What to expect when you purchase used cabinets.
To Our Valued Customers,
We know remodeling your kitchen is a once-in-a-lifetime event that you’ve saved for and planned for years.
It is our goal that when you work with us, you walk away with a kitchen that looks beautiful, functions great for your family, and costs significantly less than buying new.
We also know working with second-hand cabinets comes with a lot of questions, so we’ve done our best to answer them on our FAQ page.
We highly recommend reading through these FAQs before you buy, and if you still have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d be glad to help.
Along with those FAQs, here is what you need to know before buying used cabinets.
Please consider everything in this disclaimer before you make a purchase:
1) All of our items are sold used and as-in unless otherwise specified.
We list each cabinet set for sale on our website with a detailed product description. Please review it thoroughly, as it will describe the features and measurements of your cabinets and any defects that we’re aware of.
Most of our cabinets sell before they’re uninstalled from their original home. Before we uninstall them, we photograph everything we possibly can to give you an accurate picture of what you’re buying. This also helps us get a closer look at the cabinets before we list them. That way, we can give you a heads-up in the product description and photos if there are any damages that we think might occur during the uninstall that you should know about.
2) The color of your cabinets may vary slightly from what you see on our website.
We can’t determine the exact color your cabinets will be. Expect that the lighting in your home will alter the color of your cabinets slightly from what you see online. If knowing the precise color is important to you, we can sometimes arrange for you to look at the cabinets while they’re still installed. Let us know if this is something you’re interested in setting up.
3) You will almost always have some repairs on your cabinet boxes.
Minor damages to your cabinets can sometimes occur during the uninstall. We have one of the best professional uninstall protocols around, and we stand by our work. However, sometimes because of how a kitchen is put together, there is no way to avoid damages when removing cabinets. We will always let you know in our product description if we expect anything like this to happen. Common things we see in many of our kitchens are:
• Damage to the tops of cabinet boxes caused by removing granite countertops.
When a heavy granite countertop is glued or screwed into a much-lighter cabinet, it’s unavoidable that the top of the cabinet will be damaged slightly when separating the two.
*You can repair this when you get your cabinets home, or in extreme cases, save the face of the cabinet and purchase a new box or have one made. Some of our customers have also used these cabinets as bases to create an island and cover the damage with their own countertop.
• The sink cabinet will likely have some kind of damage.
This cabinet gets a lot of daily use and is in close contact with water throughout its life. It’s also a tricky one to uninstall.
*If your sink cabinet is damaged, you can again make minor repairs such as refinishing a surface, or in extreme cases, save the face of the cabinet and purchase a new box.
• In frameless cabinets, hinges are attached directly to the sidewall of the cabinet box. Damages caused by the hinges can occur during the uninstall to this side.
*You can fix your frameless cabinets in this situation by replacing the side panel that was damaged by the hinge or purchasing a new cabinet box altogether.
• Occasionally, we come across cabinets that don’t have a back panel. These are custom-made cabinets that were mounted into the wall of their previous home. It is almost impossible to uninstall these and keep the box shape.
*If this is the case with your cabinets, we will do our best to let you know in the product description, so you are prepared to keep the cabinet faces but purchase new boxes.
4) Touching up minor scratches and dents will depend on the finish of your cabinets.
Some cabinets can be touched up with a matching stain or paint. Others are finished with a veneer, which is a very, very thin piece of wood glued to the cabinet.
*When searching for coordinating veneers, stains, or paints, start with the cabinet manufacturer to see if they can help. Otherwise, your local hardware store would be another good resource.
5) We cannot guarantee that the countertops will be uninstalled or transported without damage.
Depending on how they were put together and what they’re made of, it can be nearly impossible to uninstall countertops without damaging them. For this reason, we include all salvageable countertops as a free bonus with your set in case you can make them work or find another use for them.
6) We are unable to test the appliances that come with your set. However, we don’t accept them if the owner says they’re not working.
*If you get an appliance home and it’s not in working order, please contact us.