RTA Cabinet FAQ

DiscountRTA cabinet orders arrive by freight on a pallet, shrink-wrapped and staged for curbside delivery. The driver lowers the pallet with a lift gate and places it at the curb or driveway entrance.

Freight drivers usually do not bring cabinets into the garage or inside the home, so plan to have help available on delivery day.

Most orders are delivered in about 1–2 weeks from order placement. Your cabinets are packed, shipped, received at our facility, inspected, staged, and then delivered to your home in Middle Tennessee.

A typical kitchen order arrives as one or more pallets, usually stacked with flat brown cartons labeled by cabinet SKU. Base cabinets, wall cabinets, panels, fillers, trim, toe kick, and accessories may all be packaged separately.

The benefit of RTA is that the cabinets ship flat, which helps reduce cost and makes the order easier to stage, inspect, and move.

Before signing for delivery, inspect the pallet carefully. Take photos of all sides, check for crushed corners, torn shrink wrap, water marks, forklift damage, or missing cartons.

• Take photos before the driver leaves.
• Count cartons against the packing list.
• Look for crushed or punctured boxes.
• Write specific damage notes before signing.
• Do not write vague notes like “subject to inspection.”

Specific notes matter. “B36 carton has crushed left corner” is much stronger than “possible damage.”

If damage or shortage is noted at delivery, the replacement process is much easier. Take clear photos, keep the packaging, and contact DiscountRTA as soon as possible so the issue can be documented and resolved.

Most customers break the pallet down at the driveway and carry boxes into the garage one at a time. A hand truck, appliance dolly, or helper makes this much easier.

A full kitchen can usually be moved inside in 30–60 minutes with two people, depending on the size of the order.

Flat-pack cabinets are easier to ship, but the parts are still real cabinet parts. Plywood, doors, drawer boxes, and hardware can be heavy.

A standard RTA cabinet carton usually includes:

• Finished side panels
• Cabinet bottom and top rails
• Back panel
• Toe kick or toe parts
• Adjustable shelves and shelf pins
• Doors and drawer fronts
• Drawer boxes and glides
• Hinges, screws, clips, and assembly hardware

Most pieces are pre-drilled and pre-finished. You are assembling the cabinet box, not building it from raw lumber.

On quality cabinet lines, doors arrive finished and drawer boxes are usually already built. You assemble the cabinet box, install glides, hang doors, adjust hinges, and set drawers into place.

You do not need a full cabinet shop. The most helpful tools are simple and affordable:

These are not required, but they make the job faster, cleaner, and easier:

The first cabinet usually takes the longest because you are learning the system. After that, the process gets much faster.

• First cabinet: 35–60 minutes
• After a few cabinets: 15–25 minutes each
• Full kitchen: usually a weekend for a confident DIYer

If you can assemble flat-pack furniture and use a drill carefully, you can assemble RTA cabinets. The harder part is usually installation: getting the cabinets level, plumb, square, and secured to the wall.

You can assemble many cabinet boxes alone, but hanging wall cabinets, moving tall pantries, and setting large base cabinets is much safer with a helper.

• Do not skip checking the cabinet box for square.
• Do not over-tighten screws or strip holes.
• Do not assemble finished parts directly on concrete.
• Do not hang wall cabinets without hitting studs.
• Do not rush through door and drawer adjustments.

Yes. Once installed, a quality RTA cabinet can look the same as a pre-assembled cabinet. The difference is how it ships and how much labor happens before it reaches your home.