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You have three quotes for the same kitchen and one is roughly half the others. Nothing on the pages lines up, and you cannot tell whether the cheap one is a bargain or a trap. This is the most common question we hear from homeowners, and the answer is that you are almost never comparing the same product. You are comparing three different products that happen to share the word “cabinets”.
Here is how to read a cabinet quote so competing bids become comparable, and how to tell where a low number is hiding something you will pay for later.
Why The Numbers Are So Far Apart
A cabinet quote is a bundle of decisions, and most quotes do not spell out which decisions they made. Two quotes can differ by a large amount without either one being dishonest, simply because they assumed different things. The spread usually comes down to how the box is built, what the doors and drawers are made of, how the finish is applied, and how much of the labour and site work is included.
When one quote is dramatically lower, it is often quoting a different grade of everything, or leaving out work that still has to happen. The other trades on your job do not disappear because a cabinet quote ignored them. Someone still has to do the filler pieces, the panels on exposed cabinet ends, and the fitting against walls that are never quite square.
The Line Items That Actually Let You Compare
To compare quotes fairly, get every bidder to state the same short list of specifications. Once these are on paper, the quotes stop being mysterious.
Box Construction And Material
The cabinet box, called the carcass, is the structural shell the doors and drawers attach to. Ask what it is made from. Common options are furniture-grade plywood and various grades of particle board or medium density fibreboard (MDF). Plywood boxes generally cost more and hold screws and weight well over time. A quote using a lighter particle board is not automatically bad, but it is not the same product as a plywood box, and the price should reflect that difference.
Doors, Drawer Fronts And Finish
Door style and finish move the number more than almost anything else. A painted finish costs more to produce and to maintain than a stained one, because paint shows every joint and needs a smoother substrate. Ask whether the finish is sprayed and cured or hand-applied, and whether the doors are solid wood, MDF, or a wrapped material. A quote listing “painted doors” with no further detail is not enough to compare against another that specifies the substrate and finishing system.
Drawer Boxes And Hardware
Drawer boxes are where corners get cut quietly. Ask whether the drawer box is dovetailed solid wood or stapled particle board, and what the runners are. Soft-close, full-extension runners cost more than basic ones and last longer under daily use. Hinges matter the same way. Two quotes can both say “soft-close” while using very different hardware, so ask for the brand and model if you want a real comparison.
What Is Included Beyond The Cabinets
This is where the cheap quote usually wins on paper and loses in reality. Confirm in writing whether the price includes delivery, installation, filler and finished end panels, toe kick (the recessed base under the lower cabinets your feet tuck into), crown or light rail moulding, and any allowance for out-of-square walls. Countertops, sinks, plumbing and electrical are frequently separate. A quote that excludes installation is not wrong, but it is not comparable to one that includes it until you add the missing cost back in.
Custom Versus Semi-Custom: Is There A Real Difference
A showroom will tell you custom is better. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it is not the right spend for what you are describing.
Semi-custom and good stock lines are built in fixed sizes with a set range of finishes and door styles. If your kitchen is a standard layout with standard appliances and you are happy inside that range, a quality semi-custom line can be the better buy. You get a known product at a lower number, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Custom cabinetry earns its money when the constraints are real. Odd wall dimensions, a run that has to hit a specific height, an awkward corner, a tall pantry built to your ceiling rather than a catalogue height, integrated appliance panels, or a finish and door style the stock lines do not offer. If none of those apply to your kitchen, you may be paying for flexibility you will not use. If several of them apply, a stock line will force compromises you will look at every day.
The honest test is to list the things about your kitchen that do not fit a standard box. If that list is short, semi-custom deserves a serious look. If it is long, custom stops being a story and starts being the practical answer.
The Pitfall Nobody Warns You About
Mid-project changes are the quiet budget killer. Once drawings are approved and cabinets are being built, a change to a size, a door style, or a layout means new drawings and often remade parts. Every revision after sign-off moves the number and the timeline. The way to protect yourself is to spend the time getting the drawings right before anything is built, and to ask each bidder how they handle revisions so there are no surprises.
Build time is worth pinning down too. A real custom build takes weeks, not days, because the parts are made for your kitchen rather than pulled from stock. If a quote promises a very short turnaround, ask whether that is because the cabinets are stock sizes. That is not a criticism, it is information you need to compare fairly.
What To Do Next
Before you choose, send all three bidders the same specification list: box material, door and drawer construction, finishing system, hardware, and exactly what installation and site work is included. Ask each to quote to that list. When the quotes describe the same product, the real differences become visible, and the one that was half the others usually turns out to be quoting half the product.
We make cabinetry locally in the Edmonton area rather than importing it, and we are glad to tell you when a semi-custom line is the better call for your kitchen. If you want help reading the quotes you already have, you can reach us through prestigeincorporated.com.
