KAPLANRemodeling & Construction

Custom cabinets in Orlando, built for the house you actually live in

I'm Johnny Kaplan. I own Kaplan Remodeling & Construction, and I've built enough cabinetry into Central Florida homes to know that most cabinet problems aren't really cabinet problems. They're a pantry that's six inches too shallow. A corner nobody can reach. A trash can sitting out in the open because there was never a spot made for it. Custom cabinets fix the house you have. Stock boxes ask your house to adjust to them.

We design, build and install custom cabinetry in Lake Mary and across Orlando, Longwood, Sanford, Heathrow, Winter Park, Oviedo and the rest of Seminole County. When you call, you talk to me — not a designer working on commission, not a call center. And you get one clear number in writing before a single cabinet gets ordered.

We come to you — no showroom, no pressure

I measure in your kitchen, not in a showroom designed to sell you upgrades. I want to see where you actually stand when you cook, which drawer you open first in the morning, what's crammed under the sink, and where the light comes in. That conversation is where good cabinetry starts. Then you get drawings and one fixed written number — not a per-foot estimate that grows every time you pick something.

What's included

How a cabinet is actually built — and why it matters here

The box

The box is the part you never see and the part that decides how long the kitchen lasts. Plywood boxes — typically 3/4-inch — hold screws, carry stone countertops, and shrug off the occasional dishwasher leak. Particleboard and furniture board are cheaper and perfectly stable in a dry room, but get them wet once and they swell and never come back. Under a sink, next to a dishwasher, or in a laundry room, I want plywood. Look at the shelf thickness too. A thin shelf spanning three feet will sag under dishes within a couple of years.

Framed versus frameless

Framed cabinets have a hardwood face frame on the front of the box. It's the traditional American build, it's forgiving on out-of-square walls, and it's what you need for a true inset door. The trade-off is that the frame eats a little interior room, so drawer boxes are narrower.

Frameless — sometimes called full-access or European — skips the face frame. Doors mount directly to the box, so you get wider drawers, full-width shelves and clean, tight reveals. It looks modern and it stores more. It also demands a dead-accurate install, because there's no frame to hide behind. Neither one is better. It depends on the look you want and how much you care about drawer width.

Doors and drawer fronts

Shaker is still the safest choice in Central Florida — it reads clean in a modern house and traditional in an older one. Slab doors go contemporary. Raised panel and beaded inset go formal. Then there's overlay: partial overlay shows frame between doors, full overlay covers nearly all of it, and inset sits flush inside the frame. Inset is the most expensive of the three by a real margin, because the tolerances are tighter and the install takes longer.

Finishes

Stained wood shows grain and hides wear. Paint gives you the crisp look most clients want right now, but it costs more — the prep, sanding and multiple sprayed coats are where the labor goes. Ask for a catalyzed finish (conversion varnish or a two-part poly) sprayed in a shop, not a brushed-on latex. It cures hard, cleans up, and stands up to steam and grease. I'd steer you away from thermofoil next to a wall oven — heat is what makes that film peel.

Why Florida humidity changes the material list

Wood moves when moisture changes, and here it changes constantly — soaking August afternoons, dry January mornings, a house closed up with the AC off for three weeks while you're away. That movement is why a solid wood door panel floats inside its rails and stiles instead of being glued tight, and why a painted door with an MDF center panel almost never cracks at the joints while a painted solid wood one sometimes does. It's why plywood boxes beat particleboard here more than they would in Arizona. And it's why I spec good plated or stainless hardware near water. None of this is exotic. It's just choosing materials that expect the weather they're going to get.

Cabinet refacing vs replacing: how to decide

Refacing keeps your existing boxes and replaces the doors, drawer fronts and exposed surfaces with new veneer and new hardware. Done right, it looks new. It typically runs a good bit less than a full replacement and takes a fraction of the time.

Reface when: the boxes are solid plywood with no water damage or sagging shelves, the layout already works for how you live, nothing needs to move, and your only real complaint is that the doors look dated.

Replace when: the layout is wrong, the boxes are swollen or falling apart, you want deeper cabinets or taller uppers to the ceiling, you want drawer banks instead of doors, appliances are changing size, or plumbing and electrical are moving. Refacing a bad layout gets you a nicer-looking version of the same frustration.

I'll tell you honestly which one your kitchen calls for. If refacing gets you what you want, I'll say so — I'd rather do the right job than the bigger one.

How long it takes

For custom cabinetry, plan on roughly 8 to 12 weeks from the day we finalize drawings to the day the last door is adjusted. That breaks down as one to two weeks for design and final field measure, five to eight weeks in the shop for build and finish, and three to seven days on site for installation. Countertops template after cabinets are set, and fabrication usually adds one to two weeks after that.

Refacing is faster — usually three to five weeks for materials, then a few days on site.

What moves the schedule: painted and custom-matched colors take longer than stains, inset construction takes longer than overlay, shop backlog varies by season, and any electrical or plumbing relocation adds a permit and inspection cycle. Special-order appliances are the other common holdup, since panel-ready units drive the cabinet dimensions.

What it costs

I don't publish per-foot pricing, because per-foot pricing is how people end up shocked at the end. Custom cabinetry is priced off your actual drawings, and the honest answer is that two kitchens the same size can be thousands apart.

Here's what actually moves the number: linear footage and how much of it is tall cabinetry; plywood versus particleboard boxes; door style and overlay type, with inset at the top; paint versus stain; specialty inserts like pull-outs, spice racks, trash pull-outs and lift hardware; crown and trim complexity; appliance panels; islands with finished backs and seating; and whether the layout change requires moving plumbing, electrical or a wall.

You'll get one fixed number covering labor and construction, plus a clearly stated allowance for the finish items you're still choosing. If you pick above or below an allowance, the difference is handled by a simple written change order before we order anything — the labor stays the same. No surprises at the end.

Things people ask before hiring us

Do I need a permit for new cabinets?

Cabinetry by itself usually doesn't require one. The moment we move plumbing, add or relocate electrical circuits, or touch anything structural, it does. If your project needs a permit, we pull it and handle every inspection. As a licensed Florida General Contractor (CGC#1540583), that's part of our job, not an add-on or an upsell.

Can I keep using my kitchen during the install?

Not fully. Once the old cabinets come out, plan on being without the sink and counters for a stretch. Most families set up a temporary kitchen in the garage or dining room with the fridge, microwave and coffee maker. I'll tell you the specific days the water is off before we start so you can plan around them.

Is refacing worth it, or am I just delaying a real remodel?

If the boxes are sound and the layout works, refacing is a legitimate finished result, not a stopgap. If either of those isn't true, refacing is money you'll spend twice. That's the whole test.

Painted or stained — which holds up better in Florida?

Both hold up if the finish is sprayed and catalyzed. Paint shows dings and wear at the edges more visibly; stain hides it. Paint on MDF door panels is the most stable choice for our humidity swings, and it's what I recommend most often for painted kitchens.

Do you build the cabinets yourselves or order them?

Depends on the project. Some jobs are best served by a custom shop build; others get exactly what the client wants from a semi-custom line for less money. I'll tell you which one your project calls for and exactly what you're getting either way — it's written into your proposal, down to the box material and hinge brand.

Who handles the countertops?

We coordinate it. Cabinets get installed and leveled, the fabricator templates off the actual boxes, and we schedule around their fabrication window. One point of contact — you don't chase three companies.

What happens if a door warps or a drawer stops closing right?

You call me and we fix it. Every project carries a 1-year workmanship warranty, plus all manufacturer warranties on materials. Doors and hinges settle a bit in the first few months — that adjustment visit is expected, not an argument.

How do I know the price won't climb halfway through?

Because the number is fixed in writing before we start, and the only thing that changes it is a change you approve in writing first. That's the whole system. It's why we don't get horror-story phone calls.

Let's talk about your kitchen

Call me and we'll set up a kitchen-table meeting. I'll measure, we'll talk through framed versus frameless, refacing versus replacing, and what makes sense for your house and your budget. You'll get real drawings and one clear number — and no pressure from me either way. I'd be glad to earn your business.

Talk to the owner, not a call center.

Call (407) 852-8153

Kaplan Remodeling & Construction · Licensed Florida General Contractor CGC#1540583 · Lake Mary, FL