7 Kitchen Cabinet Grades for Remodeling

The day you decide to proceed with the long-awaited kitchen upgrade, you might ponder over the ideal budget, design, and remodeler to hire. At the same time, while considering the everyday wear and tear of the prefabricated cabinets, you must be equally inclined to consider the durability, lifetime maintenance, and longevity of woodwork. However, these factors greatly depend on the types of cabinet grades chosen to serve the purpose.

For kitchen remodeling projects, cabinet manufacturers use Millwork shop drawings to determine the design, dimensions, and material quality recommended to match the clients’ specific requests.

This guide will help if you’re a remodeler or homeowner puzzled about selecting the right cabinet grade for kitchen renovations.

What are Kitchen Cabinet Grades?

The types of cabinet grade make a great difference in the quality, texture, finish, strengths, and designs of the remodeled kitchen.

For instance, it’s advisable to use high-grade materials such as real wood and hard plywood to build custom kitchen cabinets for humid or moisture-prone areas.

Whether you want to add crown molding to fill the gaps between kitchen cabinets & ceiling or open shelve designs with fancy hardware like knobs and drawers, the choice of cabinet grades matters a lot.

7 Grades of Kitchen Cabinets to Spruce up the Look

Millworkers, kitchen remodelers, and designers categorize cabinet grades based on craftsmanship, materials, and design options.

Most kitchen remodeling professionals recommend seven grades of cabinets for custom prefabricated millwork solutions.

RTA or Ready-to-Assemble

As the name defines, RTA or Ready to Assemble cabinets are factory-made and delivered in parts to be installed together to achieve the intended cabinet design.

Homeowners who desire to DIY the kitchen remodeling process can consider buying RTA cabinets from known manufacturers. To eliminate the hassles of reaching out to the right cabinet supplier, you can approach a professional home remodeler who will take care of the design, details of cabinet shop drawings, fabrication, and assembly of millwork products.

Need expert help with millwork shop drawings for kitchen cabinetry?

Keynotes on RTA Cabinets

• Ready-to-assemble cabinets are economical as they’re prefabricated in parts and mostly large quantities. Although woodworkers sell them with all necessary hardware, such as drawers, hinges, and fasteners, buyers looking for more decorative pieces may have to buy them separately.

• The quality of RTA-grade cabinets may not be the best, as they are engineered as low-cost solutions for DIY kitchen remodeling.

• Though they come in standard sizes and designs, they could be better for kitchens that need custom cabinetry with specific dimensions, styles, and features.

Stock Cabinets or Pre-built Cabinets

These pre-built cabinets are millwork products available online in industry-standard sizes and designs. But unlike RTA cabinets, they don’t come with additional hardware. This means you need to spend more money to get a complete solution for a big kitchen remodeling project.

However, these cabinets are budget-friendly options to upgrade your kitchen without breaking your budget limits.

Keynotes on Stock Cabinets

• Also referred to as entry-level cabinets, these grades of kitchen cabinets have a few trim and molding features.

• They use thin veneered wood particleboard case parts, and drawers are pre-built using stapled wood. The surface finish of cabinet doors is laminated.

• The average quality of stock cabinets makes them vulnerable to swelling or damage due to humidity and grease.

Semi-Custom Cabinets

Semi-custom cabinets go beyond the limitations of stock cabinets with upgraded designs and customization options. Your kitchen modeler may hire a millwork drafter in the US, UK, Canada, and other countries to get detailed shop drawings emphasizing the intricacies of decorative door styles, species of wood materials, and overall surface finish.

Kitchen cabinet manufacturers usually provide two options: modifications to the cabinet sizes and additional hardware components requested by the customer. These upgrades include distinct door designs, wood grades and materials, exterior designs, and finishes.

Keynotes on Semi-custom Cabinets

• This cabinet grade is preferable for prefabricated woodwork solutions, which are custom-made with more design and size options.

• Highly economical grades of cabinets for kitchen remodeling projects than other alternatives with limited design and customized options.

• The quality of semi-custom cabinets is unsatisfactory as their base material is the same as that used for stock cabinets. The cabinets of this grade use engineered wood, while other components use particleboard.

Custom Cabinets

These are the best-quality grades of kitchen cabinets on our list. They use premium-quality real wood or hardwood plywood, which provides higher moisture resistance in humid regions.

Though custom cabinets combine exquisite detailing and artwork, it’s advised to consider kitchen millwork drafting for high finishing and embellished details.

Keynotes of Custom cabinets or cabinetry

• They’re more expensive and durable than builder-grade cabinets.

• Their designs are available in any size and style, with extra features such as custom architectural millwork, paint colors, and components like doors and drawers.

• Offers varied options for wood types and laminates such as glazes, washes, stains, etc.

Builder Grade Cabinets

Builder-grade or contractor-grade kitchen cabinets are cheaper options than stock and RTA cabinets.

Unlike custom cabinets, they do not promise expected durability as they use cheap wood materials such as particleboard and plywood.

Keynotes on Builder-grade cabinets

• Less expensive, less durable, and high repair/maintenance costs.

• Easy availability in standard and limited sizes, styles, & designs.

• The most preferred choice for home improvement projects requiring roofing, flooring, cabinets, lumber, etc.

Furniture Grade Cabinets

Let’s talk about the A-grade quality of kitchen cabinets that last a lifetime. They’re expensive as they use premium furniture-grade wood that lasts for generations.

This cabinet grade is better than builder-grade cabinets for kitchen remodeling projects.

Keynotes on furniture-grade cabinets

• They’re ideal for more elaborative design and finish.

• Include flush end panels with matching wood moldings for a decorative touch.

• It requires a one-time investment that is expensive but attracts 20% fewer repair or maintenance costs than builder-grade cabinets.

Luxury Cabinets

One of the most expensive grades of cabinets, which are more like custom cabinets. They give complete control over the design, materials, durability, and every aspect of the kitchen.

Kitchen remodelers involve the benefits of custom architectural millwork to transform the space with unique designs, functionality, and the finish of luxury cabinets.

Luxury-grade cabinets are built under the supervision of design professionals dedicated to specific kitchen renovation projects. They capture intricate details of the final design and fit of the cabinets to get them fabricated by manufacturers.

Keynotes on Luxury Cabinets

• The intense detailing process behind the construction of these cabinets makes the kitchen look unique and elegant.

• The contractor or kitchen remodeling firm handles all the hassles of designing, styling, manufacturing, delivering, and installing luxury cabinet grades.

• The minimum budget for luxury cabinets starts at $75,000, excluding the costs of stonework for countertops and in-built appliances. However, that’s not the only drawback of these cabinets, as their manufacturing takes longer than other alternatives.

Remodel Your Kitchen Spaces with our Value-Engineered Millwork Shop Drawings

The results of kitchen modeling express the individual tastes of property owners and builders investing in home renovation projects. With open floor plans accommodating modern kitchen spaces and cabinetry, home remodelers count on the expertise of professional millwork drafters for shop drawings and 3D artists for photorealistic renderings.

At BluEntCAD, we bring years of experience in millwork drafting for residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, and governmental infrastructure. Our submittals are highly precise and detailed, and AWI standards do them.

We extend our valued engineering expertise from detailed millwork shop drawings and SolidWorks 3D modeling to architectural construction drawings, interior construction drawings, interior and exterior 3D rendering, architectural walkthroughs, BIM consulting, and CAD conversions.

Selecting suitable cabinet grades is as crucial as obtaining the highest-quality woodwork so as shop drawings. Get a free quote and hire trusted millwork drafters to achieve your kitchen remodeling goals.