What to Expect When You Assemble Your First RTA Cabinet (A Beginner-Friendly Guide)

Most people who buy ready to assemble cabinets have never built one. That is fine: our cabinets are designed for exactly that person. Here is what the job really looks like, so nothing on the day comes as a surprise.

Delivery day

Cabinets arrive flat packed in cartons. Before the carrier leaves, count the cartons against the packing list and look for crushed corners or torn wrapping. Note anything damaged or missing on the delivery receipt. A note on the paperwork makes a claim far easier than a photo taken a week later. If you do need to, you can submit a claim online.

Store the cartons flat, indoors and dry, in the room where they will be installed or close to it.

How long one box takes

Less time than you expect. Our boxes go together on SnapCore, our licensed click system, so a box clicks together in under 2 minutes, about 10x faster than traditional RTA cabinets built with cam locks, dowels and glue. Your first one will be slower while you learn how the panels meet. By the third, you will have the rhythm.

For a whole kitchen, the boxes are the quick part. Most of the day goes on hanging, leveling and trim, as it does with any kitchen. Here is how the time breaks down.

The tools, and when you need them

• Building the box: no tools. Anything wood-to-wood clicks together, with no glue and no screws.
• Hinges, drawer glides and pulls: a screwdriver. The metal parts are the only parts that need screws.
• Hanging the cabinets: a drill, a 4 foot level, a stud finder, shims and cabinet screws.

What needs a second person

Building the boxes does not. The panels lock as they meet, so there is nothing to hold square while you work, and most people build their first box on their own. Lifting wall cabinets and tall cabinets into place is different: ask someone to help with that part.

Beginner mistakes worth avoiding

• Building on a bare floor. Lay down the carton card or a blanket so no finished face gets scratched.
• Skipping the joint check. Run a hand along every joint. A gap means a click that has not seated; press it home before you move on.
• Hanging doors too early. Leave the doors off until the run is hung. The boxes are lighter, nothing gets knocked, and door gaps are set once the cabinets are level.
• Leveling to the floor. Floors are rarely level. Find the high point, draw a level line, and shim up to it.
• Screwing into drywall alone. Every cabinet goes into studs or solid blocking.

Our installation guide covers the hanging in twelve steps, and the cabinet glossary explains any word on the packing list you have not met before.

Before you order

Measure the room carefully with our kitchen measurement guide, then send the measurements for a free kitchen design. A designer lays out the room with real cabinets, so you know every box, filler and panel before the cartons arrive. And if you are torn between finishes, order a sample door: a full door is $19.99 and a quarter door is $4.99, shipping included, and the sample price is refundable.

Stuck partway through? Contact us and a person who knows the product will walk it through with you.