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Timberlake Cabinets

mpatel1080
10 years ago

Hello. We are in the early stages of considering a new construction home, the community we are looking at is at the upper end of communities in our area. At the model I saw that the builder is using Timberlake cabinets as standard, and we would like to know what the quality of these cabinets is...they seemed to be a little low end for the price of the home but I would like some opinions.
Also what is a rough price difference between Timberlake and Kraftmaid and is that a worthwhile investment or should we just stick with the Timberlake?

Comments (29)

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    It's a high builder grade line. It's the same thing as Shenendoah at Lowes and American Woodmark at Home Depot. BIG pet peeve with it is the lack of butt cabinets and the limited sizes. Nothing I hate worse than a big old center stile in a 2 door cabinet that divides it in half.

  • mpatel1080
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Are they a reasonable quality cabinet? The builder insists they are the best (obviously he is spewing hot air) and that the cost to upgrade to Kraftmaid (which I asked about) is not worth it. Do you know the rough price difference between Timberlake and Kraftmaid and is it a worthwhile investment? The kitchen is a 13x16 U shaped with island.

    The Timberlake cabinets he is using are their top line with soft close doors, dovetail drawers, furniture ends etc.

    This post was edited by mpatel1080 on Mon, Mar 17, 14 at 17:02

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    That's like asking "how much is a car". It depends on the door styles compared against doorstyles, and the upgrades, several of which are standard in other mid grade cabinet lines rather than an upgrade. You could have a 12K kitchen in TL and have virtually the same kitchen in KM be 14K, because some of the upgrades are standard. Or, you could have that "same" kitchen be 16K or even 30K, depending on the doorstyle and what it's stuffed with. And the builder's markup on top of the price difference, and the change order fee on top of the price difference.

    KM isn't the end all of mid grade lines. They just do the most advertising. If the builder actually allows you to go elsewhere for your cabinets, there are plenty more fish in the sea. Most won't allow it though. And many people have accepted the lowest builder grade options and just removed it and donated it post close to be able to put in the kitchen that they really wanted but had too many builder markups on to be able to realistically do through the builder.

  • mpatel1080
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I realize the difficulty to compare things...I was just trying to get a rough idea. The thing that worries me about the Timberlake is that they only offer a 5 year warranty while almost every other cabinet has a lifetime warranty. It is looking like we will go with the Timberlake and then put in something nice in the future.

  • jbalimorg
    9 years ago

    Mpatel: We are in the exact same situation and have exact same question as you! Should we try (if builder allows) to go with kraftmaid vs. timberlake? Why only 5 year warranty on timberlake? What did you end up doing and are you happy?

  • fbj59
    9 years ago

    We are building new home. I'm into all the nuts and bolts and how things are done, but I hate the cabinet stuff.

    I feel like we are overpaying for a mid-ish grade cabinet line (Timberlake), but then we get a quote from a lower-upper line (Dynasty/Omega) and it just gets substantially more expensive for same layout.

    We have u-shape kitchen 10x16x10 approximate layout with a 5 or 6' long island in the middle (can't recall exact size).

    Ceiling is 9' and we are double stacking boxes all the way up. So we have just over 30 cabinet/drawer boxes with door end kits to finish off the sides. Also slow close drawer, but not doors.

    They are Timberlake Yellowstone 5-piece style Cherry with Chocolate Glaze.

    First quote was for plywood construction $17k not including install labor.

    Downgrade to mdf boxes (still solid doors and drawers) and got the premium glaze finish to be no charge.

    That dropped it under $14k.

    Door end kits were almost $1200 factored in each of those quotes, but we really like that look.

    We also have two "super susans" a knife drawer and a garbage can pull-out. No glass doors or open shelving.

    Maybe this helps somebody compare some pricing. Or maybe somebody can tell me that our quote isn't as bad as I think it is for what it is. I have no experience with cabinetry pricing, but I was hopeful the kitchen cabinets could come in about $10k. I've been able to rationalize every other cost in our process so far, but struggling with this one.

    My wife refuses to get another quote from different vender, doesn't want to go through it again. Honestly I don't either. Least favorite part of the building process so far.

    Thoughts?

  • Mary Stokes
    6 years ago

    In the same position. Do I want a $500,000 house with crappy cabinets. Cannot find a good review of Timberlake. Love to know your decision and how happy you are. We redid our current kitchen 4 years ago and were very happy with Kraftmade

  • Coo Ley
    6 years ago
    Hi all,
    I am only a few weeks away from ordering Timberlake New Haven cabinets painted Linen. This upgrade is costing near $20k. And I find this website of reviews: http://www.kitchenreviews.com/cabinets/ratings.html. It ranks Timberlake dead last 38 out of 38 with horrible custom service. Can anybody vouch for a good experience with these? Please help!
  • _sophiewheeler
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    NEVER use the plain painted linen in that line. They have too many production and shipping issues. It always comes in with damage, or something that needs to be replaced, which holds up the job. Last job ever that I used them on had 13 out of 17 have issues.

    They aren’t great quality anyway. No where near real mid grade quality. Certainly not any 20K fake “upgrade”. Upgrade from what? Sawdust and chewing gum?

    Get the sawdust and chewing gum and stock laminate tops. Then do your own real upgrading before you move in.

  • GreenDesigns
    6 years ago

    Fof 20K? No way. Not ever. Especially the Linen finish. I can't tell you the amount of glue overspray that had collected dirt that has to be hand scrubbed with Goo B Gone that I've had to deal with. And it still left an ugly black line at the seam between the factory finished side panel and face frame.

  • Linda
    5 years ago

    Timberlake has different grades of quality. We are looking at a new subdivision with Timberlake Cabinets, there are three different levels to their cabinets, it looks like only the Portfolio Select are hardwood.

  • HU-714228488
    4 years ago

    Even I’m considering to upgrade to new haven, is there any issue with paint peeling or maintenance? after reading the above reviews I’m re-thinking if I should consider the upgrade

  • Linda
    4 years ago

    We also upgraded to the linen finish. No issues with ours either.

  • HU-712651215
    3 years ago

    We opted for an $8K upgrade to Linen from stained veneer (Timberlake Portfolio Select). Kitchen is approximately 13 x 19'. Although we knew that Timberlake didn't produce a very high grade of cabinet we are pleased with the end result. Home was built 2 years ago and even added 8 more cabinets (Home Depot Charlottesville aka Timberlake Rushmore) to the kitchen with an additional bath we put in the basement.. The draws came with soft-close but we've added soft close hinges to the doors. Really nice feature but TL doesn't include. After we closed we found 2 door faces that had paint runs and debris but Timberlake replaced them right away.


    Had I not gone with a builder stuck with volume priced Timberlake cabs, I would have probably leaned toward Kraftmaid simply due to my familiarity with them and variety of finishes, but knowing what I know now, I'm good with the Timberlakes. However, only time will tell.

  • JGGM
    3 years ago

    I have Timberlake Tahoe cabinets in my house. They were the “upgrade” from the production builder. These cabinets are cheap, hollow sounding when you close them, and the paint chips easily. I am sure they probably have a nicer product in their lineup, but I’d never select Timberlake again after having them just 8 months now.

  • tengxc777
    3 years ago

    Anyone know a matching paint color to the Timberlake linen? Want to paint some of the insides.

  • tengxc777
    3 years ago

    They were installed by the builder and we didn’t get a touch up kit. They reluctantly put in glass front cabinets for me, but left the standard interior color. So, I’m just looking for a similar color to the Linen cabinets so I can paint the inside of the glass fronts

  • Rosemary Gouthro
    3 years ago

    Anyone ever try painting these “linen” cabinets? The linen in a re-sale, looks too dark/yellow, I’m considering going white! It’ll be messy, but cabinets are only 2 years old.

  • Linda 117
    3 years ago

    Tengxc777, can you bring a draw in and get paint color matched?

  • HU-950041413
    3 years ago

    We have Timberlake “Sonoma” cabinets in “painted linen” color and they’ve been awesome. We’ve had them for 3 1/2 years now. The doors do sound hollow When they close because the cabinet door panel is veneer instead of a thicker panel. But with some inexpensive, Blum brand, single screw soft close (one per door, attached to the hinge side of the face frame) we have a perfect all-around product. They don't slam now, so they don’t have the hollow sound. But they look GREAT and haven’t chipped or yellowed or anything so far. Easy to clean, etc.


    Here’s a link to the soft close (Where I ordered them from anyway):

    https://www.cabinetparts.com/p/blum-hinges-european-cabinet-hinges-BA971A9700A1-p5235?int_ref=1568820810-172978

  • Marie France Londa
    3 years ago

    Would you mind sharing a pic of your TL-Sonoma linen kitchen? thank you



  • Lori
    3 years ago

    tengxc777, what did you end up doing? We cut out the center of the doors and made them into glass doors. The insides were the standard interior color, so we sanded and used a really good paint made for cabinets by Benjamin Moore. We took a door in and had them color match it and they came out wonderful. I painted the entire interior & shelves as well, and even after a year of heavy use (big family and kids constantly scraping plates across the shelves), the finish still looks perfect, no scratches or chipping paint anywhere inside the cabinet. You can also get touch up kits or additional Timberlake cabinets from 84 lumber, much cheaper than through Lowes or Home Depot.

    The lighting isn't great, but I will attach a picture of our Timberlake painted linen cabinets with a BM cabinet paint interior.

  • tengxc777
    3 years ago

    I ordered glass shelving. Then for the “walls” I a sanded, primed, and painted with a sherwin Williams color match. The first coat of SW had me rethinking my idea, but after 2-3 coats I’m pleased.

  • HU-950041413
    3 years ago

    Marie, here are a few pictures.





  • Casey Muirhead
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Would someone please post a picture of the label on top of your paint can that shows the amounts of the colors used to mix it? Not in a position to look at things in person right now. I would so appreciate the share!

  • Myra Freeman
    3 years ago

    Worst cabinets ever. Do not get these. New Build NV HOmes garbage. Discolored black lines show through at seams. Under cabinets are worried odd wood color. So disappointed will replace in a year. Installation horrible as well cabinets cracked separated in some spots.

  • KB B
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Oh now I'm worried. Northern Virginia builder here, $700k + house and we had NO choice on cab brand (Timberlake). I upgraded for the color I wanted, New Haven, Maple Truffle. Designer said they had a solid center versus the Sonoma line. I was actually considering replacing one of the base cabinets with a drawer cabinet but if they're crappy cabinets maybe I shouldn't invest anything at all. The house I just sold (27yrs) we remodeled the kitchen with Kraftmaid and I absolutely love their cabinets. So disappointed in these builders!

    I'm not doing another remodel since we will sell within 7 to ten years.

  • Lu Marin
    2 years ago

    I had a limited budget after Superstorm Sandy and in late 2014 had Timberlake Portfolio Series, Tahoe installed. This was my summer home so didn't want to invest a lot. I am still lovin these cabinets and for the price I couldn't have gotten the beautiful clean style I was looking for with other brands. I went to about 8 kitchen places and none could meet the price I got. I don't think that any of the cabinets in the budget I was searching for were any different in quality. They were all about the same except the price was about 20% - 25% higher. They have held up just fine with no issues, "Knock on Wood" and my small little cottage feels much larger in the linen color. I do not use any scrub sponges; just a damp cloth with Dawn Platinum dish detergent. Also, food spills/drips on cabinets are pretty much cleaned up when it happens. As far as some people saying they had factory black lines at the seams, well I didn't have this issue. Could it be that maybe the company used a different quality back then? The only two cons that I could think of were, when I ordered the cabinets, I wanted the exact same layout I had before the storm. But the overall sizes of the cabinets were different and I understood that, so they came close to what I wanted; except the lower corner cabinets. The salesperson in the kitchen store never discussed with me the size of the interior lazy susan so when the final install was done, I was so disappointed that these were much smaller and I had lost about 7" in depth. In a small kitchen, 7" is a lot of wasted corner space so these lazy susans (not sure of the size) just don't hold as much as what I had prior or what I had expected. Make sure you ask your salesperson about interior sizes as I think these were less expensive so she put the order in that way, possibly trying to keep me in my budget. If I had the option, I would have opted for the bigger deeper corner cabinets even for more $. The other thing that is not that big a deal is the cabinet doors do slam even if you have bumpers on them. But after reading some of these reviews, I want to thank HU-950041413 for her link for the soft close hinges. My drawers already had the soft close which took some getting used to. But now that I have the link I will be ordering the new soft close hinges for the doors. Also, I want to point out that even though this is summer house and I do get a crowd, I am primarily the one in the kitchen cooking so maybe it's not getting the abuse that other homeowners would have with a large family. One last thing if your're worried about the quality, maybe it would be smart to get in touch with the company and ask for a sample of the product. When you get it cut in in half to see what it's constructed of.