Used Kitchen Cabinets

Why and How To Choose Them

What good are used kitchen cabinets for my home? …wonder a lot of house owners!

If you are on a budget and want something less expensive than a set of full blown designer kitchen cabinets is not for you. You got to find better means of sourcing good deals and used cabinets can be one of the ways to go.

But then what about the style statement? Will it not create a shabby looking kitchen with all those marks of age?

Yes it will. In fact it might take you a while to be comfortable with the fact that you are putting used kitchen cabinets in your kitchen. Trust me its more of a psychological problem than anything else. Given the techniques I share with you in this article you should be in a comfortable position when it comes to choosing the right set of used cabinets and replenish it to look as good as new.

How to Choose Used Kitchen Cabinets

These are some of the techniques used by professionals to choose kitchen cabinets. You may use these to ensure that the health of your old kitchen cabinets is good. Look for the specific key points below to have a usable and sturdy set of kitchen cabinets for your usage.

If the cabinet is designed for the floor then look for toe space of at least two inches depth and three inches height.
Check the robustness of the cabinet doors. They must all be properly aligned. Closure mechanisms must be available in all of them and there should not be excessive looseness caused due to closing.
Most of the manufacturers make the wall cabinets and the base cabinets sturdy but leave the utility cabinets without much attention. It’s not of much use to have slack utility cabins in the kitchen. So make sure you buy kitchen cabinets set that have utility units as strong as the wall and the base units.
If frames are used in the cabinets then check the rigidity of the frame. This is very critical to the overall life of the cabinet. The chosen material is also very important here. If you go for some solid wood that has proven record of providing the rigidity to take on kitchen loads then you can expect the set to last longer and serve you better.
In case the cabinets you are inspecting are frameless then check every remaining side of it for thickness that will get in the desired sturdiness to the system. Take care of the thickness of the wood being used. Usually the thicker the material the better it is. Of course the quality of wood used is another governing criteria.
Take special note of the fabrication details. Lineal bracing must be used for proper connection between various parts. Any slackness in this front could lead to early death of your used kitchen cabinets.
Make sure that the wood used to fabricate the cabinets contains 10% or less of moisture. This is recommended for ultimate service life of the parts.
As you know the kitchen environment is very demanding. It asks for use of materials that are capable of handling steam, grease, detergents and solvents with equal ease. Look for the properties of the materials used in manufacturing the kitchen cabinets you are about to buy and compare them with the requirements mentioned here.
Look for good finish on the exterior of your kitchen cabinets. Go for a smooth finish that appeals to your taste of aesthetics. You may later color the entire set of cabinets to make it complimentary to the rest of your kitchen.

Where to Find Used Kitchen Cabinets to Buy

One place that comes to my mind is eBay. It is an online market place where people sell new and used stuff. There are more than a million products on sale on eBay and chances are good that you will find some great looking used kitchen cabinets out there for very less money of yours. You will need a free eBay account though to start bidding on any of their products. Be wary of suspicious sellers. Buy from sellers with an excellent feedback rating.

It’s always better to buy local when it comes to stuff like Kitchen cabinets. Thus I would recommend you put a buy ad on Craigslist for your town. Better still search local classified ads including that in Craigslist for people selling used kitchen cabinets.

Hope you find a sweet deal for your kitchen.

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