High-quality kitchen cabinets have at least ten characteristics that contribute to their long lifespan. The best kitchen cabinets will be durable and beautiful for many years to come. Unfortunately, some cabinets have problems in as little as a year or two. Issues like crooked doors, sagging drawers, scratched faces, loose hinges and warping boxes quickly deteriorate the look of a kitchen. That’s why it is important to choose the best kitchen cabinets with high-quality construction. As you shop for cabinets and compare cabinet costs, look for the following construction features. This will help ensure you choose high-quality cabinets for your home.
1. All-Plywood Cabinets
CliqStudios offers all-plywood cabinets. All of our cabinet materials have been tested and certified. You can be confident that your new cabinets will stand up to everyday use. Moreover, they won’t expand and flake when there’s the occasional leaky faucet.
Varying Materials
Many retailers use varying materials and cannot identify the specific material grades that make up their cabinets.
Plywood
Strong and long-lasting, certified plywood sides and backs are standard on CliqStudios Signature cabinets and optional upgrades on the CliqStudios Signature Plus line. Consumer Reports recommends plywood as the premium quality option for cabinets. Plywood holds screws more securely and resists moisture better than alternative materials. It is resilient against blow-outs, dings, dents, and sagging. These benefits make it the best material for cabinet sides, backs, shelves, and drawer bottoms.
2. Fully-Assembled Cabinets
CliqStudios offers both fully-assembled and ready-to-assemble cabinets, whichever is more convenient for you. The cabinets are shipped directly to you, ready-to-install.
Ready to Assemble
RTA cabinets ship in parts, such as the cabinet, face frame, drawers, drawer glides, inserts, doors and hardware. They are designed to be assembled at the construction site. Assembly and installation can be handled by the DIY homeowner or by a hired contractor. Either way, some skill is required to ensure safe, functional cabinets.
Fully-Assembled and Ready-to-Install
CliqStudios offers fully-assembled semi-custom cabinets in our popular Signature and Signature Plus lines. This means every cabinet is engineered to create a single piece that will arrive in one carton. No assembly required. Factory construction methods join wood parts using dovetail joints, hot & cold glue, power fasteners and other industrial techniques. In this wood-to-wood construction, the pieces bond on a microscopic level, creating a quality kitchen cabinet with strength.
3. Long-Lasting, Quality Cabinet Frames
Long-lasting, quality cabinet frames provide stability. Face frames keep the cabinet box square during shipping and installation. Professional cabinet installers often charge more to install frameless cabinets, because it is more time-consuming. This is because frameless cabinetry requires very precise installation. Frameless cabinets only have 1/8” gaps between the doors of the cabinets, so the install area must be perfectly level. This is especially important in spaces where the floor and walls may be uneven.
Frameless
Frameless, also known as European-style, cabinets have no frame on the front of the cabinet box. Cabinets without frames are full overlay, revealing approximately 1/8-inch around drawer fronts and cabinet doors. Side panels are thicker than in a framed cabinet to allow the glides and hinges to mount directly to the cabinet sides.
Solid Hardwood Frame
CliqStudios cabinetry features painted frames made with ¾” by 1½” solid hardwood. Solid hardwood is unique in its color, texture, and grain patterns. This includes mineral streaks and knots. These natural variations add to hardwood’s distinctive appeal and beauty. Hardwood is durable, resilient, and easy to repair.
4. Quality Cabinet Boxes
Captured and integrated brace construction creates a quality cabinet box. This increases stability during shipping and installation and provides long-term cabinet strength. Unless integrated with the cabinet side, gussets add no strength or structural integrity to the cabinet. Captured, or integrated, braces also make base cabinets much easier to move into position when installing.
Plastic Corner Gussets
Some cabinet brands use plastic triangular shaped corner gussets as a lower cost alternative to braces or I-beams. Gussets are usually stapled, glued or nailed to each corner of the cabinet. This is to keep the cabinet square during shipping. However, plastic gussets do not provide the same stability and strength of captured and integrated braces.
Furniture Board Braces
Captured and integrated furniture board braces are integrated with the CliqStudios Signature Plus box through a dado joint, nails and glue that connect to all four sides of a base cabinet. This integrated construction style provides great strength and stability, especially when moving and installing cabinets.
Plywood I-beams
CliqStudios Signature cabinets feature fully integrated I-beams. I-beams are essential to creating a sturdier box. I-beams add stability during shipping and installation and provide long-term cabinet strength. Integrated I-beams also make installation of base cabinets faster and easier. Wall cabinets do not need this support because they are enclosed on top and bottom.
5. Easy-to-Clean Interiors
Kitchen cabinet interior surfaces should be non-porous and easy-to-clean. Cabinet interiors also need to be tough enough to last the life of the cabinets without staining, bubbling or showing wear.
Melamine and laminate are two different, yet similar materials. They are the perfect surface for cabinet interiors because of their extremely high resistance to moisture. Most melamine and laminate cabinet interiors are printed with a light-tone wood grain.
Wood Veneer Interior
Wood is naturally porous and rough. A stained wood veneer interior or shelf surface will absorb moisture and stains. It will also trap soil in the grain of the wood. The finish will not tolerate strong cleaning solutions. Wood veneer will become damaged by residual moisture. This damage could come from dishwashers, excessive humidity, greasy cooking fumes, as well as dirt and food particles.
Melamine Interior
Melamine is durable and resistant to fire, water and stains. It can be safely cleaned with strong household solutions. As a shelf or cabinet lining, it wipes clean easily. CliqStudios uses a neutral, light, wood-toned melamine that brightens the cabinet interior.
6. Durable, Full-Height Back Panel
For strength and ease of installation, quality kitchen cabinets have a durable, full-height back panel. A full back panel allows the cabinet to be directly attached to wall studs at any point on the cabinet back. If installation requires the cabinet be cut around ductwork, plumbing or electrical, the modification will be simpler on the full back.
Alternate Cabinet Back
Metal, rails, hang rails and picture-frame panels are all alternate cabinet backs. It’s common to see 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch hangers at the top and bottom of the cabinet. Manufacturers then either omit the back panel entirely or incorporate a thin 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch panel. If a rail needs to be cut to accommodate wiring or plumbing, additional reinforcement will be necessary.
Plywood Full Back
The back panel of a CliqStudios cabinet is a full-height, 3/8” plywood panel. The back is secured with hot glue, nails and a rabbet joint. Extending the panel from the top of the cabinet to the bottom eliminates gaps or spaces and provides additional strength.
7. Dovetail Drawer Box Construction
CliqStudios knows the bottom of the drawer must support the weight of the drawer contents. That’s why we choose to use solid hardwood sides with a fully captured bottom. Hardwood drawer boxes with dovetail joints have become the standard for American cabinetry. This is due to the long-lasting strength, durability and beauty of the dovetail joint.
Stapled Particleboard Drawer Box
A wide range of materials and construction methods are used for cabinet drawers. Construction methods vary greatly and could include particleboard, plywood, metal or plastic elements. Lesser quality cabinets have stapled particleboard drawer boxes.
Solid Hardwood Dovetailed Drawer Box
CliqStudios drawer boxes are made from solid hardwood with dovetail joints. A dovetail joint has teeth that interlock to join two pieces of wood. A high-quality hardwood drawer box will have sides of 5/8-inch or thicker. The sides meet at dovetail joints, where the strength of the joint comes from the wood itself. A strong plywood drawer bottom is glued and nailed in place. Every drawer bottom is fully captured on all four sides in grooved joints.
8. Soft-Close Door Hinges
All of CliqStudios cabinets have soft-close door hinges with Certification. This means they have been tested to withstand 65 pounds of weight and operated through 25,000 open and close cycles. CliqStudios provides a limited lifetime warranty on all door hinges.
Other Hinges
There are thousands of hinges available to cabinet manufacturers. Be wary of cabinet manufacturers that use low-end hinges. Many hinges only provide four-way adjustability or do not have a product warranty.
Smart-Stop Soft-Close Hinges
CliqStudios Signature Plus cabinets feature Smart Stop soft-close hinges. They are 6-way adjustable, concealed, nickel plated steel, with a 107 degree opening. They have a limited lifetime warranty.
Blum® Soft-Close Hinges
CliqStudios Signature cabinets feature Blum® soft-close hinges. They are 6-way adjustable, concealed, nickel plated steel, with a 107 degree opening. They have a limited lifetime warranty.
9. Soft-Close Drawer Glides
Certification assures you that the CliqStudios guides have been tested for quality. Each drawer glide can withstand 15 pounds per square foot of drawer space. They can also be operated through 25,000 open and close cycles. CliqStudios provides a limited lifetime warranty on drawer glides.
Side-Mount Epoxy Coated Guides
Other brands use many different types of drawer glides, including epoxy-coated metal with nylon rollers. Center-mount and side-mount glides rarely provide full access. Partial-access means that about 25 percent of the drawer remains inside the cabinet. This makes it difficult to reach the back of the drawer. Side-mount glides are never soft-close.
Fully-Concealed Steel Undermount Guides with Smart Stop
CliqStudios Signature Plus cabinets feature steel fully-concealed, ball bearing, undermount guides with Smart Stop. The ball-bearing glide is concealed beneath the drawer box supporting up to 75 lbs. The glide uses a dampening system that is almost silent when opening and closing your drawer.
Blum® Full-Access, Soft-Close Steel Undermount Guides
CliqStudios cabinets feature Blum® brand full-access, soft-close steel undermount guides. The ball-bearing glide is concealed beneath the drawer box supporting up to 100 lbs. The glide uses a dampening system that is almost silent when opening and closing your drawer.
10. Toekick
The toekick area is the space where the cabinet meets the floor. It provides space for your feet when standing at the counter. A toekick should be fully enclosed and captured with dado joints, glue and nails. It should be integrated into the full-length, back panel and cabinet sides for additional strength. After installation, applying a finished toekick panel completes the look.
Cabinets supported by plastic legs are not as strong or stable as full-box cabinets. An additional toekick panel is also necessary to prevent dirt and small items from being trapped under the cabinet.
Open Toekick
Some RTA cabinets have four plastic adjustable feet for support. Some brands may offer stainless steel feet for an upcharge. The open space under the cabinet requires a toekick cover, which snaps on the legs to enclose the area. Cabinets with an open front need a wooden toekick panel added.
Plywood Toekick
A quality kitchen cabinet with a solid, full-length plywood back panel and plywood cabinet sides forms a natural toekick panel. High-quality cabinets use fully-captured dado joints, hot glue and more to create the strongest base for heavy countertops. A decorative panel applied post-construction provides a finished look.
Showing 48 comments
Krystal Breese
Can you tell me how high off the floor the end panels are? Also, how long are they? Are they planned for furniture base? If so what are the dimensions?
Also, what is the length of the crown molding? Do they come precut to match cabinets or are they sent in certain length of sheets. Obviously this is for install purposes.
Dan Jones
I believe you are referring to what us ‘kitchen industry’ people call the toekick area. Our cabinets have a 4-1/2″ height. We do have 3/4″ x 96″ molding material that can be configured to provide a furniture toekick base that doesn’t have the “indent” at the bottom.
All of our crown molding is 96″ long and height, depth and width dimensions will vary depending on the crown molding you select. Best to confirm with your designer and installer of what your ceiling height is. No ceiling is the same dimension across the entire kitchen and will vary. Crown choice also is dependent on the height of your wall cabinets and how much space is created at the ceiling.
Jasmin
Can you tell me what CliqStudios uses for shelf brackets? Pins in holes or or channels?
CliqStudios Marketing
Hi Jasmin. We use pin holes for the brackets.
Jacob Smith
Thanks for sharing this information us.
Aarsun
Nice and informative article… Thanks for sharing.
Esther Kronborg
Additionally, CliqStudios cabinets are of the highest caliber. When assessing cabinet quality, consider these Top 10 Characteristics of High Quality Kitchen Cabinets . Enlarging a window – Selecting the upper cabinets helped us determine the optimal window size that the space could accommodate.
Bobbie
Do you have a showroom? I don’t live to too far away and am considering buying from you but nervous when you can’t really see what you are buying.
CliqStudios Marketing
Hi Bobbie. We are an on-line company and we don’t have showrooms in order to keep our prices low. Have you ordered one of the free sample kits? Here’s the link: https://www.cliqstudios.com/kitchen-cabinet-samples/
David
According to another reviewer on another site, CliqStudios closed. I have been designing a kitchen with them for months and have been ready to order and pay. Suddenly they do not call back or even respond on their 800 number. Be careful.
CliqStudios Digital Marketing
Hi David,
We are so sorry for this disruption to your project. We are committed to making this right for you. Please reach out to us at 888-350-1242 or designteam@cliqstudios.com.
Lily Ann Cabinets and CliqStudios have joined together and are working around the clock to best serve our customers by assembling an outstanding team, merging our systems and establishing proper social distancing practices in the workplace. We project CliqStudios products will be shipping once again beginning early May. If you need cabinets sooner, we are delighted to offer you a rapid 14-day delivery option from Lily Ann Cabinets. You may call us at 800-551-1438 to start your rapid order.
Claudia
Do you offer integrated paneled cabinetry for appliances?
CliqStudios Social Media
Yes, be sure to mention to your designer if you’re interested in panels for our appliances. Our team can be reached at 888-350-1242
Terri
what kind of wood is used for your cabinets? are they wood? it may be obvious but I cannot tell. I am remodeling my kitchen. I love these ideas but need to know what kind of wood is used on the door front.
CliqStudios Social Media
Specifically, all of our cabinets are semi-custom, fully-assembled, built-to-fit and ready-to-install.
CliqStudios boxes are made with 1/2-inch plywood sides and a 3/8-inch plywood back. All are fully captured dado joints that are secured with both wood glue and pneumatic nails for strength. Our face frames and door frames are solid hardwood. Our drawers have four solid hardwood sides with dovetail joints. Most styles are available with a choice of a slab or a five-piece drawer front. Our hardware is Blum Blumotion soft-close drawer glides and hinges. Our finishes are hand-applied in multiple steps before being baked on for long-lasting beauty and durability.
We stand behind our product with a lifetime warranty. Our design service is complementary. Shipping is free to most locations. We offer financing for those who wish to pay over time. Call 888-350-1242 to get started.
Dana Evans
Great informing article
Cathy
Thanks for the great tips. I would like to pursue ordering cabinets from you but am concerned about shipping damages. If shipping damages any of the cabinets, the kitchen completion will delay building schedules of our house in WV.
By the way, what would be a typical shipping charge for about 24 cabinets?
CliqStudios Social Media
Congratulations on your remodel. Shipping is free on most orders.
Lisa
Do you ship to Alaska ?
CliqStudios Social Media
We do not ship to Alaska at this time. Thank you.
Heather Nickle
do you ship to canada?
CliqStudios Marketing
Hi Heather. We are in the process of adding this capability and expect to be able to ship to Canada soon.
Ron Benkin
Are these custom cabinets and where are your cabinets manufactured?
CliqStudios Digital Marketing
Hi Ron! Our cabinets are manufactured at our factory in Connersville, Indiana. They are semi-custom cabinets which we sell directly to consumers.
Lois walker
I just want door prices – no cabinets
CliqStudios Social Media
We only sell complete kitchen cabinets that are custom built to fit each space. They arrive fully assembled and ready to install.
kalekidan aklil
wow thanks good explanation then add to other subject related ideas
Jeanne
Do you offer a contractors discount?
CliqStudios Social Media
Check out our pro program, https://www.cliqstudios.com/professional-remodeling-contractors-partner-program/
susan
Are the cabinets greenguard certified? What is the VOC emissions of the cabinets and counters?
CliqStudios Social Media
We’re proud to answer definitively that our products are fully compliant with the stringent CARB2 and EPA TSCA Title VI standards for minimal formaldehyde emissions. You can be assured that all of the composite wood components used to build our cabinetry are sourced from mills that have been certified as supplying materials that meet or exceed these very stringent standards.
Krystal Sturges
Thank you for this wonderful, informative video! We’re in the process of renovating our new home. We NEED your help for the kitchen (and possibly the 3 bathrooms and library)! We found someone local that seemed to have quality products. But they’re RTA that he orders and assembles himself for the customer. I’m not sure where to start. What are the lead times? Do you do custom colors?
CliqStudios Social Media
Congrats on your renovations! At this time, we do not offer custom colors. Our lead time is 4 to 6 weeks from the time that you order.
Debbi
Hi there- When looking at the construction of your cabinets, I noticed that the toe kicks come unfinished. Do you provide matching stain or paint depending on the finish of the cabinets? Also, do you supply paint or stain for cabinet touch-ups?
CliqStudios Social Media
Hi and thanks for your question! When your CliqStudios cabinets arrive, your order will have a care a maintenance guide. We also include a touch-up kit in every sink base, just in case.
Debj755@yahoo.com
We checked off all the boxes you said for good cabinets. Except ours were painted white from the warehouse. The paint did not last well, chipping, falling off &look terrible. Little wear & tear with only me & hubby living here. We even had the cabinets resprayed professionally. We paid $8000.for that. The paint still deteriorated.. I’m so disappointed ?
Natalie
We are getting ready to re-do our home. @Debi, your comment says you checked off all of the boxes listed here for good cabinets. What you did not specify was whether you used the CliqStudios cabinets. Will you please clarify? I would like to know the good, the bad, and the ugly prior to making a decision.
Thank you!
Linda
I am planning a new home. Any chance I could still use your service?
CliqStudios
For sure! Give us a call at 888-350-1242 and we’d love to help you get started.
Vincent Gaver
Your website is amazing. I’m a complete amateur and was able to select my cabinetry with ease. I have gone to surplus warehouses and so-called discount cabinet stores and no one makes it this easy. (and Ikea – the cabinets are not high quality though I’m sure they function.) In the future it would be nice to offer free local pick-up.
Bradley Mikkelson, B-Mike Contracting
Looks like some awesome products that could give me an advantage over other local competition in my residential remodel business. It would be nice to get some product sales and guide books to have for selling a kitchen remodel with your cabinets. I work in a lot of areas where internet service is not available. This makes hard copies more important that this great website. If you offer anything like that please contact me immediately.
CliqStudios
Hi Bradley! We’d love to work with you. We can offer certainly offer you cabinet samples and catalogs, and our detailed design packets can be printed. Take a look at our Pro Program: https://www.cliqstudios.com/professional-remodeling-contractors-partner-program/.
bird
Are you able to do two different colors of cabinets? I have one wall of cabinets and then a lone island. I currently have the wall cabs an espresso brown and the island turquoise. Can this be done?
CliqStudios
Yes! We work with many clients who love the two-toned kitchen look.
Gene Harbula
I’d like more information
CliqStudios
For more information about buying new kitchen cabinets, our kitchen cabinet buyer’s guide is a good place to start. You can also visit our Resource Center for more articles and guides, or call us at 888-350-1242 with any questions you might have!
Michele Pierce
I am interested in your cabinets. I need 15 boxes. What is your best price per box?
CliqStudios
Hello Michele, the standard wall cabinet starts at $250-300, while a standard base cabinet starts at about $400. Keep in mind that CliqStudios cabinets come in varied widths and heights, meaning that you it’s possible you’ll use fewer than 15 cabinet boxes for the storage you need.