| With all of the design tools and resources on the | | | | Now that you have your new cabinets, let's talk about |
| internet, buying, and installing your own kitchen cabinets | | | | assembly. RTA cabinets are about as easy to |
| is now a realistic DIY project. With the wide selection | | | | assemble as it gets. The basic box is held together by |
| of RTA Cabinets (Ready-To-Assemble) on the | | | | cam locks, which create a nice tight box (much |
| market, high quality, easy to assemble cabinets are | | | | stronger than staples or dowels). All that is required for |
| now a viable option. They are available just about | | | | assembly is a flathead screwdriver. For the drawer |
| everywhere that you look. The big box stores have | | | | base cabinets, you may want to have a drill handy to |
| even started carrying their own version, but the best | | | | help tighten the screws that are needed to hold the |
| deals are still found on-line. While you won't get the | | | | drawer slides and even the drawer faces together. |
| advantage of talking to a personal designer, the | | | | Most can be assembled in less than 5 minutes. All of |
| monetary savings will be well worth it. By buying your | | | | the cabinets will come with step-by-step instructions on |
| cabinets direct from the manufacturer, the savings can | | | | how to assemble them. |
| be as high as 30-40%. Most websites are now | | | | Once you have your cabinets assembled, it is time to |
| offering design tools and templates to help make the | | | | start prepping for installation. The preparation work is |
| buying process an easy transaction. If you are still | | | | the most important part of the process, since in most |
| unsure about buying RTA Kitchen Cabinets, let's | | | | cases, the floor is not going to be perfectly level and |
| address the most common question people ask.... what | | | | the walls are not going to be perfectly straight... that is |
| makes them different? The cabinets that are on the | | | | just the way it is. By finding the high spots on the floor |
| market today are in most cases, made of better | | | | and the bumps in the walls, you can take steps before |
| materials than the higher priced name brand cabinets | | | | installation to ensure that your kitchen cabinets are |
| that are on the market today. That being said, not all of | | | | flush and level. If you go to the website Hubpages and |
| them are made the same. When you are shopping for | | | | search for kitchen installation, there is a great article |
| them, make sure you look for the following features: 1) | | | | that walks you step-by-step thru the kitchen cabinet |
| Solid wood face frames, stiles and doors 2) 1/2 or 5/8 | | | | installation process called Kitchen Cabinets: How to |
| inch plywood sides (stay away from particle board or | | | | Install Them Yourself. While RTA cabinets will involve |
| fiberboard) 3) cam lock assembly, versus screws or | | | | more labor on your part, the savings versus custom |
| dowels 4) Solid wood backs or atleast solid wood | | | | cabinets, plus the savings from installing them yourself, |
| strips for attaching them to the studs 5) Solid wood | | | | will make this a rewarding DIY, both personally and |
| drawer boxes, preferrably with dovetailing 6) European | | | | monetarily. |
| hinges and self-closing or epoxy drawer slides. The | | | | If you are looking for tips on saving thousands on your |
| nice thing about most of the sites out there is that they | | | | kitchen, follow the links in my author bio. |
| will deliver the cabinets directly to your house. | | | | |