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Should You Consider RTA Cabinets For Your Kitchen?

Before you ask, RTA is not a brand name. It means Ready to Assemble. This is probably the kind of cabinets you will receive if you buy kitchen cabinets online. When you’re replacing kitchen cabinets, you should give careful consideration to RTA cabinets, as they’re often less expensive and of a higher quality than their ready made counterparts.

The reasons for ready to assemble cabinets rather than fully assembled cabinetry is that first of all its substantially cheaper to ship them this way, and secondly there is a much greater chance of their arrival unscathed and unblemished in transit. Some people worry that RTA cabinets are impossible to build. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Specifically designed hardware makes ready to assemble cabinets extremely easy to put together quickly. Most cabinets can be constructed using only a screwdriver and a drill. A cam lock joining system makes this a possibility for modern cabinets. Cam locks are made from plastic or metal, and do a superior job of making RTA cabinet construction quite simple.

Most RTA kitchen cabinets are built mainly from plywood, with plywood tops, sides, and bottoms. The shelves will be made of either 5/8 inch plywood, or inch plywood. The drawer box of a cabinet is also plywood. Most drawer slides are side mounted, but you also may find under mounted ones. Expensive drawer slides are under-mounted and may have special hardware to allow them to be self closing. You may or may not be given a choice of pulls or other hardware such as exposed or European style concealed hinges for example.

Often when you use big box stores to purchase kitchen cabinets, you will find that they use cardboard or particle board. Usually, as mentioned above, RTA kitchen cabinets are made of plywood rather than lower quality materials, so they tend to last longer, as plywood is far more durable. Another advantage of RTA cabinet construction is a dovetail construction that’s used for the drawers to avoid the need to simply glue drawers together. A clear coat sealer is used as a finish on some RTA cabinets. This enables the cabinets to be cleaned much easier than others.

Pay special attention to what type of assembly instructions you’ll receive with your new cabinets. Most cabinetmakers will offer you a free sample of their instructions for review. Manufacturers’ websites may even have instructions. Read the sample instructions and see if they are clear and concise. Some manufacturers also include a toll free number for you to use should you require more instructions or have any questions. This is a good way to tell if you’re buying from a high-quality RTA kitchen cabinet seller when buying online.

You’ll want to check that any company you’re considering that sells RTA kitchen cabinets has been around for some time, and you’ll also want to look into any guarantees that they offer. Even if you have to spend more money, it may be worth it–dealing with a good company could make a big difference in the quality of your RTA kitchen cabinets.

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