There is a certain ambiance that can be created in a modern kitchen with well coordinated cabinetry and kitchen appliances such as the refrigerator, stove, cook top, dishwasher and microwave. The the variety of choices in today's market can be daunting.

There are Home Depots, Loews and a ton of major cabinet companies plus many more smaller custom cabinet shops where you can get any kitchen cabinets. Your choices range from any species of wood that your mind can imagine to plain, stained, laminated and solid colored selections. The choices leave you with a lot of styles to ponder and consider for your special kitchen

As with most things, the higher-quality cabinets cost more money. The good news is there are a large selection of complimentary design kitchen cabinets available and shopping for equal quality for lower price points due diligence abound. Although you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on the actual kitchen cabinets you can save 50% or more by digging through the phone book for the manufactures supply houses. This is where builders and many retail companies but their cabinets wholesale … and where you can grab a great deal. If the cabinet needs alteration, you or your carpenter can alter the cabinet on site.

Your traditional kitchen base and wall cabinets come in standard sizes. The base cabinets are often 34.5 inches tall and 24 inches deep. They come in widths starting at 12 inches and can go up to 48 inches often in increasing width increments of 3 inches. Filler pieces can be bought and installed to fill in spaces for a uniform look with the base cabinets.

Wall cabinets are often 12 inches deep and 30 inches tall. They also come in the same size widths as the base cabinets. Wall cabinets also come in several different heights ranging from 15 inches all the way up to 48 inches. As with base cabinets, filler pieces may be needed to fill in in spaces to coordinate with the base cabinets. With most custom cabinet product lines you get a wider range of choices.

Custom cabinet shops will fabricate any type of cabinet for you if you are designing a special look or creative situation. They can fabricate giant, seamless (without the vertical seems created by an assemblage of smaller cabinets) cabinets 8-foot long that install like furniture pieces. Naturally, it's best to get a recommendation from a tradesman or volume construction company before choosing your shop and shop out your specs to 2 or 3 shops to establish your price points.

Pay attention to the materials used to build the cabinets. Lower-priced cabinets are made with paperboard, cheap particle board and other minimal-quality engineered lumber. Cheap particle board laminates may fall apart under the weight of heavy dishes and may sag or bow in time.

Extensive Home Construction Remodeling Decisions

DEAR JOHN: Bob and I just got marries an we bought a 700 square foot summer house that needs extensive renovation for a good price. The home needs roofing repairs, new floors, sheetrock repairs, kitchen cabinets, bathroom ceramic repair plus plenty of other cosmetic work. Because of the bad roof, water damage has caused the sheetrock to stain and I'm afraid to look behind the walls. The foundation is made of rocks in places and doesn't look very solid. Should we remodel or should we rebuild? I wonder if we bit off more than we should on this project. Barbara B., Nashua, NH

DEAR BARBARA: Every situation is different and a lot depends on you long range goals. Are you looking to trade up in the future or just stay put as your family grows. Most important is are you going to do the work yourself or are you looking to hire contractors?

If you do the work yourselfves remodeling may be much less expensive and hiring outside contractors to remodel. It might be less expensive to put the existing house in a dumpster, have masons construct a new foundation and put a modular in place than have outside constractors do the remodeling work.

A 3-foot footing is normal in most areas, however a deeper footing is preferable in colder regions. If you put on a second story or plann a basement, you'll need good footings and block work. Undermining your existing home footings is expensive not everyone wants to do that type of work.

Summer homes typically do not have insulation or are poorly insulated. Since it is an older home, the windows and doors probably are drafty and the house may be expensive to heat. Figuring total remodeling cost, roofing, kitchen and bath may prove more expensive than rebuilding the home from scratch. Compare prices for stick built and modular homes for your lot.

All in all you would be happier in a new home if you can afford it and justify the expense.