Has anyone installed stock cabinets from Home Depot and were you happy with your results?

Question

We're planning on during all of our own wall work and installing our own cabinets. Are we taking on too much?

Answer 1

We put them in our laundry room and are very happy with the results. They were not difficult to install, but you will need a couple of people to help the upper cabinets are heavy and bulky. We did run into a little problem because our walls bowed a little and the ceiling wasn't level. So we installed the top cabinets to be "optically" level. I think an average skill level is all you need for decent results.

Answer 2

I installed a bathroom vanity that I got at Home Depot a few years back. It came in a box and I had to put it together with the hardware included. Last year we completely remodeled our house and I still have that old vanity in our new guest bathroom.

I did put a bunch of closet units together in our walk-in closet. Some things are crooked (manufacturing defect) and some of the hardware was missing. It looks okay, but I wouldn't do it again. I'd rather spend the extra money and go to one of those closet specialty places for custom stuff.

Building and installing the cabinetry is not that difficult if you have a couple of people doing it and you have the right tools (like a laser level for wall cabinets).

One thing about those out-of-the-box cabinets, though, is that they look cheap, because they are made out of particle board with a formica veneer exterior. Also, there are sometimes variations in the manufacturing process that result in slightly crooked joints and seams, and other irregularites that may not be noticeable at first glance, but that will irritate you every time you see it in the coming years.

I guess you could say that you get what you pay for.

Answer 3

I guess part of your question depends on the definition of "stock" cabinets. My wife and I remodeled our bathroom, and bought some cabinets from home depot. They were made from plywood faces, and particle board on the sides. There was also some 1/16th" veneer to glue on any exposed sides. The doors were made from plywood with angled edges. We put wainscot and chair-mold on our walls, with trimmed out boxes on the lower half of the walls. We then use a 3-color paint scheme. We painted the "stock" cabinets according to our paint scheme, (different shades on the doors and drawers) and the entire project turned out quite nice.
We also used fairly expensive hardware which set the cabinet off even more. The real secret is to formulate your plans and come up with a definite color pattern. Then stick to your plan.

good luck