The Order Sheet Matters More Than the Price
The 2026 Cost vs. Value Report puts the national average minor kitchen remodel at $28,458, with $32,141 in resale value added, roughly 112.9% recouped.
That return assumes the cabinets fit. Reorders, returns and field modifications are what turn a clean budget into a messy one.
Ready to assemble cabinets are bought as a list of boxes, and the list is only as good as the drawing behind it. We build that list with customers every day around our stock RTA and custom cabinet lines.
Measure the Room, Not the Old Cabinets
Old cabinets were installed with shims, scribe and caulk. Measuring them tells you what the last installer got away with, not what your walls actually do.
Take wall to wall dimensions at three heights: near the floor, at 36 inches, and near the ceiling. Record every window, outlet, vent and door casing as a distance from one fixed corner.
Pro Tip: On the block and stucco walls common across South Florida, a 12 foot run can vary half an inch between floor and ceiling. Order to the shortest measurement and let fillers absorb the difference. Building to the longest number means cutting boxes down on site.
Layout Decisions You Cannot Undo Later
Corner treatment drives everything. A blind base corner, a lazy Susan and a diagonal corner cabinet each consume a different amount of wall and each forces a different door swing.
Map door and drawer swings before you finalize. Two drawers colliding at an inside corner is the most common layout error we catch on incoming plans.
Sink base sizing is the other one. A 36 inch undermount sink will not drop into a 33 inch base, and that is not fixable once the boxes are assembled. Confirm your sink model before you order.
Transform Your Space with Prime Countertops and Renovations and Renovations
Ready to Order RTA Cabinets for Your South Florida Kitchen?
Send us photos of your space through our free quote request and we will review your measurements and layout with you before anything ships. Call 954-840-3661 or visit our Pompano Beach showroom, open seven days a week.
Fillers, Scribes and Finished Ends
Fillers are the parts people skip to save a few dollars and then pay for in labor. Every wall termination, every inside corner and every tall cabinet against a wall needs one.
Pro Tip: Order 3 inch fillers wherever a run meets a wall, even when the drawing calls for 1 inch. Trimming a filler down is five minutes on a table saw. Waiting on a replacement filler is days of a stalled install.
Finished end panels belong on every exposed side, including the dishwasher return and any island end. RTA boxes are not finished on their outside sides.
Appliance Fit Is a Spec Sheet Problem
Use the manufacturer’s installation spec sheet, not the number on the showroom tag. Nominal size and rough opening are different things.
A 24 inch dishwasher needs 24 inches of clear opening between finished surfaces, not between box sides. Add a half inch panel on each side and the opening is gone.
Counter depth refrigerators need clearance for door swing and hinge travel, plus room behind for the water line. Range hood mounting height comes from the hood manual, and that height sets the cabinet above the range.
Pro Tip: If you chose a slide-in range, confirm whether the model requires a countertop cut behind it. Slide-in units rest on the counter edges, so your fabricator needs to know before templating, not after.
Sequence: Cabinets First, Countertops Second
We template off installed cabinets, never off a drawing. Boxes get set, leveled and secured, then we template, then we fabricate.
Ordering tops from a plan is how people end up with a seam in the wrong place or an overhang that fouls the drawer fronts.
Your quartz slab selection and your finished edge profile are easier calls with the cabinets already standing in the room.
Have Your Cabinet Order Checked Before It Ships
We have been fabricating and remodeling for more than 20 years, and we would rather catch a layout problem on paper than on your kitchen floor.
Send photos and measurements through our quote form or call 954-840-3661, and take a look at finished work in our project gallery.