Cabinetry 101 & 102 Series
A series of videos where we invite a special guest to talk about basic
cabinetry concepts from design to cabinet construction.
All Videos
Cabinetry 102 - Commercial Side of a Growing Industry
Cabinetry 102 - Commercial Side of a Growing Industry
Cabinetry 102 - Best team
Cabinetry 102 - Rare Finds
Cabinetry 102 - Drywall
1. Size
The store-bought cabinet is high-production without any input from the client, so they standardize the size of the cabinets.
If you think about it, not all homes are built to standard. With Abacus, you can size your cabinets so they fit in any kind of space, keeping other features of the room in mind like art walls, windows, and other elements that make up the whole room.
2. Shelves
The standard store-bought cabinet comes with 1/2 inch shelves. The shelf pins are plastic and they can break.
Our shelves are 3/4 inch minimum. We use stainless steel pins that prevent shelves from sliding. To accommodate glass shelving, we use a pin that has a rubber coating on it to prevent the glass from rattling and breaking.
3. Fasteners
Pre-built cabinets usually have a 1/4 inch back that's tacked on with flimsy nails. This can result in the fastener pulling through the back or the back disintegrating. The rest of the cabinet is fastened with micro pins.
Our 1/4 inch backs, sit inside a secure groove. Behind that, we mount 3/4 inch nailers, strong enough to hold the weight of the cabinet and last a long time. We use 3/4 inch material on all four sides of the cabinet and we screw them together using 7 millimeter confirmat screws.
6. Internal Hardware
Componentry is so important; it’s one of the most undervalued aspects. It’s the difference between a good cabinet and an amazing cabinet.
On a store-bought cabinet, they don’t usually use soft-close hinges, which makes doors bounce when they are closed.
The cabinets that we build, have a much more intentional closing mechanism, where the door feels solid and won’t bounce.
Our standard is heavy duty Blum soft close slides for drawers and soft close hinges for doors. We also work with automated hardware like electronic lifts for tall upper cabinets.
Our vendor offers hardware that can handle a drawer 48” wide and support 175 pounds with their heavy duty version. 2ft wide and 6ft tall doors.
7. Doors
The store-bought cabinet has a partial overlay door, which gives the builder a lot more flexibility and a wider margin of error with the door. It allows people to put two cabinets next to each other and worry less about the space in between the two doors. It looks fine and it gets the job done. These doors are usually made with a 1/4 inch inset panel, which feels unstable and can crack due to contraction or expansion. It’s glued and stapled to the frame, which makes it a little wobbly and rattling when you close it.
On our cabinets we have a full overlay door. We have a lot of control over the reveal between two cabinets, our standard is 1/8 of an inch. In custom cabinetry, we spend a lot of time thinking about reveal lines and how to make sure they’re consistent all around the faces of the cabinetry. On a shaker profile we use a 3/8 inch panel, which feels a lot more solid.
Flat
It offers a modern look, which is really big in Colorado. It’s a slab that can be done in different colors and materials.
Shaker
It’s the most standard design going on right now. It features a flat centre panel (usually mdf) and square edges with minimal detailing or profiling.
Profile
It has a thicker panel in the middle that gives it more depth and detail. It can have different inside and outside profiles, which will give it different character.
9-Piece
This type of door has applied moldings, which takes more time, but it gives it more of a custom feature.
Our vendor is able to offer doors specially for Colorado's dry climate, which helps with the expansion and contraction. They acclimate the lumber if it’s coming from other parts of the country using moisture sensors to make sure the moisture is not over 8% and never less than 5%.
8. Materials
Melamine or TFL
(Thermally Fused Laminate)
We most commonly use this material for the interior construction of our cabinetry. It’s a particle board with a paper laminate applied to it. It's a very durable material, easy to clean, water resistant, and the particle board provides fairly solid construction and it allows us to use confirmat screws, giving us the flexibility to put cabinets together and take them apart if we need to.
Our vendor lays out melamine locally. They offer melamines in a wide range.
Paint Grade
Paint grade is usually made out of maple, poplar, or mdf. It’s wood that can be painted easily and it’s used with a mdf core in the middle, which will keep it from warping and contracting.
A varnish finish is also applied on paint materials to ensure high quality.
See Paint options bellow or we can customize any color you want.
Acrylic
Is a thin layer of acrylic laminate that gets laid up on an mdf core. It is a high quality option for high gloss and matte materials and they’re easy to clean.
Our vendor provides acrylics that are scratch and finger print resistant. Their materials are laser edge banded to match the color or two toned edge banded, which replicates the look of glass for a more decorative option. Acrylics also have a lot of flexibility, they can have L-Folds, magnetic panels, or dry-erase certifications for more functional purposes.
Wood
We mostly use Veneer Wood, which is a thin slice of wood glued to an mdf core.The most common ways veneer is peeled are rotary cut and book match. When the veneer gets peeled, it’s done sequentially, which allows for grain matching. If you’re looking for a really consistent product we can use reconstituted veneer, which is still real wood but it’s man-made through dying and cutting.
We use varnish finish, which is higher quality, thicker, and more durable. The options for finishes on wood are clear coat, stain and glaze, or stain glaze and distress
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Leather
We've started offering leather wrapped products for a very sophisticated and unique look. Our vendor has a wide variety of leather looks available which allows us to customize your design.
9. Drawers
Dove Tail
Our vendor uses a half blind dovetail, which makes the drawers sturdier and it allows you to have a nice, smooth look in the front.
They also offer several custom inserts with integral dividers for any uses like silverware, trash can, baking sheets, pans, lids, corner drawers, and around-pipes drawers.
Legra Box
Legra box is Blum's line of drawers. The most common type is made of steel for a slim and light design, but they can customize your drawers to be other materials like glass, wood, leather, or stone.
These drawers have also different options for inserts.
Hafele
Hafele offers several types of drawers. They are also made of white or gray steel with the option to add glass panels.
10. Pulls
Even though, the client purchases the pulls, we're more than happy to install them. We like to know in advance if they will be face mounted or routed in. These are the different types of pulls we've worked with.
Routed
There are different styles of routed handles, but they all accomplish the same objective, to give your cabinets a stylish, smooth look.
Integrated
These types of handles are usually built-in profiles that vary in shape, size, and material. They add a unique modern look to the cabinetry.
Applied
There are the most traditional types of handles. They come in different materials and shapes. They're usually drilled into the cabinet.
Touch Latch
This mechanism works with a different piece of hardware. It is a spring-loaded plunger that pops open when you push it, giving your cabinetry a seamless look.
11. Metal Details
We have the ability to incorporate some metal details into our cabinetry. The materials most commonly used for metal details in cabinetry are steel (hot rolled, cold rolled, and stainless) and aluminum. The options are endless as to what can be done with metal. We can incorporate metal frames for decorative options to wood or glass, we can put a pattern metal sheet between a wood frame, have metal doors done, add metal corners or strips, and more. Here's some examples:
Metal Frames
These frames were added as a decorative feature to wet bar cabinetry. They definitely make the space look sophisticated
and unique.
Metal Mesh
The mesh in this closet was an idea the home-owner came up with when they were concerned about their clothes not have enough breathability. It's a functional and stylish feature.
Metal Doors
The metal doors in this kitchen add character to the space. Being the focal point, but also offering storage.
12. Lighting
Our vendor offers lighting for closets, kitchens, offices, shoe shelves, bathrooms, and more. The lighting features can be customized for size, thickness, colors, they can be automated with sensors or include light switches or remotes. Their products can be hooked up to smart-home systems, which is convenient or they also offer an app to control all your lighting from your phone or tablet.
Besides lighting, our vendor also offers automated sound for your cabinetry, which can be mounted on countertops, behind cabinet doors, or behind drywall, which can also be controlled from an app.
Linear Light
Strip LED lights vary in color and thickness. They can come with different lenses to soften up the light. They can be plugged into a driver and be installed into a recessed profile or a surface mount.
They also offer water-proof options.
Puck Light
This modular stage light can me recessed or surface mounted. It varies in size, color, and profile too. They can also be found in a square shape.
RGB Light
The RGB lights come in strips and in square shapes. These lights add mood to the space and can be controlled from an app.
13. Glass
We have the ability to incorporate glass into your designs. The most common way is into wood frames to make glass doors and add some accent to the room. There are several options and we decided to divide them into regular glass, frosted glass, and textured glass.
Regular Glass
Frosted Glass
Textured Glass
14. Accessories
When a client asks what accessories we use, we respond with "what accessories do you want?" We offer all sorts of accessories and we make sure to get them from the best brands because we want you to have the functionality of the product with the great quality. Our vendors are able to provide us with accessories from Kesseböhmer, Salice, Rev-A-Shelf, and more. These are our most trusted vendors, but if you're looking for a brand they don't carry, please let us know and we'll find it for you.
Our Recommendations for
Cabinet Care
1
It is important to keep the cabinet surfaces dry, wiping up spills immediately.
The areas around the sink, dishwasher, cooking areas and handles require special attention. Remove liquid and grease spills before they are allowed to penetrate and break the surface finish.
2
Clean occasionally with a soft, clean cloth moistened with water to remove sticky substance.
Make sure to remove any residue of water with a clean, dry cloth.
Do not drape damp towels over cabinet doors.
3
Do not use cleansers that contain abrasives (Ajax, SOS pads), soaps, acids, alkalis or ammonia (Windex); they will damage or discolor the surface.
Any cleansers or residue of cleansers on a cloth used to wipe the cabinets will void the warranty on the finish.
Installing Cabinets
We are excited to announce that LRI Construction has now joined forces with Abacus Cabinetry. We share similar visions and together we believe we can create the best full service custom cabinet company in Colorado. If there is any interest in starting a new project that requires custom cabinetry, semi-custom cabinetry or cabinet installation, Abacus Cabinetry now has a full service in house installation operation.
Our Responsibilities
Our installers are responsible for installing your cabinets,
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Our install team is not responsible for demo of any kind on site, even baseboards.
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Our team can install face mounted handles for your cabinets as part of your scope, if negotiated on the contract (we will not be responsible for any work done to the cabinets by anyone besides the Abacus team). Face frame and handles routed in need to be done prior to installation.
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The delivery team is not responsible for moving or damage to items in the way, including flooring.
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Abacus has the ability to add light to just about any portion of your cabinetry project, but the connection from the transformer to the outlet or anything over 110v will need to be addressed by a licensed electrician.
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Plumbing should be installed by a plumber prior to installation in the appropriate locations to accommodate the new cabinetry, per your signed off drawings.
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We are happy to meet with your electrician and plumber to discuss the install process and provide them with plans before installation begins.
Your Responsibilities
As a client, you’re responsible for providing a properly cleared and prepared space, this includes:
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Please allow the install team access to your home and a place to set up power equipment in a convenient proximity to the install location with a power source.
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The room(s) they will be walking through and into should be clear and the floors should be protected.
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The demo should be completed before delivery and the baseboards should be removed in the location where the cabinetry is going.
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The handles for the cabinets should be at the job site before installation (only if they will be installed by Abacus).
The Result
At the end, the finished project is going to be beautiful, leveled, and tightly scribed into the space. You can tell your installation process was successful if:
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The cabinets are plumb, level, and secure.
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The doors and drawers are adjusted with even reveals.
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The panels are cut tight to the floor, walls, and ceiling.
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The trim has tight joints.
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The cabinets are aligned per design with each other and the surrounding space.
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The job site is left clean.
We strive to manufacture and deliver a good quality product and ensure a smooth and good install process. Your support will help us make sure it goes well and without delays. However, if this is not the case, at the end of your project we will send you a survey link so you can let us know how your experience was. We would appreciate your feedback.