than hiring out.

I had worked with an independent KD to do a plan several years before my remodel, then once I'd finally saved enough money to do the project, I used CJ's KD to do the cabinet layout. I thought she'd be more experienced with Conestoga and most of the fee was covered by them. In hindsight I would have gone back to the original KD I'd worked with. I felt like I could have taken more advantage of the customization options, and maybe a more experienced KD could have identified those options. Also there was a major error in how the countertop was shown on the drawing. I'm not blaming the KD, because I'm not sure if it was even in her scope or my communication error or hers. But it was caught just in time before the countertop guy came to do the template, would have been $$$ to correct, and I think wouldn't have happened with a more full-service KD with 3D perspective drawings.

The post below was written about Barker, but considering that Conestoga is even more complicated (by far) and expensive than Barker, you should read it all. Value is about more than cost. Buying already assembled good quality from someone who knows what they are doing will be the least effort lowest cost way of achieving quality results. [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/barker-cabinets-kitchen-designer-layout-help-dsvw-vd~3032345[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/barker-cabinets-kitchen-designer-layout-help-dsvw-vd~3032345)

As for the fake American assembled stuff, I can’t even. It falls under the category of if you repeat a lie often enough, people start to believe you. Don’t believe that the sun shines at midnight either.

The post from Click is just spam.

I saw that thread about Barker vs already assembled price before I even started designing my kitchen. It didn't apply to me at all at least where I live. YMMV.

Conestoga (through their dealers) and Barker quotes where much much cheaper than everywhere else I got quotes from, and I got 6 others ranging from Kemper, kraftmaid, Bertch, Brookhaven, Woodmode & P&F. But yes, you have to do a lot of work. Even if you subcontract the assembly and installation, I'd recommend to be present so they don't screw up. You know your kitchen better than anyone.

When they quoted just boxes it was expensive, but once I started adding all the side panels and pilaster posts, and overhang apron, blind corner and trash pullouts the price would shoot up way more. No thanks. In the most expensive brands I wouldn't even quote the bells and whistles because just bare bones it was 30K+ on cabinets alone.

We are currently in the process of decided who/what/where to redo our kitchen. We've been to 4 different kitchen/cabinet design places, with prices ranging from $29k - $42k for just cabinets (and before you sit down with bells and whistles). We got a quick free quote from CJ and it's in the $13-$14k ball park. They've been very helpful with any questions before asking for any upfront money. About additional costs, suggested designs based upon what we want (like how much extra is it to get matching interior, etc.)

We have gotten multiple of free designs from the other kitchen places, but the quick free one from CJ. Plus looking at houzz pictures, have a good idea of what we want. The decision is do we want to do this ourselves or have someone else do it (and probably pay 100+% more).

I have done some DIY built-in cabinetry that came out pretty decent (with just a $70 circular saw and $99 mitre saw), so I would think I'm handy. We'll see where we go.

Plus we have expensive tastes in appliances. :)

kitchredo 99 - it sounds like you're a very handy person and could probably handle your own installation. Cabinet installation is not difficult, it just takes patients, a good eye, and a sharp blade to ensure those molding miter cuts are crisp and clean. Of course, if you have an older home where things are really far out of square, it can be a bit more time consuming and complicated, but I bet it's still something you can handle.

Another bit of advise - a good cabinet manufacturer usually has an installation guide book or videos to assist with the specific nuances within their own cabinet line. Where ever you decide to purchase from, I'd suggest asking for this.

My final thoughts - you get what you pay for. As you mentioned, you have expensive taste in appliances, which means you'll be looking at well made, long lasting, reputable brands. Why not do the same for the surrounding cabinets which take the brunt of the abuse in the kitchen? For this reason (and because every brand I've ever come across is imported from China - even if it says it's 'Made In America') we do not sell RTA cabinets. They simply will not withstand the test of time and, in my opinion, are not worthy of being placed next to beautiful appliances.

Just some food for thought from a pro who has been doing this for almost 20 years and has worked with most major brands out there. :)

Thanks for all of the feedback! We are 99% sure that we are going to order from Cabinet Joint. The negatives don't seem to really apply to our situation - husband is super handy and has built cabinet boxes & face frames as well as being very competent at installation so we will not need to hire anyone to do that, we are not in a big rush so having to put the cabinets together is not a big deal, we have lots of space to store the cabinets and organize the pieces, and we can use the Sherwin Williams paint color we want since CJ can do that. We will be saving about 60% over what our custom guy can do. If we go with unfinished doors, drawers and face frames it is another 25% off. Also, for $350, you can hire a CJ kitchen designer to do a layout and get you 3-D images so you can really visualize what you are ordering. It almost seem too good to be true!!!

Cabinets do not use paint for finishing. They use a sprayed post catalyzed conversion varnish. Conestoga can provide you with that factory tough finish. Yes it costs. That is part of the dollar equation in evaluating what is a true value. There is a difference in price and value. Don't confuse them.

You have to compare true apples to apples. That includes spraying that conversion varnish and the assembly costs. And the time. Most people don't ever count up the months spent doing this at even a low cost dollar figure.

If you can not produce factory quality finishes in your home, then putting a poor quality finish onto higher quality cabinets is a waste of money and effort. Like rolling house paint on a custom car. . You might as well stick with lower quality products too. You're throwing money away compared to what even a low end already assembled product can provide.

If you are comparing true apples to apples, the cost differences are minimal.

With our custom cabinet guy, my husband was going to do the finish anyway and assist with the install. We have had good luck with painting cabinets - not saying a finish that can be "baked on" is not better, but not sure it is worth 30% more when pricing cabinets. It's all about balance - cost, quality, time and the value we each ascribe to a wide variety of variables when completing a project. There is another thread discussing the conversion varnish options which was interesting and might be a possibility.

Following...

Sorry for your experience, but I think your issues are with the carrier, not Cabinet Joint.

Thanks for your reply. I agree that it was primarily a carrier issue, however it is still a Cabinet Joint issue because 1) they hired that carrier company and so if the carrier company is negligent, the cabinets will be damaged. Even if Cabinet Joint makes the most perfect cabinets, they still have a responsibility to choose a carrier that won't damage customer's cabinets and 2) the way that Cabinet Joint responded to the situation was extremely passive aggressive - they wanted me to report all damage within an extremely short time frame (which makes sense if only a few cabinets were damaged, not more than half of kitchen.) Additionally, there are pieces they advertised that would fit my kitchen's dimensions like floating shelves. When I received them, they were too large, to which my Cabinet Coach replied "It is within your contractor's basic abilities to cut them" even though Cabinet Joint never told me that I had to cut them in the first place.

It's clear that your shipment was mishandled. The short time period to report damage is likely based on the carrier's policy for making damage claims, not Cabinet Joint's.

The originator of the shipment is NOT responsible for the carrier’s actions. That is just a completely ignorant statement. It is on you, the recipient, to notate damage at the delivery.

As stated on one of the other threads that you put your information on, start your own thread.

Even though it's said that the responsibility is with the carrier, it appears that whomever packaged the cabinets did a poor job.

Has anyone ever heard the term "IKEA Effect"? Here is the Wikipedia definition: " A 2011 study found that subjects were willing to pay 63% more for furniture they had assembled themselves than for equivalent pre-assembled items.

I get saving money where you can. But at what cost? What is the true value of your project. If ordering a few base cabinets for your garage, who cares. But when it's the most important and home value driven room in the house? Get professionals involved...even if you just pay for design assistance.

@zumi Thanks for saying that is a completely ignorant statement. I apologize that you don't see that the orignator is responsible for the shipper's actions, when Cabinet Joint is the one that chose that shipping company. Nice to know there are consumers out there who would gladly buy from a company but not care at all how the items will be delivered to you.

I did report the damage - and I agree, that's my responsibility. However, it's not my responsibility to delay my renovation project by a month since over half my kitchen cabinets were damaged. I get it, mistakes happen. If only a few cabinets were damaged, I would understand that happens. However, over half my cabinets for my entire kitchen were damaged and caused me a significant time delay plus it took me a ton of time to take pictures, categorize and itemize each damaged cabinet due to the sheer extent of damage. Glad that you have all the time in the world to go through things like this leisurely but I have a full time job and my time matters to me :)

If new customers want to go with Cabinet Joint, I am not stopping them.

However, they can read my experience of what happened to me. I as a consumer would want to know if the specific items I ordered would be delivered to me safely and if I would be called/notified before a large shipment worth thousands of dollars was delivered to my door.

I would also want to know beforehand if the items I ordered required extra work on my part such as the cutting of the floating shelves. Lastly and most importantly, when shipping my replacements, they again did not let me schedule an appointment for my delivery and instead, notifiied me at the end of the day for a delivery the next morning. Last minute notice like this when receiving such an expensive shipment is unacceptable.

Consumers can decide that even if Cabinet Joint is an amazing company with the best quality cabinets, over half of their kitchen cabinets might be delivered damaged and really delay their home renovation. When that happens, I'm sure they would be extremely happy with Cabinet Joint and its customer service based off your logic since you say that the originator is not responsible for the shipping company.

@shirlpp Yes, I'm sorry that I posted on these old threads - I did not initially know how Houzz worked and stopped posting on old threads now. I just wanted customers who look up Cabinet Joint reviews on Google to be able to see what happened to me since these old threads are the top results on Google. I won't reply to this thread anymore as it is someone else's.

Get over yourself. You had no idea what you were doing to receive a delivery of this magnitude. All to save a small bit of money that you’re wasting by hiring someone to assemble and hang for you. Ikea Effect indeed.