How Long would it take you to Make new Kitchen cabinets?

When I built my kitchen I bought the carcasses but made the worktops, the doors and the butchers block.
I cannot see much advantage in making your own cabinets apart from an end of run special size.

 

You are talking about 'production'. ie getting as much done as efficiently as possible.
Which would be easy if all the cabinets are the same dimensions. Not so with bespoke works.
But effectively you have to create the equivalent components of a flat pack and then go about assembling it all as proper joinery.

I expect a first timer who is reasonably competent could do all the making in about 2-3 weeks.

 

Excellent advice taking into account Chippie would probably has access to a good saw bench etc.

 

A lot depends on design, construction and materials.

a simple cabinet made with pocket screw fixings is quite easy and could be made in a couple of hours.

Changing it to use rebated joints adds more complexity and itme

Similarly changing to an inframe design adds more difficulty but makes a stronger unit

 

B&Q / Tradepoint sells base units for £20, I couldn't even buy the materials and fixings for that price.

However, wouldn't like to say how long they would last.

 

I have access to all the tools and still wouldn't make my own cabinets unless I really had to.

 

As above - very little advantage - if any at all - in making your own carcases.

Kitchen units gain most of their integrity from being securely screwed to the walls and being perfectly levelled. If you do both of these things, they shouldn't fail.

(Provided you don't get them wet...)

Make sure they are 18mm thick cabinets, and jobbie jobbed.

Then you can get on with the 'fun' bit...

 

There are firms around who sell kitchen ply carcasses, usually Baltic birch plywood, had a friend who bought bare units, he then fitted face frames & sprayed finished cabinets.

 

I've used these base units as gave a mate a hand to fit out his utility room at home. For the price, incredible value, yeah it's chipboard but we all know that

Usual cam and dowel construction but once they're fixed securely to the wall, plus some extra stretcher plates,they will last, indefinitely ?

It's any movement that will weaken them and of course, water will finish them off but that's to be expected

As you say, timber (weetabix) alone would cost more, then uv got legs, fittings, etc on top

 

Good advice buying ready made cabinets.

The other thing to consider is by going down the bespoke route is that you don't necessarily have to adhere to a modular type of construction.
Depending on the style, size and available timber, you can build 'cabinets' around face frames and create longer runs in one go. As long as thought is put into the strength of the span, you'd save on materials too...mainly 18mm birch ply

 

Quite common in the states, building ply kitchen carcasses 8' or even 10' in length in one piece.
You can even get 16' sheets of ply over there, but 5' x 10'x 3/4 is more popular.

 

I made all the carcasses for my bathroom because I wanted non-standard sizes, but wouldn't bother for a kitchen because standard units are so cheap. If I wanted cabinets where the doors are inset in the frame, I would work out my sizes and prob have the doors made up, but would make the frame myself. You can buy pre-made doors in any size suitable for painting yourself. e.g from ba components http://byba.co.uk/dealers/order-a-sample/ (you'll need to find a ba dealer - I use https://www.discountkitchenfactory.co.uk/ )

 

Doesn't worth the effort.

You are prolly better off buying the new units and doors instead of making everything from the scratch, routing for profiles, sanding..painting, putting the hardware.

 

Ah the wife factor you have to factor that into kitchen design. Doesn't help when you have a wife that's 4 ft 11 and a kitchen with 10ft ceilings. Trying to get cupboards that she can reach but look right in the space meant nothing was a standard size. She even wanted the American fridge freezer out of sight so the unit was about 800mm deep in the end with doors that slide back into the housing.

The doors are the fun bit, not only do I have to make some 2m curved butler pantry doors but the other doors so its gone from solid doors, glass doors, glass doors with mullions to now it is a solid panel at the bottom with a smaller mullioned window at the top.

And she is trying to bump up the bathroom cabinets on my work list

 

You love it really Sos! A mans got to have a project

 

I see it like this anything that is dangerous, life threatening or can harm your life; you require a licence for e.g. shotguns, cars, motorbikes and to get married ......

And to add into the mix I have two adult daughters that have long perfected the "Daaaaaaaaddd" way of starting a sentence

 

hmmm. when I get this, its usually followed by a some request for help/money

 

Yep that's the one, but the funny thing is the two sons ask the wife, then she drops the hint to me - but comes out somewhat different to what the boys asked for

I do prefer the Daaaaaaaaddd, to the "I've been thinking / Wouldn't it be nice if ...." or the worst one "You haven't noticed...."