There is a lot of confusion surrounding the words “custom built” when it comes to cabinets. The main difference is craftsmanship! True custom cabinets are made to last.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the term custom built in the following manner: built to individual order/specifications. One could assume that means cabinet size, style, finish. This is not so, however. Custom built is made to suit ones budget, taste, but most importantly, made to fit exactly in the space available.
The difference between custom built cabinets and prefabricated is that the “prefab” cabinets are made in standard dimensions and anything different becomes “custom” in their eyes. For example, if you have an 11 foot wall, the prefab will come in 18 inch, 24 inch 38 inch, etc. In any event you are left with a void. Something has to fill that void whether it’s a divider, filler or pans leaving unusable space. A custom cabinet on the other hand will be made to specifically fit that area giving you use of the entire space.
A cabinet is made of basically a box, face frame, door, drawer and shelves. So when comparing the two, one must take into consideration all of the elements listed below.
Custom Prefab
Box-solid wood, solid back ¼ inch back, thin sides
Corners held together solid, nailed etc. Plastic corners glued/hot glued
Cut outs fit and ready for appliances Installer has to rebuild to fit appliances
Drawers joints are solid wood Joints nailed or glued
Paint, (stain) can be matched to your home Limited color choices
These are just some of the differences. Of course, one can “upgrade” the prefab cabinets with better drawer guides, a stronger box, better hinges, but in the end, when you compare the price of the upgrades with the basic custom cabinet, the cost is similar. At the end of the day a true custom cabinet shop offer a much better quality, more customization and a happy home owner!