On 2/11/2014 7:55 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

You just described my kitchen, unfortunately. :-)
I'm quite certain, however, that this is not done today.

Probably regional, but around here 95% of the cabinets in 'builder
built' spec/custom homes (excluding most large scale, National, tract
home builders who use prefab boxes) are still 'built-in place', but not
in the same manner as the old days, when union carpenters were still
aplenty.

Nailed together, solid wood faceframes, plywood side panels and floors,
backless, and attached straight to the drywall, is prevalent today.

(in the good old days, the wall behind the cabinets was often tongue and
groove lumber, or 3/4" plywood -- and in some cases where the room was
paneled, paneling.)

Done properly and by a skilled cabinetmaker, particularly in old
construction and in restoration work, still a good way to maximize space
and get a custom fit.

Unfortunately, today it is rarely done properly, even in million dollar
homes in many areas ... mostly due to a lack of unskilled, unsupervised
labor, who take every shortcut imaginable because they have no cultural
basis for pride in their work, or skin in the game.

Add to that the fact that construction lumber nowadays is plantation
grown, new growth, varying widely in moisture content despite being kiln
dried, and therefore unstable, structures are subject to movement due to
dimensional instability in the months/years to come. Meaning nothing
attached stays square and in place.

I am routinely called upon to fix kitchen and bath cabinet doors,
drawers, trim, crown, and reattach intermediate stiles, on $1m+ homes
that are less than ten years old.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg ... it is hard to believe some
of the framing, electrical and plumbing crap we uncover when doing a
remodel on homes less than twenty years old these days.

In short, it is almost unbelievable the prevalence of poorly built
residences in even the high dollar, prestigious neighborhoods in some
regions these days.


--
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