At first glance, Ready-to-Assemble or RTA cabinets may seem like a good idea. That they are cheaper is undeniable, (since you, the customer is helping with manufacture), but the decision to market an RTA cabinet is made at the onset - not at the last minute to decrease shipping costs.

In other words, there is no possible way to manufacture an RTA cabinet that the customer assembles themselves that has anywhere near the strength, durability, or fit-and-finish of a fully assembled cabinet. By their very nature they are manufactured to save costs on shipping and construction, not to produce a quality long-lasting furniture-grade cabinet.

In fact, much initial time and effort is put into formulating a technique and the machinery necessary to produce cabinet pieces that can be assembled by the handy customer. To offset this time and expense, these cabinets are then mass produced on an assembly line cheaply and stored in bulk on loading docks or in the bowels of home improvement warehouses for you to pick up. After assembly and pickup, any minor cost savings are offset by our excellent prices and finer quality.

In contrast, as a "Just-in-Time" manufacturer, Timberlake® creates our cabinets fresh upon each order, to the exact design specifications of each customer - (including such customization as increased or reduced depths). This means all of the cabinets are created from the same batch of lumbar stock, and all the grains and finishes are consistent, with no fading, warping, storage damage, or other problems. Hand delivery in a few weeks ensures quality from beginning to end. (More on "Just-in-Time" manufacturing ...)

Buying from us ensures your cabinets were built the time-honored, traditional way, by hand, with meticulous attention to detail, construction, and finish. Technology is applied to aid, not replace, the craftsperson and each cabinet is the result of many hand-finishing operations. (More on our Beauty Guard® cabinet finishing process ...)

In fact, many craftspeople working on your order are third or fourth generation professionals who take pride in their work. And buying from us ensures that should any issues with your order arise, we will step in to make it right, because we take pride in our work. In this way, an expensive, confusing process is reduced to a streamlined cooperative experience. Spend your time and effort in measuring and designing with us, and leave the cabinet assembly to the professionals. (More on how to design and order ...)