Why Are Kitchen Cabinets So Expensive?

Anyone working with kitchen cabinet contractors on a remodeling project is already painfully aware that cabinets tend to be the most expensive item in a kitchen remodel. For many, there’s a “sticker shock” moment when planning the budget and seeing that cabinets themselves are going to take up at least 35% of the remodel’s money.

But why is this so? What makes it so that this ends up being the most expensive item when the kitchen cabinet contractors go to work? Here’s the breakdown of why.

A Lot Of Materials

One of the biggest reasons for the expense of cabinets is that you’re paying for a lot more in terms of material usage. Kitchen cabinets, depending on how extensive they are, cover the entire length of the kitchen and may do this at both the ground level and up on the wall. On top of this, they aren’t single panels, but “boxes” with shelves inside and doors as well.

When you think about just how much space in a kitchen is taken up by the cabinets, you quickly realize you use a lot of material to put them up.

Labor

Cabinets involve a lot of work, and labor is one of the most intensive costs. It takes labor to cut and size the materials for the cabinets, even with stock cabinets. It takes a lot of work to deliver the cabinets since most people don’t want to buy them and then have to bring them home themselves.

And of course, the most important aspect of labor is the installation. Installing cabinets, even stock cabinets, requires a lot of skill and expertise. The cabinets must be level, the doors must open smoothly, and they need to last for years. It’s very easy to install cabinets incorrectly, which is why skilled kitchen cabinet contractors are worth the money you pay to have them work.