Purchasing kitchen cabinets before remodel?

Hi Everyone,

First thread and happy I found this community. I'm on a super tight budget, and am going to be handling a kitchen remodel little by little. For me, it just works better this way finance wise since a lot has to be done.

My question is, would it be okay to purchase kitchen cabinets months before the actual remodel begins? I would have the kitchen measurements taken, the design drawn and the cabinets purchased and inspected upon arrival and just put them aside until the remodel is going to take place.

The reason why I'm doing this in phases is because I can't shell out $5,000-$10,000 out of pocket and would like to purchase everything little by little as I have the funds. My aim is to have the kitchen completely done by Dec or January.

I'm not sure if anyone has ever done this before and looking to get some insight.

Thanks in advance!

 

You can, but you better make darn sure that your measurements are right and that nothing changes the plan between now and then. Once cabinets are ordered, there can be no major changes to the floor plan.

 

Thanks for the reply! I'm going to move the sink, stove and fridge and incorporated the changes in the design. I don't know of anyone who's ordered cabinets well in advance of the reno, but my situation only allows this is phases. I'm 100% certain of the layout I want and won't be changing the design. I thought for months about this and have been researching it all over the last year.

 

There is no good reason to order them in advance unless you:

a). have a gambling problem b). have a drinking problem c). can't save money d). all the above.



I guess if you found a smoking hot deal on cabinets, that would be one reason to buy in advance.

 

Yes to C. Which is why I'd like to do the reno in phases. The house was purchased as a short sale and was a fixer upper. Everything is being done little by little on a time line. Kitchen is my first priority.

 

I'm a sub for a national contractor (it's not a home improvement store). We order our cabinets well in advance.

The cabinets are generally available in 3" increments. The increments plus fillers in certain problem areas should have you covered.
If you're moving walls, it should be fairly easy to stay within close enough tolerances to fill a wall.

My only complaint with someone else ordering material (designing) is not enough trim.

I would advise order extra toekick-2, scribe-6, quarter round-3, and 1 or two extra crown.
I also like to have 4 additional fillers on a large kitchen, 2 for base and 2 for upper cabinets just in case the finish on the ones delivered is not up to par.

 

And.....make sure you open each and every box when they arrive and check for correct size, finish, accessories, configuration, hardware, etc. And make sure there is no hidden damage. It's a lot easier to get problems corrected right after delivery. If you try to make a damage or parts missing claim 3 months later it's going to be a tough sell.

 

Check the lead time well in advance. We remodeled our kitchen years ago and the lead time on the cabinets was six weeks.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!