Cost of Standard Grade Cabinet Doors at Cutting Edge
Updated November 27, 2024
Explore the factors influencing the cost of standard grade cabinet doors, including door style, wood species, and lumber cut.
As a cabinet maker or contractor, you’ve likely decided that standard grade cabinet doors are the right choice for your project. Naturally, the next step is finding out how much they cost. But as you’ve probably discovered, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Instead of a straightforward answer, you’re faced with a series of questions: What door style? What wood species? What profile? While this information is essential for manufacturers to determine pricing, the lack of transparency can leave you feeling stuck. Why can’t you just get a clear price?
At Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking, we understand your frustration. With over 20 years of experience producing cabinet doors, we know that pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Factors like door style, wood type, and design details all influence the final cost. But we’re here to make the process as straightforward as possible.
In this article, you’ll learn what factors affect the pricing of standard grade cabinet doors and see pricing examples for two of our most popular door styles. By the end, you’ll feel more confident about estimating costs and making informed decisions for your next project.
Factors That Affect the Price of Standard Grade Cabinet Doors
The reasons you can’t get a price for generic standard grade cabinet doors are numerous. The main factors that affect pricing are the door style and the wood species. If you know those two details, you can get a fairly accurate price for your cabinet doors.
Other details can increase or decrease the cost of your cabinet doors. Below is a brief description of the most common factors that affect pricing.
Wood Species
The wood species you choose for your cabinet doors has the greatest impact on the price. Depending on the availability of and demand for the wood species, the price can increase drastically.
Generally speaking, the price increases as the hardness of the wood increases. For example, Alder and Knotty Pine are on the low end of the price range. These are softwoods. On the higher end of the price range are woods like Walnut and White Oak, which are hardwoods.
When popularity is high and availability is low, the price increases regardless of the hardness of the wood.
Door Style
The door style also has a major impact on cabinet door pricing. As the complexity of the door increases, the price increases accordingly.
Very simple door styles, like veneer slabs or plywood panel doors, cost much less than complex door styles like mitered raised panel doors or arched raised panel doors.
Lumber Cut
In cabinet door manufacturing, three types of lumber cuts may be available: flat cut (or plain sawn), quarter cut (or quarter sawn), and rift cut (or rift sawn).
Some wood species, like Alder, are only available in flat cut. This decision is usually made by the lumber mill. If there is minimal demand for quarter cut or rift cut lumber in a specific wood type, they will not produce those lumber cuts.
Maple and Walnut are among the wood types that have two lumber cuts available: flat cut and rift/quarter cut. Rift/quarter cut is a combination of rift cut and quarter cut lumber. This lumber cut is available for wood species that don’t have a distinct difference between the rift cut and quarter cut lumber.
Other wood species, most notably White Oak, are available in all three lumber cuts.
Flat cut lumber is the most common, and therefore the least expensive, lumber cut. Quarter cut and rift cut lumber are much more expensive because the mill can get less yield per log.
Custom Details
Adding custom details adds complexity to your door order. Choosing a custom frame width is a fairly simple change, and will only increase the price by about $1.00 per square foot. Requesting a fully custom door (like an X panel door or an arched valance) will increase the cost by at least $25.00 per piece.
Additional Options - Hinge Drilling and Finishing
If you are looking for ‘just the raw doors’, you will get the base price available. There are additional options you can choose. You can request that your doors be pre-drilled for Blum hinges, which adds about $2 per door.
You can also choose to have your doors finished, but adding finishing increases the price. Again, as the complexity of the finish you choose increases, the price increases accordingly.
Adding a clear lacquer finish will increase the price by at least $13.00 per square foot. Choosing a custom finish, like a painted and glazed finish, will increase the price by at least $38.00 per square foot.
Square Footage of the Cabinet Doors
Last but not least, the square footage of your cabinet door affects the price. All cabinet door pricing from Cutting Edge is per square foot.
When you calculate square footage, think of it as the area of the door. There are 4 simple steps for calculating square footage:
- Measure the width in inches
- Measure the height in inches
- Multiply the width by the height
- Divide by 144
Once you have the square footage, multiply that number by your square foot price to determine the cost of your cabinet door.
Different door styles may have a minimum square footage used for pricing. All doors, regardless of how small they are, take a certain amount of time to assemble. The minimum square footage for plywood panel doors and drawers is 1.5 square feet per piece.
The Cost of 'Standard’ Cabinet Doors
While you have already learned there is no easy answer to this question, there are some door styles that are consistent across the industry. The traditional Red Oak raised panel door is one of these door styles. And yes, we can give you a rough price for this and another popular door style!
The pricing provided below does not include finishing costs – these prices are for raw cabinet doors.
Also, keep in mind that the factors you learned about earlier in this article can affect the pricing of these standard door styles. Good news though – if you are eligible for contractor pricing, your discount applies to these prices!
Red Oak Arched Raised Panel Cabinet Doors
Red Oak arched raised panel doors are a traditional door style and have featured in many kitchens over the years.
While this door style is no longer as popular today as it has been, it is still one of the most well-known door styles in the industry.
Raw cabinet doors in the Red Oak arched raised panel door style cost at least $63.43 per piece, and $42.29 per square foot.
Maple Shaker Style Cabinet Doors
Maple shaker doors have become increasingly popular over the last 10 years. There is no better option for a clean and classic cabinet door.
Raw Maple shaker-style doors (with plywood panels) cost at least $24.18 per square foot, and a minimum of $36.27 per piece.
There are many other door styles that you could want pricing for, but these two are the most well-known door styles.
Learn How to Price Out Your Standard Grade Cabinet Doors Online
When you started reading this article, you were looking for a quick and straightforward answer to the cost of standard grade cabinet doors. You’ve now learned why pricing isn’t as simple as it seems – door style, wood species, lumber cut, and other factors all play a role in determining the final cost.
While understanding these factors is valuable, having access to accurate, up-to-date pricing is essential for keeping your projects on track. That’s why we offer an online ordering platform. Learn how to price out your cabinet doors online for instant and accurate quotes.
