Faircrest RTA Cabinet Assembly Videos
Every cabinet we sell is available ready to assemble (RTA). A standard base cabinet takes around 10 to 30 minutes depending on your experience. Most of the steps repeat across the range, so expect to be at the longer end for your first cabinet and the shorter end once you're into the rhythm of it. Nothing needs cutting and no specialist tools are required.
Below are the manufacturer's own assembly videos, grouped by cabinet type. If you'd rather not build them at all, the same products are available Factory Assembled, arriving built, squared and reinforced with metal corner braces, ready to hang.
Before you start
- Inspect everything before you build anything. Damaged or missing parts must be reported to us within 7 days of receiving your cabinets, whether they were shipped or collected, and before assembly is attempted. Once a cabinet has been assembled we can no longer claim against it. If you know you won't be building for a while, tell us when the cabinets arrive and we'll work something out. Details in the questions below.
- Check the cartons against the labels. Parts are packed flat and the SKU is printed on the box. Open and count first, not halfway through.
- Build on a soft surface. A flattened carton or a moving blanket stops the painted faces picking up marks on a concrete floor.
- Work square. Assemble the box, then check corner to corner before fixing the back panel. A box that goes together out of square stays out of square.
- Metal corner braces go in last. They square and stiffen the finished box and take the countertop fixings later on.
- Two people is easier than one. Not essential on smaller cabinets, but base cabinets go together more comfortably with a second pair of hands, and the wider the cabinet the more that applies. Tall cabinets are the clearest case of all.
- Wood glue is optional, and permanent. A little glue in the dovetails gives a stronger box, and we'd recommend it. Just be certain the assembly is right before the glue sets, because a glued joint is very difficult to take apart afterwards, if it comes apart at all. If you're building your first cabinet, dry-fit it before you reach for the glue.
Base cabinet assembly
Standard base cabinet
The starting point. Watch this one first even if you're building something else, as most of the steps repeat across the range.
Drawer base cabinet
Drawer bases come in two-drawer and three-drawer variants. They take a little longer than a standard base, since each dovetail drawer box has to be built and its soft-close undermount glides set.
Lazy susan corner cabinet
The most involved build in the range, mainly because of the hinge arrangement. There's a separate video for the hinges below.
Lazy susan hinge installation
Worth watching before you reach this step rather than during it.
Corner drawer base
Corner sink base
Angled end base
Wall cabinet assembly
Standard wall cabinet
Lighter and quicker than a base. The same box sequence, without drawers or a toe kick.
Diagonal corner wall cabinet
Microwave wall cabinet
Tall cabinet assembly
Tall utility and pantry cabinets
The largest boxes in the range. Worth having a second pair of hands, mostly to hold panels upright rather than for the weight.
Assembly questions
How hard is it to assemble RTA cabinets?
Straightforward. Parts arrive pre-drilled with the hardware supplied, so it's a matter of following the sequence rather than measuring or cutting anything. If you can follow flat-pack instructions, you can build these.
How long does one cabinet take to assemble?
Around 10 to 30 minutes for a standard base cabinet. If it's your first, expect the longer end of that. Drawer bases take a little more time because each drawer box has to be assembled and its glides set, and corner units and lazy susans are the most involved in the range. The good news is that most of the steps repeat, so once you've built two or three you'll be working considerably faster than you did on the first one.
What tools do I need?
A drill driver, a rubber mallet and a square. A hand screwdriver will do the job, but a drill driver is much quicker across a full kitchen and is what we'd recommend. Clamps are worth having for installation, when you're pulling cabinets together in a run, rather than for assembly itself.
A second person helps more than any tool. Base cabinets are easier with two, wider cabinets more so, and tall cabinets most of all.
Wood glue is optional. Applied to the dovetails it gives a stronger, stiffer box. Bear in mind it's permanent: once it sets, taking the cabinet apart again is very difficult, so check the assembly is correct before you glue.
Some of our regular trade customers also use a nail gun, which speeds things up considerably when you're building a whole kitchen. It isn't necessary, and it carries the same caution as glue: pin the box once you're satisfied it's square, not before.
What if a part is damaged or missing?
Report it to us within 7 days of receiving your cabinets, whether they were shipped to you or collected from the warehouse, and before attempting assembly. Send photos of the damage along with the items and parts affected, and we'll place a claim with the manufacturer on your behalf. Get in touch here.
Why assembly matters. The manufacturer will only approve a claim on a cabinet that has not had assembly attempted. Once a box has been started, the claim is no longer available to us, whatever the original fault was. That's the single reason we ask you to open, inspect and photograph everything before you pick up a screwdriver.
If you know the cabinets are going to sit for a while before you build them, let us know when they arrive and we'll work with you case by case. We run a customer-focused business, but we also have to work within the claim rules the manufacturer sets, and that 7-day window is one of them.
Get in touch as soon as you spot something. Even before you've finished going through the whole order, tell us what you've found and we'll start pulling the claim together at our end so nothing is missing when we submit. We file the claim as a single submission once you've confirmed everything that needs replacing, so it's worth checking every carton first. Identify damage down to the part where you can, for example the left side panel of a B18 rather than simply the B18, as that is what the manufacturer needs in order to approve and ship the right replacement.
What happens next. Manufacturer approval takes up to 7 business days, though we typically have claims approved within 3 days when we have everything needed up front, which is why the photos and the part identification matter. Replacement parts are then processed and shipped from our East Sparta warehouse in Ohio, even if your original order came from the Florida warehouse, so allow roughly the same transit time as your original delivery depending on where you are in the country. We handle claims on a priority basis at our end to keep approval and processing moving.
Can I buy them already built instead?
Yes. Every product is available Factory Assembled, arriving built, squared and reinforced with metal corner braces, ready to hang. Freight costs more and order processing takes longer, but there's nothing to build on site.
One thing Factory Assembled doesn't remove: trim and filler pieces are still cut to fit your room, whichever version you order. Most trims ship as 8' strips. Base fillers arrive at the correct height to match our base and vanity cabinets, though the width can be trimmed to suit your layout. Standard wall fillers are 42" high and can be cut down in both height and width, as can the 8' tall fillers. Panels, including SPW, IS3696, PLYEB42, REP9624, WEP1542 and BEP3, are all sized on site to whatever the project needs.
Ready to order?
If you already have a list of the cabinets you need, our Quick Order tool will price the whole thing in one go.
If you're still working out what fits, send us photos and rough measurements of your room and we'll draw up a layout and a full itemized quote, free and with no obligation.