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Hi all!
I know that several here have built their own kitchen cabinets. I'm dipping my foot into that water and wonder if anyone out there has a tool that would help set up cut sheets and help me get an idea of the amount of material I would need to purchase. Once I have an idea of the materials I'd need, I can go out and determine if the cost savings is worth it versus ordering them made for me.
I have a floor plan that lists all of the cabinets out in specifications like "B15L" "BCB18L" "SB36" "BCB12R" etc....
Thanks!
Kevin
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08-02-2023, 07:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2023, 07:20 AM by joe1086.)
When I built my cabinets 15 years ago I used CutList, it was PC program where you punched in the panel quantities, dimensions, saw kerf, etc and it gave you diagrams of the most efficient layouts. Fast forward and now there's a free app, Cutlist Optimizer, that looks to be similar. I played with it for a couple minutes and might be enough for you.
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08-02-2023, 08:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2023, 08:50 AM by mound.)
Checkout my Kitchen Build Thread if you haven't already. The layout and such kinda starts around post #40
I used SketchUp Pro to design the whole thing, then the CutList Pro extension for SketchUp to do all the layout to determine number of sheets and board feet of hardwoods. This worked very well.
There is no doubt in my mind that the materials cost for this kitchen was FAR lower than the cost to hire out the same build. For the plywood and hardwood I came in around $11k and recently had a friend of a friend kitchen guy see what I built and he told me he would have charged well over $100k to build the same thing. I'm not sure about that, he may be right, but it sure as heck wouldn't have been anywhere near the materials cost. So yes, a substantial cost savings.
BUT, this build became an all consuming two year long project for me that still isn't quite done! So depending how you value your time, you may want to consider more than just materials cost!
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(08-02-2023, 08:49 AM)mound Wrote: Checkout my Kitchen Build Thread if you haven't already. The layout and such kinda starts around post #40
I used SketchUp Pro to design the whole thing, then the CutList Pro extension for SketchUp to do all the layout to determine number of sheets and board feet of hardwoods. This worked very well.
There is no doubt in my mind that the materials cost for this kitchen was FAR lower than the cost to hire out the same build. For the plywood and hardwood I came in around $11k and recently had a friend of a friend kitchen guy see what I built and he told me he would have charged well over $100k to build the same thing. I'm not sure about that, he may be right, but it sure as heck wouldn't have been anywhere near the materials cost. So yes, a substantial cost savings.
BUT, this build became an all consuming two year long project for me that still isn't quite done! So depending how you value your time, you may want to consider more than just materials cost!
Also look at the premade but unassembled cabinets. The ones that you assemble in the same way you would do when building yourself. They are also prefinished.
make sure your software can rotated the pieces for grain direction, not just for size.
I did save quite a bit making them myself but it is a lot of work and they take up a lot of space in your shop.
I also had the issue of carrying them upstairs to the garage for finishing and back down.
On the plus side you can custom size the cabinets so there is no filler strips where not needed. Roly
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08-02-2023, 09:43 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2023, 09:45 AM by Snipe Hunter.)
I did my kitchen in the last house. I followed Udo Schmidt's book. There is an error in the book, you'll see it in the reviews. But it helped me alot.
I made my cut list with AutoCad 2000. I think that was the last thing I ever did with Auto Cad. It wouldn't have been too hard to with just a notebook.
That being said. I could have bought cabinets... even custom cabinets cheaper than building them myself if I paid myself $5.00 an hour. They were great cabinets but took 10 months to build, finish and install.
It was almost 20 years ago. Quoted 13k. My materials cost was about 6 to 7k.
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I built my own kitchen cabinets. Technically, I should say I am building them because I'm not finished yet but here's my $0.02-
-You will NOT save money building your own cabinets (if your time is worth anything to you). You will (likely) get higher quality, custom fit, with exactly the options you want and nothing you don't want. Plus the satisfaction of 'I did that'.
- Bob Lang's book was the best cabinet book I found.
- I highly recommend UV pre-finished ply for the boxes.
Can't help you with a program to calculate materials, but FWIW I think that's the least of your worries if you go ahead with the self-build.
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One thing that would save you some money is to make the cabinet without the toe kicks built into them. Then the boxes sit on a base that's preinstalled. I think (IIRC) the reason is you get 4 cabinet sides out of one piece of ply, versus 6 if you cut in the toe kicks. We've redid kitchens twice, and as much as I wanted to build my own cabinets we hired it out.....mostly because we wanted them done in our lifetime.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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(08-02-2023, 01:49 PM)fredhargis Wrote: One thing that would save you some money is to make the cabinet without the toe kicks built into them. Then the boxes sit on a base that's preinstalled. I think (IIRC) the reason is you get 4 cabinet sides out of one piece of ply, versus 6 if you cut in the toe kicks. We've redid kitchens twice, and as much as I wanted to build my own cabinets we hired it out.....mostly because we wanted them done in our lifetime.
Correct-
Build the toe kicks separate
it will take A LOT longer than you think
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I use SketchUp with the CutList plugin to layout cabinet panels for cutting. If you already use SketchUp, it's a straightforward process. If not, there are other online calculators. That wasn't so when I built my kitchen about 30 years ago. Surprise, plain old paper to lay out all the panels works surprisingly well. I did 30 cabinets that way and it wasn't all that hard. Plenty of options these days.
John
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(08-02-2023, 01:49 PM)fredhargis Wrote: One thing that would save you some money is to make the cabinet without the toe kicks built into them. Then the boxes sit on a base that's preinstalled. I think (IIRC) the reason is you get 4 cabinet sides out of one piece of ply, versus 6 if you cut in the toe kicks. We've redid kitchens twice, and as much as I wanted to build my own cabinets we hired it out.....mostly because we wanted them done in our lifetime.
That's how I did mine. Much nicer finished product and easier.
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