What Are the Pros & Cons of Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets?

Custom cabinets work well for unusual spaces.

If you're a do-it-yourselfer with a little carpentry experience, you might want to build your own kitchen cabinets. Custom cabinets offer a number of benefits, but also come with a few disadvantages.

Cost Savings

Building your own cabinets can help you save over the cost of buying prefabricated cabinets or getting a professional installation. Take care to budget carefully in order to maximize your savings.

Control

When you build and install your own kitchen cabinetry, you control the size, shape, materials and appearance. This can be ideal for people with unusual tastes or unusual kitchens.

Labor

Building your own means you trade time for money. Constructing your own cabinets from scratch can require significant amounts of labor on your part, cutting into your time for other activities.

Skill

Beginners can't construct their own cabinets. Cabinetry takes a good woodworking background and some special tools. If you don't already have the skills, kitchen cabinets aren't a good first project.

References

• Rockler Woodworking and Hardware: Making Your Own Kitchen Cabinets