RTA Cabinets or the Smittybilt of the cabinet world

[mrblaine]

Friends of mine posted up awhile back that they used RTA Cabinet Store for their kitchen and they were very good. Based on that I ordered 2 base cabinets and two matching uppers to complete Kat's hobby desk in the mudroom.

Having used Barker in the past and installed hundreds upon hundreds of "box" cabinets doing kitchen remodels including the generic crap from Home Depot and Lowe's, I was astounded at just how bad these are. I tried to complete the assembly but when I got to the drawer face with 3 of the 4 screws stripped out that hold it on, I'm over it.

The dado in the backside of the face frame for the cabinet sides to slot into is 1/8" oversize so the cabinet side can bow and does with nothing to straighten it out.

The sides are held to the back and front with small angle brackets and very short screws since the thickness is on the short side of 1/2". In fact, most of the construction is based on the angle brackets.

The toe kick is held on with 2 of the angle brackets and the toe kick panel is too long on both lowers.

The back panel to side panels has a bizarre rabbet into dado connection that has no method to shoot a few brads into it from either direction to tighten up the bowed sides. Very annoying.

The instructions are pure crap. The videos are not much better.

The drawer slides are adjustable to the point of being just bizarre. After trying to assemble the boxes, I see why. One could likely make them work in a cabinet that was over a 1/2" out of square and 3/4" wider at the front than the back. I'm not that one.

There are corner gussets that mount with one screw at the tops of the boxes on the inside. At least one per box is not cut accurately.

The only tolerable level of quality is the drawer box with decent dovetail construction and pre-finished maple. Only thing of note is the maple is finger joint construction and I doubt there is a single piece bigger that 2" x 3". That's a whole bunch of work to use up the scraps.

They got back to me and said they would replace anything that was wrong. I asked how they intended to replace the terrible design.

 

[89grand]

That's aggravating as hell when you buy something that is supposed to be a big improvement over the cheap shit you can get at Target or Walmart, but it ends up being just as bad.

 

[astjp2]

I found a custom shop that was not much more than the box store and they installed it...I had them make a double sink vanity, tip outs, custom cabinets, drawers, etc was $1400, the blue and orange box store was $1150 and not custom.

 

[mrblaine]

A bit of an update. I took some pics of the shit quality, filed a dispute with PayPal with "not as described" as the reason. Loaded the pics into their info request, sent the same pics and descriptions of the deficiencies to RTA's customer service rep who was replying to my emails somewhat until then. I have had no further communication with RTA since. PayPal sent me a provisional decision in my favor, put the funds back in the account with the caveat that they may be yanked at a future date but they are mine to use as I see fit for now. Sort of confusing, but I'll take it for now. I believe there is another week to go before I get a final decision and if it is in my favor, in the trash this stuff goes.

 

[kmas0n]

Sounds like more junk cabinets. Its things like this that prompted me to buy a table saw and router and build my own. Not exactly time effective. But my cabinets are solid. Same reason no one has touched my jeep in 15 years. Thanks for the FYI, their site looks beautiful.

 

[mrblaine]

Sounds like more junk cabinets. Its things like this that prompted me to buy a table saw and router and build my own. Not exactly time effective. But my cabinets are solid. Same reason no one has touched my jeep in 15 years. Thanks for the FYI, their site looks beautiful.

Their site does look good and they have nice things to say about themselves including their awards for quality. I don't know how you get that sort of award but it is either a lie, made up, or they gave it to themselves in which case both are true. It certainly wasn't given to them by anyone who knows how to build a cabinet.

I have built 100's and 100's of cabinets. I know how to do it, I know how to do it well. I can set tile, do solid surface countertops, butcher block tops, face frame, frameless, as well as being familiar with all or most of the modern hardware similar to Blum. But, I have enough to do, I don't want to set up a mill. I already own more woodworking tools than I want to just to do the basic crap like building a set of stairs.

Ignore the purple, there was some odd shade from the late afternoon sky and some overcast. It is actually a nice gray.

 

[kmas0n]

Their site does look good and they have nice things to say about themselves including their awards for quality. I don't know how you get that sort of award but it is either a lie, made up, or they gave it to themselves in which case both are true. It certainly wasn't given to them by anyone who knows how to build a cabinet.

I have built 100's and 100's of cabinets. I know how to do it, I know how to do it well. I can set tile, do solid surface countertops, butcher block tops, face frame, frameless, as well as being familiar with all or most of the modern hardware similar to Blum. But, I have enough to do, I don't want to set up a mill. I already own more woodworking tools than I want to just to do the basic crap like building a set of stairs.

Ignore the purple, there was some odd shade from the late afternoon sky and some overcast. It is actually a nice gray.
View attachment 94660

Nice stairs. like most things you do, high attention to detail. the little things, like the bevel at the bottom of the stringers. Caulked seems. filled in fastener holes. What's wrong with purple?

 

[mrblaine]

Nice stairs. like most things you do, high attention to detail. the little things, like the bevel at the bottom of the stringers. Caulked seems. filled in fastener holes. What's wrong with purple?

I've built just about everything connected with a new home in construction except for a set of stairs. That was my first effort. I didn't feel like driving 1 and a half hours to a real lumber yard to buy longer 2 x 12's so I had to use the 12 footers from Home Depot. That little bevel is due to how long the stringer had to be and that piece should have been a 90 degree cut with no bevel. The other stringer inside is full size. I doubled up the stringers because I don't like bouncy stairs. I raised the outside stringer up 2 inches to leave a reveal at the bottom edge and to line the upper edge up with the corners of each tread.

Nothing wrong with purple except is it supposed to be gray, medium gray. That is actually a waterproof deck covering with texture on the treads and risers. I had to caulk the seams to get full coverage to keep the water out.

 

[astjp2]

Nice work Blaine.

My bedroom is some paint that is gray/silver/purple depending on the light. Home depot paint..

I had to buy a planer to build a set of airplane aileron spars...Good clear douglas fir is hard to get and quarter sawn clear sitka spruce is almost not existent except for high end musical instruments anymore.

 

[billiebob]

Their site does look good and they have nice things to say about themselves including their awards for quality. I don't know how you get that sort of award but it is either a lie, made up, or they gave it to themselves in which case both are true. It certainly wasn't given to them by anyone who knows how to build a cabinet.

I have built 100's and 100's of cabinets. I know how to do it, I know how to do it well. I can set tile, do solid surface countertops, butcher block tops, face frame, frameless, as well as being familiar with all or most of the modern hardware similar to Blum. But, I have enough to do, I don't want to set up a mill. I already own more woodworking tools than I want to just to do the basic crap like building a set of stairs.

Ignore the purple, there was some odd shade from the late afternoon sky and some overcast. It is actually a nice gray.
View attachment 94660

Definitely not to code.

Run is too short and no nosing.
Most codes today need a minimum step depth of 10.5", with a 1.5" nosing.

Adding a nosing would do wonders.

 

[mrblaine]

Definitely not to code.

Run is too short and no nosing.
Most codes today need a minimum step depth of 10.5", with a 1.5" nosing.

Adding a nosing would do wonders.

Match existing and I did exactly. That and for an exterior stair way, it has to be 2" lumber nominal and I ain't doing that.

 

[toximus]

in the trash this stuff goes.

Be sure to get verification from PayPal that you should dispose of it. I had it happen once that I too eagerly got rid of something and then it turned out that I needed to return it (at the sellers expense).

 

[mrblaine]

Be sure to get verification from PayPal that you should dispose of it. I had it happen once that I too eagerly got rid of something and then it turned out that I needed to return it (at the sellers expense).

I'm aware.

 

[toximus]

I'm aware.

Silly pallet...

 

[AndyG]

Match existing and I did exactly. That and for an exterior stair way, it has to be 2" lumber nominal and I ain't doing that.

The staircase looks sharp, and has a great “leads to the beach “ look to it.

I have a remodeling company with its’ own cabinet shop, and over the years have worked with all types of cabinets , and I declare pre assembled cabinets are harder to deal with .

 

[mrblaine]

The staircase looks sharp, and has a great “leads to the beach “ look to it.

I have a remodeling company with its’ own cabinet shop, and over the years have worked with all types of cabinets , and I declare pre assembled cabinets are harder to deal with .

Thanks. I have a mess on my hands to fix. That 4' wide walkway extends all the way from the top of the stairs to the front of the house, across the front, and then back to the front entry door.
Originally it was an open deck with diagonal 2 x 6 decking. At some point, it was covered with plywood, plywood again, and then a crappy waterproof deck coating which was done incorrectly and failed. That let water get to the plywood and rot it. The posts are rotted off on the bottom as well and the railing is pure crap, design, execution, and function. It all has to be redone.

The walkway ended at the top of the stairs at a 45 degree angle. The railing sloped down from the deck rail at the top of the stairs over to the sided wall on the right and looked like crap. This is the exposed decking I uncovered to land the top step at the correct height.

This is looking up.

You can see the original walkway has the typical slope away from the wall which would be correct for a waterproof surface. Not correct for open 2 x 6 decking. The landing had to be there since it is over a door below it. Without it, the stairway would have cut through the door opening.

 

[mrblaine]

I have a remodeling company with its’ own cabinet shop, and over the years have worked with all types of cabinets , and I declare pre assembled cabinets are harder to deal with .

If it matters, I've used the stuff from Barker Cabinets and it is top notch. Their stuff is basically what you would get from a custom shop that builds to order. That also means that all the rules for custom shops that build to order apply. Long lead times, high level of accuracy and visualization needed to get what you want, prices reflect quality and long lead times. Finished product is fairly easy to assemble, fit and finish are near perfect. The only real advantage over a conventional cabinet shop is you don't have to own all the tools to build them. You won't save time or much money, but you will get what you need or very close to it.

Like most things in this part of the world, there are lots of places that do lots of things and there is a local custom cabinet shop. I had them quote the cabinets for the laundry room when I remodeled it. They were twice as much as Barker, didn't want to do the job, and treated me like I was some yokel from the hills who didn't know a hammer from a chainsaw. Sadly, they are 10 minutes from where I live to the shop and the owner is 5 minutes away.

 

[AndyG]

If it matters, I've used the stuff from Barker Cabinets and it is top notch. Their stuff is basically what you would get from a custom shop that builds to order. That also means that all the rules for custom shops that build to order apply. Long lead times, high level of accuracy and visualization needed to get what you want, prices reflect quality and long lead times. Finished product is fairly easy to assemble, fit and finish are near perfect. The only real advantage over a conventional cabinet shop is you don't have to own all the tools to build them. You won't save time or much money, but you will get what you need or very close to it.

Like most things in this part of the world, there are lots of places that do lots of things and there is a local custom cabinet shop. I had them quote the cabinets for the laundry room when I remodeled it. They were twice as much as Barker, didn't want to do the job, and treated me like I was some yokel from the hills who didn't know a hammer from a chainsaw. Sadly, they are 10 minutes from where I live to the shop and the owner is 5 minutes away.

Man that upper area looks like a headache ...good you caught it though .

 

[k-huevo]

Speaking of stairs. Here's a heartache I'm dealing with.


This was a re-do. The short step was in the middle of version one. Four stairways, none satisfy code for dimensional uniformity.