Chuck, I have done this on several occasions and helped to build original
kitchens.

YOU CAN SAVE A TON OF MONEY.

I estimate you can take your cost in materials and multiply that by "at
least" 5 and be on the cheap end of having the cabinets prebuilt and
installed.

I did my first kitchen about 19 years ago and to save on space and where to
store cabinets I built a section at a time and when that section was
finished I removed the old cabinets for that section and installed the new
ones. The kitchen was never unusable until I did the section with the sink,
which I was down for a day.


"Chuck" wrote in message
ups.com...
We are planning to redo our kitchen in a year or two. We'll be doing
most of it ourselves, including building the cabinets. I have been
building my skills and my tool collection and think I am just about
ready for this task. We have remodeled another kitchen in the past
using ready made cabinets.

I have one big question though. I'm not sure if it's cost effective to
build my own cabinets or to go out and buy some decent quality ready
made ones. As far as tools go I would have to buy a big router to
handle panel raising and either build or buy a "real" router table (I
am now using the Porter Cable entry level "table" with a PC 691).
Then, there is the cost of materials. My wife wants cherry and I know
it's not cheap. The cost of hardware is obscene and all the other wood
for drawers, shelves and carcasses will add up to a small fortune.

I know I will really enjoy the challenge and feel a major sense of
accomplishment but I'm not sure if it's worth it if I can buy ready
mades for half the price. Has anyone here done a serious cost
comparison?

Also, any advice about ways to save money would be appreciated. I am
planning on building face frame cabinets with raised panel doors and
LOTS of drawers. I can get cherry at my local lumber yard but it costs
a fortune (finished on all 4 sides). I have a jointer and planer but
no source for unfinished kiln dried cherry (I live in NY's Hudson
Valley).

Thanks in advance,
Chuck