Cabinets Assembled By You™

Frequently Asked Questions

Due to constant product improvement, this information is subject to change without notice.

Why Scherr's?

Many people want the quality, look and features of high-end custom frameless cabinets, but find that the cost is out of their reach. This is where we come in. If you have regular handyman skills, a desire to have your dream kitchen and save money at the same time, we can help. Plus, you get the personal satisfaction of assembling the cabinets, so in the end you can say “I did it myself!”

Are your cabinets RTA? (Ready to Assemble)

In that they are "Ready to Assemble", yes. We just hate to associate our Cabinets Assembled By You™ line with the term RTA because the quality difference in your average RTA cabinet kit compared to our own is a world apart. Our cabinets are truly custom, built based on your input and instruction. The quality and workmanship of our cabinets keep our customers and contractors coming back over and over for each new project. We are loyal to our Customers and they humble us with their loyalty in return!

Who purchases cabinets from Scherr's?

High-end custom kitchen designers, custom home builders, architects, residential remodeling contractors and individual homeowners (do-it-yourselfers). Sometimes when you want great quality you're faced with two choices: either you pay an expert, or if you do it yourself, you can achieve high-quality without the crazy price-tag. Many of our customers are also people who are working on a budget but want something a little higher quality than what you can get with large retailers. One of the trends we see are people who buy cabinet boxes from places such as IKEA and have us custom make doors and drawer fronts. We can match the doors to fit the cabinets and we'll bore the hinge locations as well as drawer fronts to fit. With this strategy you can achieve a high-quality custom crafted look for less.

What do your cabinets cost?

The cost of our cabinets varies greatly depending on the materials selected, level of completion you require from us (staining/finishing, drawers assembled etc.), or size and complexity of the project. A complete kitchen may be as low as $275 per lineal ft. for bases and wall cabinets combined, to as much as $750 or more per lineal ft. Low cost selections include white melamine interiors, paint grade doors, any flat panel door, and melamine drawers. Higher cost selections include using our Premium Veneered Plywoods for the cabinet boxes, solid wood doors, dovetail drawers, higher cost exterior materials such as cherry, maple, VG fir, mahogany or walnut. Complex cabinets with angles, specialized hardware, and extras such as crown molding and fluted columns for instance also drive the overall cost. If you combine some of the lower cost options with some of the higher cost, your price will be somewhere in the middle.

How long will it take for me to get my cabinets?

We are a custom manufacturer and we only allow a certain number of cabinets to flow through our production shop. We will NOT rush anything or cut corners on our cabinets to save time. We believe that if you create a great product and really care about your craft, then people will take notice! Just look at what people say about our cabinets online! Our lead time varies throughout the year depending on workload, so you may want to call or email us to inquire about the current lead time before submitting any information to see if it will work with your schedule. In the past it has been as low as 6 weeks to as much as 17 weeks. If you are working with a tight schedule and need something done quickly, we can make and ship your project in a bout a quarter of the time if your cabinet parts are made from pre-finished materials and your doors/drawer fronts are sent to you unfinished so that you can either finish them yourself or hire a painter to do the work. Of course, using this strategy limits your options. We are always working on ways to improve our operations.

How much is shipping?

This will vary depending on how far you are from us, and the size of your project. If there are panels or doors over 6ft, or if a job's total weight ads up to 400 lbs or more, then we will likely need to ship your order through a freight carrier. Freight carrier orders for large kitchen cabinets can easily cost several hundred dollars. We will calculate the shipping cost when we prepare the estimate.  

How are the cabinets shipped?

Generally, cabinets are shipped with a common carrier freight company. We ship all over the USA, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and sometimes farther out. Transit time within the continental US is 3 to 5 business days.

How are the cabinets packaged for shipping?

We wrap the parts for individual cabinets in cardboard/foam and place them on a pallet. Once the pallet is 3 or 4 feet high, we shrink wrap the entire pallet, cover it again with cardboard and strap it to the pallet. If there are very large parts we will typically build a wooden crate in order to properly protect your project.

What does it take to unload the cabinets from the truck?

Once the order is picked up by the shipping carrier, we contact you and provide you with all the tracking information (freight company name, phone number and shipment tracking number.) You can then track the shipment and contact the freight company when the shipment reaches your area. You can then work with the freight company to schedule a delivery time. You will be responsible for unloading the truck, so if you can round up a few helpers, that would be great. The pallets that the cabinets are on can be broken down on the truck and the individual packages (generally 50 to 60 lbs.) removed. If you do not have help available, let us know at the time of shipping and we can arrange for a truck with a rear lift gate (this service will have an extra charge.)

How do your cabinets compare to my local home center cabinets?

There is no comparison. First, we are custom and can make the cabinets any size required to fit your openings. Second, we use higher quality materials from the lumber to the hardware. Third, our cabinets are constructed better… way better. The cabinets are assembled with solid wood dowels and confirmat screws instead of staples and plastic brackets like the home center cabinets. Plus, our sides, tops, floors and shelves are all ¾” thick material. Our base cabinets have full tops which means when you slide your drawers out, if anything is “sticking up” in the drawer there won’t be a rail for it to catch on.

Is it difficult to assemble the cabinets?

No. The cabinets are assembled with dowels and screws (finished cabinet sides are attached with dowels and CAM fittings so there are no exposed screw or nail holes.) The dowels we supply are pre-glued, so you don’t even need glue, just some water! We supply all the assembly hardware. The cabinet sides are pre-drilled for attaching the drawer hardware and hinges. The doors are pre-drilled for the hinges. The hinges and hinge mounting plates are the Blum® Clip Top® Inserta® type and require NO tools to attach to the plate to the cabinet, or the hinge to the door. We also supply a set of instructions for each type of cabinet. We are also here for support if you have any questions, as you can call our office or send us an email.

Are your cabinets made of particleboard?

That is up to you. The cabinets can either be constructed using our ¾” thick 45 lb industrial board with a thermo-fused white or natural hard rock maple melamine surface, or our premium quality veneered plywoods (maple, birch, cherry or red oak veneer surfaces available.) The premium veneer plywood materials are more expensive, adding about 20% to the project cost. Even if you choose the melamine surfaced industrial board, this is not some cheap particleboard like you find in home center cabinets, but rather a heavy, dense high quality material that holds screws well, and is very stable. Also, the melamine surface is water resistant, very durable, and easy to clean. If you choose the melamine surfaced material, all finished/exposed cabinet sides will still be in a matching real wood veneer surface to your door/drawer front material selection. Also, glass door or open shelf cabinets will have an all real wood veneer interior. We have other veneered materials available too (such as Walnut, VG Fir, Mahogany, Red Alder, White Oak, Pine), although most of these have an MDF (medium density fiberboard) core. You can also request a special material if you don’t see it listed, as we may be able to get it!

What rooms in our house can we use your cabinets in?

Kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room, entertainment centers, offices, bedrooms, closets and library bookshelves. We can also make cabinets with materials that stand up well to abuse for shop/garage settings.

Will you make face frame style cabinets?

Currently, no. We have looked into it, and may sometime in the future add face frame cabinets. We have had customers add their own face frames to our cabinet boxes, so that is something to consider if you have the skills. However, adding a frame affects the size of the doors and drawers, so you would have to supply us a list of the exact sizes of the cabinet boxes, doors and drawers taking into account the frame widths and clearances required.

Scherr's used to make cabinets standard with face frames a long time ago but have since changed. What many people in the cabinet trade don't like to admit or even realize is that face frames have often been used in the industry to cover up shoddy workmanship. In our region we were one of the first shops to move away from face frames and were ridiculed for it. Now it is becoming the norm; in fact, frameless cabinets have been used widely throughout Europe since WWII. We believe that even for high-end cabinetry, frameless cabinets are superior in style, function, and material cost. In lieu of a frame, using precise joinery and superior materials allows you to have a larger functioning cabinet opening. So, what do you end up with? This means larger doors and drawer fronts that provide a more uniform face across your entire cabinet set. This means wider and taller drawer boxes. This means easier hardware installation (fewer spacing blocks and brackets to work around the face-frame!) This means nothing to get in your way when you are storing large objects in your cabinets, when you're cleaning them, or when you're performing maintenance on plumbing or electrical components. This means faster and easier assembly. This means a noticeable savings in material cost.