If one culprit can be singled out as the major cost-driver, it’s kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets can represent a majority of the totalkitchen remodelcost.
When you add fixtures and accessories like slide-outs,organizers, andlazy susans, the price climbs even higher.
The Spruce / Michelle Becker
So, paring down the cost of cabinets brings down the total project cost commensurately.
One way to do this is to get creative.
Buying, bartering, or otherwise obtaining used kitchen cabinets helps bring down the considerable cost of newkitchen cabinets.
Laundry rooms or guest bathrooms may benefit from used cabinets, as well.
Salvage yards typically have used kitchen cabinets of acceptable quality.
Prices will rarely be rock-bottom since profit-based architectural salvage yards are about commerce, not charity.
But the prices will nearly always be less than the price of new cabinets.
Routinely check Craigslist and immediately drop a line to the other party when you see an offer.
Be ready to pick up at any time.
Buy Nothing Project
Your immediate area may have aBuy Nothinggroup.
Buy Nothing is a hyper-local, ongoing classified ads section where everything is offered and received for no cost.
you’re able to even put out a request for items and see what happens.
Buy Nothing groups tend to operate through Facebook.
Either start at the Buy Nothing site to find your group or search on Facebook.
Grabbing free kitchen cabinets will be hit-and-miss here, especially since items tend to be on the smaller side.
Goods are often donated from large remodeling projects, and in good condition.
Habitat ReStores benefit so many causes.
Primarily, families in need of good, safe housing are benefitted.
Building materials are kept out of landfill.
And you get gently used kitchen cabinets.
With ReStores, it’s an everyone-wins proposition.
Ask to speak to the manager.
Often the owner or contractor wants to remove these cabinets as part of a kitchen remodel.
Usually, these types of used cabinets are very cheap or even free.
Display kitchen cabinets fall in a twilight area between new and used.
They may be beaten up, but not as beaten up as cabinets that come from working kitchens.
They can be dirty but never dirtied with cooking grease and food residue.
Often, you barely even get cabinets, since they can be missing shelves, fixtures, or doors.
They might include the sink and leave it attached to the kitchen countertop.
Whether or not you want these extras is a factor that you better consider in advance.
That’s because some homeowners may include hauling away these extras as a condition for hauling away the cabinets.
Know your limits in advance.
When you show up to buy used working cabinets, the owner may not have removed the cabinets yet.
Discuss this detail in advance.
Along with those accessories, you may also find breadboxes, wine racks, and spice racks.
Condition of Used Kitchen Cabinets
Used working kitchen cabinets are rarely in stellar shape.
These cabinets have often been used for years and might be stained with cooking grease and food.
The cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and sides of the cabinet boxes may be delaminating.
This is especially true if the cabinets are faced with thermofoil.
If the cabinets have already been removed from the kitchen, there is a chance of some breakage.
Used display cabinets have been used but not for cooking use.
The cabinet displays are usually dated.
Showrooms like to store heavy items in the drawers such as granite countertop samples and product literature.
In general, though, it benefits the showroom to keep those cabinet displays looking as good as possible.
