RTA cabinets

[68bucks]

Has anyone worked with RTA cabinets? I am getting ready to do a bathroom remodel and the vanity has to go. I don't really like any of the cabinets we see at the big box stores and there aren't really any other local places I can find to look at them and I thought about RTA cabinets. Looking online at different places it seems like they are better materials than the big box stuff. The specs usually say solid wood doors and frames, 1/2" plywood sides and backs, 3/4" plywood shelves, and such. Just wondered if anyone has used them and their thoughts and maybe where you purchased. Thanks.

 

[lpfeffer4664]

I had the same experience when I needed a new 30" vanity for a guest bath. I didn't care for the moderately priced vanities at lowe's/home depot. I checked out Wayfair and other online sites. I wanted a vanity that looks like a piece of furniture with legs rather than a toe kick. The only thing I knew for a fact is that it had to be no less than 34” tall and have at least one drawer.

Then one day, over a year ago, I stumbled upon a line of vanities sold at HD under the Hampton Bay brand that are RTA. I had been wanting to get my feet wet on the RTA concept and decided the purchase of just a small vanity might be a good idea. And buying from HD, I knew I could return it to the store if it was just a horrible piece of crap. I placed the order on Dec 31. In 9 days a “flat pack” was delivered to my porch.

I don't believe I have ever been happier with a purchase! Full extension drawers with soft close undermount slides. 34.5” tall. 5/8" (I think) solid wood dovetailed drawers. Plywood back, bottom and finished sides. Concealed fully adjustable soft close hinges. A real 1/2" toe kick (not the typical 1/4" hard board or whatever that is on stock cabinets). Door frame is maple as are the 5-piece shaker drawer front frames. The door panel is MDF. Turns out it is made by JSI cabinetry which is headquartered in Massachusetts. "JSI" is burned into the inside of the drawers. The Hampton Bay brand name was nowhere to be found in any of the paperwork or shipping label.

I'm a fairly handy 60-ish female and it was not a problem at all assembling this vanity.

I'm not crazy about the slab faux drawer front at top center. I would prefer a 5-piece shaker front. And I think I will check into converting that to a tip out door but not sure about that yet as there are some downsides to those. There is no shelf in the cabinet but I have purchased a chrome pull out for that area. So in the end, the vanity looks unlike what I envisioned I wanted in the beginning (no legs / not furniture-like), but I'm still pleased as punch! I think it is good quality and will last.

The quartz top was a separate purchase I made locally, which was almost double the price of the actual cabinet! But it is "Stellar Snow" quartz that I have been wanting forever, so I splurged. There was a tiny bit of damage sustained during shipping to the inside of the vanity but not serious enough for me to complain to HD about.

Cabinet Price: $275 (including tax). Free delivery to my home. I did get $50 off for opening a new HD credit card account.

On the HD website it is difficult to get search results for RTA vanities. I never could find it by selecting from the HD menu and filters. The designer at HD (from whom I had gotten a couple of quotes on (IMO) overpriced vanities) didn't even know HD offered this line of vanities.

It has been over a year since my vanity was ordered and I don’t see this particular 30”vanity that has one door and 2 drawers on HD’s website. In fact I don’t think HD is offering the Hampton Bay RTA products anymore, but HD has other RTA lines that might fill the bill and they may come from JSI too. Alternatively, JSI has a website and there you can learn where their cabinets are sold. JSI does not sell directly to the public.

I have looked quite a bit at Barker Cabinets based in Oregon. Their reviews are very good. You might want to check them out. And there are many other RTA options out there.

 

[Eddie_T]

@lpfeffer4664, Good review.

 

[Sparky617]

Are you only looking at in-stock cabinets at the big boxes? I was able to order a matching cabinet to my existing kitchen cabinets at Lowe's several years ago. I also had the ability to choose the quality of the cabinet (plywood v particle board box) soft close drawer tracks, soft close hinges etc. It took a few weeks, but the selection was pretty big. In-stock stuff, not so much.

I installed some RTAs from IKEA at our church a few years ago. They are holding up well in a public space.

 

[68bucks]

I don't have to have an in stock cabinet I could wait a few weeks. I see on HD's website that they have a variety to order. I have enen thought about an unfinished vanity and paint it. Agree on the great review comment. Thanks.

 

[Eddie_T]

With a Kreg pocket hole jig and some free pallets you could make your own vanity and have some fun in the process. Or maybe just a facelift for an existing cabinet. I am building a mobile kitchen island from scratch just going slow as I procrastinate a lot.

 

[68bucks]

I have thought about making a cabinet. I built the cabinets in my shop and they turned out pretty well. I do suck a drawers though. Some work great other not so much. It was a first attempt.

 

[Eddie_T]

Looks good, check out Ana White's easy method for drawers.

I am going to use her method for drawer mounting. I don't do fancy joinery for drawers just pocket holes for the frame with the bottom glued and nailed to the frame (just as Ana does).