When you are planning a kitchen remodel in Gurnee, IL, one of the most important decisions to take aside from your color palette, is how your kitchen cabinetry will arrive at your home. In the world of modern kitchen cabinets, you generally have two types of cabinets, excluding customized ones are ready-to-assemble (RTA) or pre-assembled kitchen cabinets. While both can offer stunning aesthetics, the choice between them impacts your budget and timeline. If you are looking for pre-assembled kitchen cabinets in Gurnee or considering the DIY route with RTA, here are the five critical differences you need to know.
1. Assembly and Labor Costs
The most obvious difference is who puts the boxes together.
-
RTA (Ready-to-Assemble) Cabinets
These type of kitchen cabinets arrive in flat-packed boxes. You or your kitchen remodeling contractor is responsible for the cabinet assembly. This can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes per cabinet.
-
Pre-Assembled Cabinets
Pre-assembled kitchen cabinets arrive fully built from the factory. While the upfront price is higher, you save significantly on on-site labor costs and time on assembling cabinets.
2. Shipping Time and Logistics
-
RTA Cabinets
RTA cabinets are the champions of speed and cost-efficiency in logistics. Shipping a flat-pack is much more efficient than shipping a fully built box because they are compact, and suppliers can often ship them within 48 hours, and they are far less likely to suffer crush damage during transit.
-
Pre-assembled Cabinets
These cabinets are bulky because they take up more space, shipping is often more expensive and can take longer to coordinate.
3. Durability and Construction
-
RTA Cabinets
While many modern kitchen cabinets in the RTA category use high-quality wood and joints, the ultimate durability depends on how well you build them. If you aren’t handy with a drill or toolkit, a factory-assembled unit is a safer bet for longevity.
-
Pre-Assembled Cabinets
Pre-assembled cabinets are often built using industrial-grade wood glue, power staples, and specialized clamps in a factory setting. This results in a very rigid, square-shaped box that is built to last for decades.
4. Customization Flexibility
-
Ready-to-Assemble Cabinets
They offer customization flexibility because you are the one putting it together, and you have slightly more flexibility for on-the-spot reconfigurations before the final assembly.
-
Pre-Assembled Cabinets
These are the type of what you see is what you get cabinets. If you decide mid-install that you need to shave an inch off the depth to fit a pipe, it is much harder to modify a cabinet that has already been glued and stapled at a factory.
5. Price Tag vs. Value
-
Ready-to-Assemble Cabinets
Ready-to-assemble cabinets typically cost 30% to 50% less than pre-assembled options. For a large kitchen, this could mean saving thousands of dollars.
-
Pre-Assembled Cabinets
Pre-assembled cabinets offer value in the form of time. For Illinois homeowners who are in a rush or contractors managing tight deadlines, the convenience of having cabinets ready to hang the moment they arrive is often worth the premium.
Conclusion
If you’re searching for pre-assembled kitchen cabinets in Gurnee, you have the advantage of visiting a local showroom to see the build quality in person. Many homeowners find that seeing the factory-perfect finish of a pre-assembled unit is enough to sway them away from the manual labor required for RTA. Whether you choose the cost-savings of RTA or the seamless convenience of ready assembled cabinets, the key is to prioritize your timeline and your comfort level with a toolkit.