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KraftMaid Home Additions & ADU: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
If you’re planning a home addition or ADU in Los Angeles and want KraftMaid cabinetry throughout, installed pricing for the full project typically runs $53,100 to $153,400 depending on square footage, foundation work, and finish selections. Sawyer Remodeling stocks and installs KraftMaid cabinet lines for additions and ADUs across LA, and we can usually have your cabinet order placed within one week of final measurements. Most owners find us after a different kind of discovery: they priced a standalone addition, then realized cabinetry alone from a big-box quote left them with mismatched doors, wrong-depth bases, and no one to call when a hinge fails six months in. That’s the gap we fill.
Here’s what matters most: KraftMaid builds solid, repairable cabinetry, but only if the boxes were ordered to spec and hung properly. We’ve seen enough tilted corner cabinets in Silver Lake and Echo Park additions to know the difference between a product problem and an install problem. Usually it’s the second one.
Which KraftMaid Models This Applies To
KraftMaid runs several cabinet lines that show up constantly in Los Angeles additions and ADUs: the entry-level Vantage series, the mid-range Venicia line, and the higher-end KraftMaid Custom program. They are not interchangeable across door styles, so if you have a Venicia shaker door, you cannot order a Vantage replacement door and expect the profile to match. The door profile is machined into the frame, not applied.
To identify what you have, open a drawer and look for a small sticker or laser-etched code on the drawer box side, usually a 10-digit number starting with “KM.” That number ties to your exact door style, wood species, and finish code. Also measure the face frame width: KraftMaid Vantage uses 3/4-inch face frames, while most Custom orders can be specified at 1-inch. A 1/4-inch difference sounds small, but it changes which hinges and drawer slides fit. We keep a compatibility cheat sheet on the truck for exactly this reason.
OEM KraftMaid parts (hinges with the KM stamp, soft-close clips, touch-latch hardware) cost more but match the factory spec. Quality aftermarket equivalents from Blum or Salice work fine on most KraftMaid boxes, and we stock both. The one place we never substitute aftermarket is the drawer glide profile; KraftMaid’s undermount glides have a specific notch pattern that generic glides don’t match without modifying the drawer box.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your KraftMaid Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Doors that hang crooked or rub at the corner. This usually isn’t the door; it’s hinge wear or a face frame that pulled away from the cabinet side. In dry Los Angeles summers, wood cabinet boxes shrink, and a hinge that was tight in June loosens by September. Fix is new hinge plates and a re-shim of the cabinet box, not a new door.
- Drawers that stick or drop when you open them. KraftMaid undermount glides fail at the rear clip first. You’ll hear a subtle click, then the drawer sits lower on one side. If you ignore it, the drawer box will eventually chew into the cabinet floor. A glide replacement takes under 20 minutes per drawer when the parts are in hand.
- Soft-close doors that slam shut. The soft-close mechanism is a small piston inside the hinge cup. It wears out after roughly 10 to 15 years of daily use, faster in kitchens that face afternoon sun because heat degrades the internal silicone. The hinge still works as a hinge; it just loses the soft-close. Replacing the hinge is the fix.
- Corner cabinet doors that bind or won’t stay closed. This is almost always an install issue: the cabinet was hung out of square. In older Los Angeles homes, especially hillside builds from the 1940s and 50s, floors are rarely level, and a cabinet hung to a warped wall will bind at the corner. We fix the square before we touch the door.
- Finish cracking or peeling along the drawer front edges. KraftMaid finishes are catalyzed and durable, but edges take the abuse. If the edge banding lifts, moisture gets in and the finish delaminates. This happens faster in ADUs without climate control or near coastal moisture zones like Playa del Rey. A reface of drawer fronts is usually more cost-effective than full replacement.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Los Angeles specifically, here’s where the numbers land based on what we see across Echo Park, Highland Park, and the Valley:
- Cabinet installation in a new ADU or addition: $4,720 to $15,340 depending on linear footage and whether crown molding and light rails are included.
- Kitchen remodel inside a home addition: $16,520 to $53,100 for a full tear-out with new KraftMaid cabinetry, counters, and installation.
- Full home addition with KraftMaid kitchen and bath cabinetry: $53,100 to $153,400, with the spread driven by foundation type, structural work, and glazing choices.
- ADU construction with KraftMaid throughout: $106,200 to $259,600 depending on whether it’s a garage conversion, a stand-alone unit, or above an existing structure.
Every quote includes the cabinet order, delivery coordination, install labor, hardware mounting, and a written price before any work starts. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the installation for a full year. If a hinge we hung fails or a door we set drifts out of alignment, we come back and make it right at no charge, no argument.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check a few things yourself: read the sticker inside a drawer to find your KM code, test whether a sticky drawer is obstruction or glide, and tighten exposed hinge screws with a Phillips head. That’s the extent of it. What you should not do is attempt to re-hang a 42-inch wall cabinet, modify a drawer box, or force a binding corner door. Upper cabinets loaded with dishes weigh more than people expect, and a cabinet that falls can do real damage. Luca Romano, our owner, says it plainly: “Good work doesn’t need a sales pitch, it just needs to be done right.” We’d rather spend an hour getting it right than watch someone get hurt trying to save a service call.
If your KraftMaid cabinets in a Los Angeles addition or ADU are acting up, call us at (254) 272-5876. We’ll ask for the KM code, tell you what we think over the phone, and schedule a visit. The estimate is free.
FAQs
KraftMaid cabinets typically last 20 to 30 years with normal use, but the hardware (hinges, glides, soft-close pistons) typically needs replacement at the 10 to 15-year mark. ADUs that sit vacant for months between tenants actually wear hinges faster because doors get opened and closed with no lubricant movement from regular use.
Yes, and we usually recommend repair first. Damaged hinges, worn glides, split drawer boxes, and out-of-square hangs are all repairable for a fraction of replacement cost. We only recommend new cabinetry when the box itself is water-damaged or the face frames have separated beyond re-gluing.
A hinge or glide replacement takes 20 to 60 minutes per cabinet once parts are in hand, and we stock common KraftMaid-compatible hardware on the truck when scheduling allows. A full cabinet order for an ADU addition usually runs 4 to 8 weeks from order to install depending on KraftMaid’s production schedule.
We stock common KraftMaid-compatible hinges, glide clips, and soft-close pistons on our service vehicles, and we can order OEM KraftMaid replacements within days. We also work with Cambria, Silestone, and Kohler for coordinating surfaces and fixtures in the same project, so you’re not juggling four suppliers.
If your KraftMaid cabinets in Los Angeles are failing and you want a straight answer, call (254) 272-5876 for a free estimate. We’ll tell you what’s wrong, what it costs, and whether it’s worth fixing before we schedule anything.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner, Sawyer Remodeling at Sawyer Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
