What custom kitchen cabinets in Clovis actually include
If you need custom kitchen cabinets in Clovis, the word "custom" should mean the cabinet was built to your opening, not pulled from a catalog and shimmed until it fits. Stock cabinetry is sold in three inch width increments. When your wall measures 137 inches, a stock layout gives you 132 inches of cabinet and five inches of filler strip. A custom run gives you 137 inches of usable storage. Over a full kitchen that difference is commonly a full base cabinet worth of space.
Every kitchen we build includes the following as standard rather than as an upcharge line:
- Three quarter inch plywood carcasses with dadoed joinery, not stapled particleboard
- Full depth adjustable shelves at three quarter inch thickness so they do not sag under dishes
- Soft close concealed hinges with six way adjustment
- Full extension undermount drawer glides rated to 100 pounds
- Dovetailed solid maple drawer boxes
- Finished interiors, and finished end panels on any run that is visible
- Scribe molding and light rail where the design calls for it
Options that get specified per project include door style and profile, paint or stain color, inset versus overlay construction, glass or mesh inserts, integrated appliance panels, and interior fittings such as tray dividers, roll out shelves, spice pullouts, and waste and recycling pullouts.
Signs your Clovis kitchen is ready for new cabinets
Refacing or refinishing is the cheaper path when the boxes are sound. Replacement is the right call when the structure itself has failed or the layout is the problem. Look for these signs:
- Particleboard box bottoms that have swollen or delaminated under the sink
- Drawer boxes separating at the corners, or drawers that need to be lifted to close
- Face frames pulling away from the carcass, or doors that will no longer hold an adjustment
- A layout that fights you daily: no landing space beside the range, a dishwasher that blocks a walkway, a corner that swallows cookware
- A soffit above the uppers wasting twelve to eighteen inches of vertical storage
- Cabinet interiors that smell musty, which usually means a slow leak has been feeding the box for years
That last point matters more in the Central Valley than people expect. A slow supply line drip under a sink is easy to miss in a climate this dry, because the surface evaporates fast while the particleboard core keeps wicking. By the time the box bottom sags, the cabinet is finished.
Our process, start to finish
Free in-home consultation
We come to the house, look at the room, talk through how you use it, and take rough dimensions. You get a realistic budget range and a realistic lead time before anything is drawn.
Design and elevation drawings
You see plan and elevation views of the proposed run with door style, finish, and interior fittings called out. We revise until the drawing matches what you actually want.
Final measure and written quote
We field measure to the sixteenth, check walls for square and plumb, confirm appliance specs from model numbers, and issue a fixed written quote with a lead time in writing.
Build
Boxes, doors, and drawers are built and finished to the approved spec. You are told the install week before the build starts, not after.
Demolition and installation
Old cabinets out, new cabinets set, scribed, leveled, and fastened. Countertop template happens once the bases are set and level.
Walkthrough and adjustment
Every door and drawer is adjusted with you present. Any punch list item is written down and scheduled before we leave.
Material and construction options compared
| Choice | What it means | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Full overlay | Doors cover nearly all of the face frame, leaving a narrow reveal | Most Clovis kitchens. Maximum door area, contemporary or transitional look, forgiving of slight wall movement |
| Inset | Doors sit flush inside the face frame | Period homes near Old Town Clovis. The most exacting build, and the option most sensitive to seasonal wood movement |
| Frameless | No face frame. Doors mount directly to the box | Modern kitchens and maximum interior access. Slightly wider drawer boxes at the same cabinet width |
| Painted MDF door | Medium density fiberboard panel, sprayed finish | Painted kitchens. MDF does not telegraph grain and will not show a seasonal joint line at the panel edge |
| Stained hardwood door | Solid maple, oak, alder, or walnut | Stained and natural wood kitchens where grain is the point |
| Thermofoil | Vinyl film heat pressed over MDF | Tight budgets. We do not recommend it next to a range, since sustained heat can lift the film |
All composite wood we use is compliant with the California Air Resources Board Phase 2 formaldehyde standard, which is a legal requirement for composite wood products sold in California and is enforced federally under TSCA Title VI. If a bidder cannot tell you the compliance status of their panel stock, that is worth asking about twice.
What drives the price of custom cabinets
Cabinetry is typically the largest single line in a kitchen budget. Industry cost breakdowns generally put cabinets and installation at roughly a quarter to a third of a full kitchen remodel budget. The variables that move your number most:
- Linear footage. The single biggest driver. Count your wall and base runs.
- Door style and finish. A five piece painted door with a routed profile costs more to build and finish than a flat slab.
- Inset versus overlay. Inset construction carries a meaningful premium because the tolerances are far tighter.
- Interior fittings. Roll outs, tray dividers, spice pullouts, and waste pullouts add per unit.
- Wood species. Paint grade maple and alder sit at the low end. Walnut and rift white oak sit at the top.
- Site conditions. Out of square walls, removing a soffit, or relocating plumbing and electrical all add labor.
For planning purposes, most Clovis kitchen cabinetry projects land between $12,000 and $40,000 installed, with layout changes and countertops handled separately. Your written quote follows an in-home measure and is not an estimate off a photo.
Built for Central Valley conditions
Clovis puts cabinetry through a genuinely wide annual swing. July and August average highs sit near 98 to 100 degrees with very low humidity, and the region reached 114 degrees in July 2021. Then fall and winter bring tule fog, with damp mornings that hang in the valley for days. Indoor relative humidity in an unconditioned or lightly conditioned house can swing dramatically across that cycle, and solid wood responds by moving across the grain. That is why we float solid panels rather than gluing them fixed, seal all six sides of every door including the top and bottom edges, and steer painted kitchens toward MDF panels, which do not open a witness line at the panel edge when the seasons turn. It is also why we are careful about recommending inset construction to clients who leave a house unconditioned for long stretches.
Financing available on cabinetry projects
Most kitchen cabinetry projects land between $8,000 and $40,000. We work with homeowners who would rather spread that over monthly payments than pay in full up front. Ask your estimator to walk you through the options during your free consultation.