Would RTA Cabinets Work for My Kitchen?
RTA is not a brand name of kitchen cabinets, in case you were wondering. It means Ready to Assemble. RTA kitchen cabinets are the most common type of cabinets that you can buy online. When you’re replacing kitchen cabinets, you should give careful consideration to RTA cabinets, as they’re often less expensive and of a higher quality than their ready made counterparts.
Pre-built cabinets are usually more likely to be damaged in shipping and less well built than the less expensive RTA kitchen cabinets. People often fear that RTA cabinets are difficult to construct. While understandable, that fear’s pretty unjustified.
Specifically designed hardware makes ready to assemble cabinets extremely easy to put together quickly. Usually, the only tools you’ll need to put your cabinet together are a screwdriver and a drill. This is thanks to a joining system called a cam lock. Cam locks can be made from metal or plastic.
Many RTA kitchen cabinets use high quality components like plywood in their construction, and often have inch plywood bottoms, tops, and sides. The shelves will be made of either 5/8 inch plywood, or æ inch plywood. Drawer boxes are often made of plywood, as well. Drawer slides are either side mounted or under mounted, though most manufacturers make them side mounted. Soft closing and self closing drawer slides are sometimes available–they’re under mounted and tend to be fairly expensive. You might have a choice of hardware, like exposed or European pulls and handles, with some models.
Big box stores often use cardboard and particle board in their ktichen cabinetry. You usually don’t have to worry about this with RTA cabinets, as they’re usually made of the aforementioned plywood, which is far more durable than those other materials. Also, dovetail construction is used for drawers in RTA cabinets, which is superior to the glued-together drawers of some of the premade cabinets. Many of the more expensive RTA cabinets also use a clear coat sealant. The sealer looks nice and allows the cabinets to be easily cleaned.
Pay special attention to what type of assembly instructions you’ll receive with your new cabinets. Some manufacturers of RTA kitchen cabinets will gladly offer you a sample of their instructions. There are a few who even feature them on their online sales sites. Sample instructions should be simple to understand and fairly concise. You may also find a toll free number to use if you have problems during the assembly. This too is a mark of the higher quality online stores of RTA kitchen cabinets.
Don’t go for the cheapest seller of RTA cabinets you can find–look into their credentials to make sure you’re dealing with a company that’s been around for a while. It’s much better to deal with a reputable company when buying RTA kitchen cabinets, as this ensures high quality, long lasting, and easy to assemble cabinets that will last you for years.
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Tags: kitchen, kitchen cabinet hardware, kitchen hardware, Kitchen Improvements