Home » Knowledge Base » Knowledge Base Article What's New  |  Site Map 

 

 
   
   
 
 


Today's
Sponsors:


B.H. Davis Company

Bailey's Inc.

Bainbridge Manufacturing

Baker Products

Banks Hardwoods

Barn Detail

Barn Door Lumber

BC Wood Specialties Group

BeamsRUS

Beaver Tools

Benz Incorporated

Best Cabinets

BetterVacuumcups.com

Biesse Group America

Biewer Lumber

Binks

Black Bros. Co.

Blackhawk Machinery

Brown Wood Products Co.

Byrd Tool

C.R. Onsrud

Cab Parts

Cabinet Door Service Co.

Cabinet Pro

CabinetCRUNCHER Cutlist & 3D Cabinet Design Software

Cabinetmakers Association

CABPARTSPRO

CADCABINETS.COM

CADCode

Cag Lumber

Camco, Inc.

Carbide.com

Carolina Woodworking Consultants

Carter Products

Carvewright

Carving Technologies

Cash Coatings

Castle

Catskill Timber Industries

Central Hardwoods

Charles G.G. Schmidt Co.

Chicago Dowel Company, Inc.

CIM-Tech

Clear Lake Lumber

CNC Auto-Motion

CNC Parts Dept.

3M Corporation

5 Star Tooling

A Brazilian Wood Depot

Abrasive Resource

Accu-Right Squareness Gauge

Accu-Router, Inc.

AceCo Precision Wood Tooling

Activa

Active Machine & Tool

Air Cleaning Systems

Air Handling Systems

Alan McIlvain Company

Algoma Lumber Co.

All Star Adhesives

Alliance Millsoft

Allied Machinery Inc.

AllRout

Amana Tool

Ameitech South

American Fabric Filter Co.

American Institute of Building Design

American National Woodworking Knife

American Rotary Converters

Andreou Machinery

ANEST IWATA USA, Inc.

Antique Beams and Boards

Antique Building Materials

Anver Corporation

Apollo Sprayers Inc.

Arbor Processing Inc.

Architectural Elements

ArtCam

ATEMAG

Atlantic Machinery Corp.

Auton Motorized Systems

AWFS



WOODWEB DISCLAIMS any and all RESPONSIBILITY and LIABILITY for the accuracy and application of the information below. Readers agree to evaluate the significance and limitations of the information provided, and accept full responsibility for the application of this information. Read More ...

Would you like to add information to this article?
Interested in writing or submitting an article?
Have a question about this article?



Materials Cost as a Proportion of Cabinet Costs       There's no standard ratio of materials cost to other costs in cabinetmaking — it depends on many factors, and varies widely from job to job. April 10, 2008

Question
For a cabinet package only, installation not included, with no countertops, what is your typical ratio of costs to selling price – totaling all of your material costs including hardware, fasteners, etc.? How does that change when you outsource components like doors, drawer fronts, drawer boxes?

Forum Responses
(Cabinet Making Forum)
From contributor A:
There are really too many variables to give a general figure. Are you talking beaded inset face frames with BluMotion hardware? Are you talking 1/2" overlay doors with slab drawer fronts on epoxy coated 2/3 extension slides? Outsourcing does really change the equation, but without more information there is no way of knowing.



From the original questioner:
To contributor A: Why don't you give us a couple specific figures, based on your two examples of plain versus fancy?

The interesting thing about outsourcing fronts (doors, drawer fronts, and made-up-to-order face frames), is that the cost of the fronts for a frameless job is not much different from the cost of fronts for one done as inset with beaded frames.

If I say my uppers average 33 in height, and that on average, I have an upright (stile) in my face frame scheme every 20 inches, then each running foot of cabs, upper and lower taken together, has a total of about 9.2 square feet of fronts. With 1.5" as a face frame width, about 1.3 square feet of that 9.2 square feet is face frame, the rest being doors or drawer fronts. If it is frameless, just about all of the 9.2 is fronts.

Since the cost of my made-to-order beaded frames is at most a 20 percent premium versus my doors and drawer fronts (and even less if even just a little glitz is wanted), that area ratio makes the material cost question for frameless versus beaded inset, at least for the fronts part, a non-issue. And it should be the same if you scratch-build fronts from lumber. We're not talking about labor here, only material costs.



From contributor B:
Unless you build exactly the same cabinet every time there is absolutely no correlation between material costs and cabinet cost.


From contributor A:
I've never outsourced face frames, so I'm clueless about those costs. The ratio of material cost to selling price is totally dependent on how much I outsource. Material cost plus labor cost plus overhead and profit equals selling price. The more I outsource, the more I spend on material and the less my labor costs. My material cost might be roughly the same for a overlay and beaded inset job but the selling price will be vastly different. The ratio of material cost to selling price varies depending on the kind of job it is. Maybe I'm missing something in your question, but I don't know how you can take issue with what I've said.


From contributor C:
It would depend on door style, $1 material to $4.25 selling price, last kitchen.


From contributor D:
40% on average.


From contributor E:
Contributor B has it right. There is no solid ratio between material cost and cabinet selling price. The labor variations between styles and finishes are too great. There is no magic formula or easy number to punch in and get a selling price. For the last kitchen I did a few months ago, materials were 25% - $4,250.00 on 17k. No countertops, with beaded inset, hidden hinges, full extension Accuride, crown for cabinets and room, about 24 feet upper and lower combined. What that could possibly mean to you and your location and situation is anyone's guess.


From contributor F:
In answer to your question, it usually runs about 20-30 percent, So contributor E's figure is about right. As everyone else stated, variables in different designs will affect the final numbers. All of the guys I have dealt with over the last few years have been averaging these figures.
Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below?
  • KnowledgeBase: Knowledge Base

  • KnowledgeBase: Business

  • KnowledgeBase: Business: Estimating/Accounting/Profitability

  • KnowledgeBase: Cabinetmaking

  • KnowledgeBase: Cabinetmaking: General




    Would you like to add information to this article? ... Click Here

    If you have a question regarding a Knowledge Base article, your best chance at uncovering an answer is to search the entire Knowledge Base for related articles or to post your question at the appropriate WOODWEB Forum. Before posting your message, be sure to
    review our Forum Guidelines.

    Questions entered in the Knowledge Base Article comment form will not generate responses! A list of WOODWEB Forums can be found at WOODWEB's Site Map.

    When you post your question at the Forum, be sure to include references to the Knowledge Base article that inspired your question. The more information you provide with your question, the better your chances are of receiving responses.

    Return to beginning of article.



    Refer a Friend || Read This Important Information || Site Map || Privacy Policy

    Letters, questions or comments? E-Mail us and let us know what you think. Be sure to review our Frequently Asked Questions page.

    Contact us to discuss advertising or to report problems with this site.

    To report a problem, send an e-mail to our Webmaster

    Copyright © 1996-2008 - WOODWEB ® Inc.
    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without permission of the Editor.
    Review WOODWEB's Copyright Policy.

    The editors, writers, and staff at WOODWEB try to promote safe practices. What is safe for one woodworker under certain conditions may not be safe for others in different circumstances. Readers should undertake the use of materials and methods discussed at WOODWEB after considerate evaluation, and at their own risk.

    WOODWEB, Inc.
    RR4 Box 265A
    Montrose, PA 18801

    Contact WOODWEB