How much should I spend on a custom size cabinet with doors?
May 24, 2018 8:52 AM Subscribe
I don't want to spend much considering what I want.
All I'm looking for is a box with doors on it. In other words a door cabinet without the shelves or drawers inside. I thought I'd just buy a cabinet and take out the shelves it came with, but I'm having trouble finding a cabinet that has the dimensions I need. So I guess I can have the box with doors custom made by someone that knows wood stuff. But I don't want to spend a lot for this.
If I want an unfinished box with doors on it that is approximately 35"w x 13"D x 50"H, is $200 a decent price to expect (not including delivery?) I have no idea what I'm doing right now.
All I'm looking for is a box with doors on it. In other words a door cabinet without the shelves or drawers inside. I thought I'd just buy a cabinet and take out the shelves it came with, but I'm having trouble finding a cabinet that has the dimensions I need. So I guess I can have the box with doors custom made by someone that knows wood stuff. But I don't want to spend a lot for this.
If I want an unfinished box with doors on it that is approximately 35"w x 13"D x 50"H, is $200 a decent price to expect (not including delivery?) I have no idea what I'm doing right now.
As a cost reference, Ikea's children storage is 50" tallx29" wide, but I think it's deeper than you need at like 23" deep. It comes for roughly $120 all in one, or you can order the frame/doors separately.
The actual pricing will vary tremendously based on your location- a handyman in an urban area will charge way more for this than someone who can buy $40 of lumber and construct it in a shed out back. (raw material costs can vary tremendously; as does the quality of what you're looking for- do you want something that can hold up to material wear? will anything heavy rest on it? does it need to match existing cabinets? that changes what the build spec is)
I'd say $200 could well be a fair price for a quality box with doors, but I don't know your expectations of finishing, location or use for the box. (for example, I could probably make a good enough box out of a sheet of plywood + hinges; but I own tools and have built things regularly; it wouldn't fit well into a nicely finished kitchen for example, but be fine in a garage...)
posted by larthegreat at 9:20 AM on May 24, 2018
The actual pricing will vary tremendously based on your location- a handyman in an urban area will charge way more for this than someone who can buy $40 of lumber and construct it in a shed out back. (raw material costs can vary tremendously; as does the quality of what you're looking for- do you want something that can hold up to material wear? will anything heavy rest on it? does it need to match existing cabinets? that changes what the build spec is)
I'd say $200 could well be a fair price for a quality box with doors, but I don't know your expectations of finishing, location or use for the box. (for example, I could probably make a good enough box out of a sheet of plywood + hinges; but I own tools and have built things regularly; it wouldn't fit well into a nicely finished kitchen for example, but be fine in a garage...)
posted by larthegreat at 9:20 AM on May 24, 2018
If someone were selling a cabinet with those dimensions, $200 would be a reasonable number for the basic (not high-budget) end of the spectrum, it probably wouldn't be particularly good wood, possibly particle-board walls and nice wood doors. (IKEA)
If you can't find a factory-made cabinet with the criteria/dimensions you want and have to get it made custom by an actual human, $800-1500 is more like the price range. Do not suggest $200 to a craftsman, they will laugh at you.
posted by aimedwander at 9:20 AM on May 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
If you can't find a factory-made cabinet with the criteria/dimensions you want and have to get it made custom by an actual human, $800-1500 is more like the price range. Do not suggest $200 to a craftsman, they will laugh at you.
posted by aimedwander at 9:20 AM on May 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
With that sort of budget, you might be better off buying something like that Ikea cabinet and paying a handyman to cut it to the right depth, stick veneer on the cut edges, and reinstall the hardware in the appropriate places.
posted by yeahlikethat at 9:42 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by yeahlikethat at 9:42 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
As noted above, there are a lot of variables you’ve left out that can have a huge effect on price. It’s safe to say, though, that $200 won’t do it for anything custom-made, even if it’s very utilitarian, unless your maker owes you a favor.
You mentioned wanting a quality box with doors. “Quality” is open to interpretation, but just going off your dimensions I can tell you that your box will require more than one sheet of plywood or other engineered sheet good. So, figure 2 sheets. Depending on veneer species and quality, you could easily cross the $200 line without even a moment’s labor. Or hinges.
You’ll get better answers if you give us more information about your needs.
posted by jon1270 at 9:58 AM on May 24, 2018
You mentioned wanting a quality box with doors. “Quality” is open to interpretation, but just going off your dimensions I can tell you that your box will require more than one sheet of plywood or other engineered sheet good. So, figure 2 sheets. Depending on veneer species and quality, you could easily cross the $200 line without even a moment’s labor. Or hinges.
You’ll get better answers if you give us more information about your needs.
posted by jon1270 at 9:58 AM on May 24, 2018
If there is a used house parts deconstruction recycling type outfit near you, you might find a decent former kitchen cabinet that fits the bill. For a lot less than $200.
posted by beagle at 10:03 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by beagle at 10:03 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
(Sorry, it was larthegreat who mentioned "quality," not the OP)
posted by jon1270 at 10:49 AM on May 24, 2018
posted by jon1270 at 10:49 AM on May 24, 2018
Seconding Beagle, if there's a Habitat ReStore or something like that near you, you might get lucky and find something that meets your needs. If not, and you have time, stalk it and it will eventually turn up.
posted by jzb at 11:34 AM on May 24, 2018
posted by jzb at 11:34 AM on May 24, 2018
I got quoted $200 for a U-shaped laminate box custom fit to a mini-fridge which worked out to reasonable once the materials and labor were broken down. It was much cheaper to make a shelf and have it fitted in the space. My current contractor is big on my buying pre-made parts and letting him adapt them with extensions and cutting to fit because my budget doesn't stand up to much custom carpentry. Depending on where and what you're using the cupboard for, MDF and cheap pine are reasonable.
The carpenter might be asking you to quote a price so they know what type of wood and workmanship you want. I'd ask them what you can get for $150 and what you would get in quality for an extra $50-$100.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 11:51 AM on May 24, 2018
The carpenter might be asking you to quote a price so they know what type of wood and workmanship you want. I'd ask them what you can get for $150 and what you would get in quality for an extra $50-$100.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 11:51 AM on May 24, 2018
Seconding what aimedwander wrote.
There is a lot of wiggle room here depending on how ornate the box is, what kind of features you want, and any other specifics. Depending on the type of wood, finishes, exposed fasteners, soft close hinges or exposed hinges, nice appearance with wood grain or painted finish, this price can really vary.
When I build furniture and cabinets, I could do something like this for anywhere from $100 to $500 for the materials alone. Labor would be additional at local rates. $200 sounds like a low offer since that would mean cheaper materials or possibly scraps and very little labor.
posted by Nackt at 1:07 PM on May 24, 2018
There is a lot of wiggle room here depending on how ornate the box is, what kind of features you want, and any other specifics. Depending on the type of wood, finishes, exposed fasteners, soft close hinges or exposed hinges, nice appearance with wood grain or painted finish, this price can really vary.
When I build furniture and cabinets, I could do something like this for anywhere from $100 to $500 for the materials alone. Labor would be additional at local rates. $200 sounds like a low offer since that would mean cheaper materials or possibly scraps and very little labor.
posted by Nackt at 1:07 PM on May 24, 2018
I have built much larger custom bookshelves for myself (i.e. no labor cost) for about that price, but they had no bells and whistles. If you want decent-quality materials (pine) and no elegant joinery, I bet you could make something like this yourself in about an afternoon using a drill and a chop saw, if you own such things. You can often also have boards pre-cut for you at Home Depot to solve the lack of a saw. There are a million "How to build a X" tutorials online; find a good one and try it?
As a counterpoint, my building just had a large cabinet purpose-made and delivered by a local furniture company. It's about 8' tall (and actually two cabinets stacked on top of one another mostly seamlessly, for ease of installation), 12" deep. With doors and shelves. Unstained maple. It cost $1100.
posted by tapir-whorf at 1:10 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
As a counterpoint, my building just had a large cabinet purpose-made and delivered by a local furniture company. It's about 8' tall (and actually two cabinets stacked on top of one another mostly seamlessly, for ease of installation), 12" deep. With doors and shelves. Unstained maple. It cost $1100.
posted by tapir-whorf at 1:10 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
A good rule of thumb when pricing projects is, add up all the materials costs and multiply by four. Make sure you get accurate prices on everything and don't skip the small stuff- door hardware etc. adds up.
I price things like this for a living and, while there are certainly exceptions to the rule, materials almost always end up right at 25% of the total cost, once labor and overhead is accounted for.
posted by Admiral Viceroy at 5:51 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I price things like this for a living and, while there are certainly exceptions to the rule, materials almost always end up right at 25% of the total cost, once labor and overhead is accounted for.
posted by Admiral Viceroy at 5:51 PM on May 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by fantasticness at 8:54 AM on May 24, 2018