How to spot a cheap kitchen in an expensive home

Barcelona real estate Blog

Monday, 22 November 2010 10:21

When actively searching for a new home, one is often assaulted with a barrage of features or pre-existing perks that a realtor will claim the home has. This almost always includes, if not directly features, the cabinetry and the appliances installed in the kitchen. With a keen eye and a little bit of knowledge, you can learn how to spot the real deal from the fluff.

All expensive homes should have expensive, well-built kitchen cabinetry. And yet, surprisingly, many do not. While many of the exterior door styles and finish colors look the same, the cabinetry construction and finish quality is where the real money is spent - and where cheap materials are often hidden.

One question you should always ask your realtor when viewing the kitchen of a new home is: Are the cabinets constructed of particle board or plywood?

Particle board cabinets are extremely cheap and unstable. Particle board is made from compacting wood shavings, paper by-products, sawdust, and a binding resin to create a solid "wood" product. But nothing about this wood product is truly solid. This type of product cannot handle heavy interior loads, they often warp from heat and humidity, and will disintegrate when in contact with water for a prolonged period of time. Plywood is expensive but it is strong, and long lasting. It does not warp or disintegrate under heat, humidity, or prolonged water exposure.

Finish quality is much easier to spot. Simply open a door and examine the finish on the edges of the doors. Cheap finishes are very light and exclusively sprayed on, resulting in visible seams on the edges of doors and drawers where the wood comes together. From afar you can also check the finish by looking for light spots or overspray, both common symptoms of cheap spray finishes.

Appliances can be tougher to spot, because much like automobiles, they all try to look the same on the outside. But it is what's on the inside that counts. Know your brands before home shopping, know the brands that are cheap and unreliable, and know the brands that are expensive and solid. By searching the web for appliance reviews or visiting consumer reports websites you can get a quick picture of which brands to trust and which to run from.

The most expensive material used to build many of today's appliances is undoubtedly stainless steel. Almost all cheap appliances have one thing in common: they use stainless steel as sparingly as possible. This sometimes results in sharp edges where stainless would normally be wrapped around, and easily dented refrigerator fronts are also common due to thin applications of the material.

In the end, the key to spotting a cheap kitchen in an expensive home is simple: Take your time. Don`t let the realtor rush you through. Go over the kitchen meticulously, looking for the tell-tale signs of cheapening out. You'll know it when you see it.