I have used the unfinished oak cabinets from fleet farm and menards with very good survival rates.

Put a few coats of polyeurathane on the face

They are all just faces . the interior is going to pressed wood. which is industry standard sad but true

Under the sink cabinet if I am going to keep the property

I pull out the 1/8 panel and refit with 3/4 pine coated with polyurethane encapsulating top and bottom and slope it run on there feet if something is leaking

I

Johnny B,

We use GRAIN FILLER on oak cabinets to bridge the gaps in the grain. Makes the paint go on MUCH MUCH better.

Aqua coat white from Amazon.

We paint them ALABASTER white cabinet paint from Sherwin.

Just to know, wood tone golden oak type cabinets are out of fashion. Millennials will walk away.

White, grey, or dark stain.

BRAD

When I do kitchen cabinet replacements, I have to analyze the cost vs results. Since you're going to paint them you have a cheaper option.

I can buy cabinets from a Big Box store or cabinet maker. They are made with nice finished doors and drawer fronts and cost a small fortune.

Johnny B, I get RTAs for my rentals as well as some assembled cabinets for clients at a place in Peabody, MA. I'm not sure if they carry any unfinished cabinets there but you could always get their oak ones & paint them. IMO it would definitely be worth your time to go check them out. When I first started going there 20+ years ago they were like a Building 19 type of store. Now they've become more like a regular store but with very fair prices for most of their stuff.

www.buildingsuppliesoutlet.com/

Over the years I've bought several $100K worth of building materials from them including kitchen cabinets, vanities, interior & exterior trim, plywood, hardwood flooring, decking, windows, interior & exterior doors, railings, tub enclosures, appliances, sinks, locks, etc. They have an on site shop for setting up & modifying doors with a decent turn around time. I've never used it but they also have delivery available.

On a rental -- unfinished wood cabinets??? Sorry don't get the reasoning behind that. I'm not suggesting the crap in the box on the shelve cabinets by any means- they're terrible.

We have been using H-depot and have the cabinets made. Usually 20 to 22 day turn time.

A regular kitchen takes around 9 to 11 cabinets. We pay around 1900.00 for them. 2 counter tops at 100 and 120 each.

Johnny,

I would suggest Builders Supply Outlet as well but call first as they had issues getting stock with one of their Chinese lines a while back. Also you can try Grossmans bargain outlet which also has RTA cabinets. They have a store in Malden which may be the closest.

Johnny B, on one of the floors above BSO there is a counter fabricator. I've had him do some for me & was pleased with quality, the turn around time & the price.

A lesson learned in 1987 while I was trying to save here and there-- comparison shopping.

I needed a stall shower assy. (remember this is before google) Myself and my father in law shopped several supply places looking and when I finally found one-- I saved a whopping 35.00.

It hit me like a brick on the way back to the rental. I spent 5 or 6 hrs shopping along with my father in laws time and saved 35.00?????? That never happened again---. I missed 10 hrs working on a place to save 35.00....

And so goes these outlet places-- when you need 9 or 10 cabinets your spending all your day "MAKING IT WORK"

It has been ages since I bought the type of cabinets you ask about. At the time, (I was a kitchen installer) I would ask for upgraded drawers.

My theory was that the fronts would survive, I didn't worry about what the boxes were made of. The only vulnerable part were the drawers and slides. A better drawer was offered when ordering.

Anyone had any luck with repairing / touchup on any prefinished cabs?

Checked around a lot. Could not find any that sold extra paint for a exact match.

Currently we have a cab shop make them unfinished. And then we paint. Knowing I can always match or replaced 1 door for a quick turnover.

Nellie, I am looking at it a different way.

Have you factored in the time over the next 20 years.

If you have to replace repair one cabinet or door. And have to repaint all the cabinets to get it to match. And look new.

Take the time upfront. And can modify, repair or replace one small area. For a quicker turnover.

And much easier to prep and paint again if needed. Compared to a factory finish.

I am thinking long term may save time.

Grl, Grossman's Bargain Outlet is now called Home Outlet. I occasionally go to the one on Eastern Ave in Malden.

Just measure out the space the menards here has a really cool computer program cad or something like that.

just keep in mind the plumbing .That is most important part

I hate paint'''

Real wood cabinets with polyureathane vs paint

#1 reason is easy clean up. In the kitchen is always the worst . Grease and frying oops on the cabinets. probaly little dirty erny got out the crayolas and made you a picture

Know on a painted item it is going to a repaint . With poly uearthane it will not penetrate the surface,

And skip the lazy susans. just put in a blind box.

Totally not worth the expence. Some how they will ruin it

And drawers to the floor.NO NO NO.That is little dirty ernies ladder to the counter top to fall in the sink on his way to grab the stuff the parents put out of reach

What you do today .Will you be proud of it in 10 years or 30 years.

I'm going to call this my "Avocado Refrigerator" theory.

Yes, you can buy improvements that are hardy and will last forever. The problem is that styles change. Color schemes change. Personally, I like the flexibility that ready-mades offer. I charge tenants for damage, if any occurs. I'm on year 20 of ready-mades in my own kitchen and they still look remarkably good. I'm on year 9 for a few of my rentals, and while they still look like new - they are the golden oak color that is now falling out of style.

Could I refinish if they were real wood? Maybe, but I'd be losing rent while the kitchen lacked cabinetry, or I'd be buying new flooring because whoever stripped the old cabinet finish off spilled some during the refinishing.

Surprisingly, I've painted some with very good results. I've pulled some and sold them online to offset the cost of the new in-style replacements. I've migrated some into the building storage areas. Closed cabinets are very nice to have in garages - and in rental garages, used cabinets (with appropriate reinforcing) have worked just fine for me.

Have I had damage? Rarely, and when I did, I charged the tenant the new replacement cost for a replacement cabinet. Having used a lot of these, I find that the mystery-finish wipes up pretty easily and thus far, I've not had any damage to the finishes.

Like the avocado-colored refrigerators (which were built to last centuries) the structure often lasts beyond the attraction of the time. BRAD is right, now whites, grays and dark stains are all the rage. In another 5 years, they might be the avocado fridges. My advice then is to keep the turnarounds quick, the replacements easy to obtain, and charge adequately if rough tenants cause damages.