Kraftmaid vs Shenandoah at Lowes.....which one?

lisacro

I have a 104" wide kitchen by 175" long....off of the end of the 175" I am adding a 90" peninsula. I'm ordering roughly about 15 cabinets. Three quotes, 2 from Lowes, 1 form small kitch and bath store. K&B store is about 3-4,000 higher in quote. My question, i picked out all wood cabinets on Shenandoah and Kraftmaid, except for sides of cabinets is veneer. There are mixed opinions as to quality of the Kitchenm and Shenand....anyone out there have any comments? And, husband and i will tear out old cabinets and counters. Would it be appropriate for me to have Lowes install cabinets and if we like the quarts (silestone) that Home Depot has, have HDepot install the countertops...do they even do that? Thanks for any and all commnents...have to make decision by 5/31/09.

JohnCarpenter

I have never seen good quality cabinets come from the big box stores. Most of the time they are particle board and hot glued together. Stick a wood face frame and door on it and call it real wood cabinets. They are the same thing as Wal-Mart furniture. If you upgrade to a plywood side, you can usually get a better cabinet from a local shop for about the same price.

Your house is your biggest investment. The kitchen is usually the highest rated and most valuable part.

Call a small cabinet show and get a price first.

clintb

I have to agree with JohnCarpenter. Having just went through a kitchen remodel, and the wife had to have the features offered by Thomasville (HD brand), we went that route. They look good on the surface, but it's constructed mostly of particle board and shoddy workmanship. The QC is horrid; staples fired all over the place, scratches, nicks, etc... Adhesive, like John stated, is hot glue. I've never seen hot glue hold like some TiteBond...'nuff said.

Do yourself a favor and buy from a custom cabinet maker.

mikey48

I am installing Kraftmaid cabinets in an apartment. They are not custom made but are well enginered and beautiful when installed. I have installed a lot worse. A lot better than most 70's homes installation.

lmiller108

I work at Lowe's and would like to add a few helpful tips. When looking for a good quality cabinet. Please ask the sales person to show you the cabinets you are purchasing.

Many people go from store to store and only look at the door style to make a decision. The doors look great! Please look at the displays open the drawers check them out, see how deep they are some brands can be 1/4 to ½ shallower in depth. Look at the organization features and make sure they operate smoothly. Organizational features will add to the cost and may be worth the investment if they help keep you organized especially in a smaller kitchen where space is limited.

Know your options -- Think of it like purchasing a car. You want to know all your options.

Door styles can be--- Solid wood or Veneer. Full overlay or Partial overlay.

YOU HAVE CONSTRUCTION OPTIONS --- when purchasing cabinets. Most cabinets companies offer four options---- standard construction which is engendered wood. // engendered wood with furniture plywood ends // all plywood construction // or all plywood construction with furniture plywood ends. You can set the quality that you are purchasing based on your needs.

Ask you sales person to explain if you don't understand any of the above options.
Hope this helps in making your next purchase.

Kraftmaid makes beautiful quality cabinets. Many customers that have had them come back to purchase them again.

Jim F

I have no complaints about my Shenandoah cabinets from Lowes so far. They came in on time, the order was 100% accurate. They arrived by a third party truck company with a dedicated contract with Shenandoah so the driver and codriver were very knowledgeable with their product and a great help in inventorying everything and helped me make sure my order was complete. (I have worked as a truck driver so know a little about that business.) I found the all plywood construction was an upgrade worth paying a little extra for. In my case it was less that 700 dollars.

I had mine installed by an independent contractor that I hired to partially renovate my kitchen. He expressed concern that the framing was not as rugged as the custom built cabinets he was trying to sell me that a friend of his built. But lets get real for a moment. The custom cabinets would have cost twice as much as the Shenandoah cabinets I bought. Custom cabinets are dependent on the skills of the cabinet builder. The off-the-rack melamine cabinets the were in there before lasted through 20 years of hard use with minor spot repairs. The way my wife and kids overload shelves, it's only a matter of time before they fail.

I will have to see if they stand the test of time, but so far so good.

Ron6519

I don't know what the issue is with ordering any name brand cabinet from a big box store. If you order a kraftmaid cabinet with flakeboard boxes, whose fault is that?
Cabinet companies make 3 levels of cabinet boxes.
Flakeboard.
1/2" ply
3/4" ply
You pick the one you want.
Before you go cabinet shopping you should be researching cabinets online to know what's available with each manufacturer you're interested in.
I've ordered Kraftsmaid cabinets from a variety of sources and there is no quality variance between them, Big box stores included.
Ron