Unfinished Stock

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Unfinished Kitchen Cabinets

All Maple wood cabinets with soft close doors and drawers.

Assembled and In-stock

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Unfinished Stock Cabinets for Kitchens and Baths

Unfinished cabinets give you full control over the final color, stain, and sheen.

They’re shipped raw wood, ready to be sanded, stained, painted, or sealed to match exactly what you want, an option you don’t get with prefinished lines.

Builders Surplus YeeHaa stocks unfinished cabinets across standard sizes and door styles, with most common widths available to take home the day you visit.

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Why Choose Unfinished Cabinets?

Unfinished cabinets aren’t for everyone, but for the right project they’re the most flexible and often most affordable option.

Match an existing finish exactly. If you need new cabinets to match existing ones as closely as possible, on-site finishing typically delivers the best results.

Pick any color or stain. Factory-finished cabinets come in a fixed palette. Unfinished gives you access to every paint and stain at the hardware store.

Lower upfront cost. Without the labor and material cost of factory finishing, unfinished cabinets typically run 20 to 35% less than their prefinished equivalents.

Repair scratches easily. Touch-ups on a site-finished cabinet are simple. With a factory-finished cabinet, a deep scratch usually means replacing the door.

Solid construction. Most unfinished cabinets are made from solid wood (oak, maple, birch, or pine), not veneered MDF, so they accept stain evenly and look better as the wood ages.

Unfinished Cabinet Sizes and Styles

The unfinished cabinets we carry follow standard stock dimensions.

  • Base cabinets: 34½ inches tall (without countertop), 24 inches deep, widths from 9 to 48 inches in 3-inch increments.
  • Wall cabinets: Heights of 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36, or 42 inches; depths of 12 to 24 inches; widths from 9 to 48 inches.
  • Tall cabinets: 84 or 96 inches tall for pantries and oven housings.
  • Vanity cabinets: Bathroom sizes typically 18 to 60 inches wide.

Door styles in unfinished cabinets are usually limited to a few popular options, shaker, raised panel, and slab being the most common. Wood species depend on the cabinet line, with oak, maple, and birch among the most common choices.

How To Finish Cabinets at Home

A clean, durable finish on raw cabinets is achievable with patience and the right approach.

Sand the wood evenly. Start with 120 grit, finish with 220. The smoother the wood, the better the finish takes.

Wipe off all dust. A tack cloth or a damp microfiber removes the fine dust that sanding leaves behind. Skip this and you’ll see specks in the finish.

Apply wood conditioner if you’re staining. Conditioner evens out the grain so soft and hard spots absorb stain at the same rate. Critical on pine and maple, helpful on most species.

Stain in thin coats with a clean rag. Wipe off excess after a few minutes. Multiple thin coats look better than one heavy coat.

Topcoat with polyurethane or lacquer. Two to three coats with light sanding between each gives you a kitchen-durable surface. Water-based polyurethane is easier to apply and clean up; oil-based is more durable.

Let everything cure before installation. A full cure takes longer than dry-to-touch time, usually a week for stain plus polyurethane. Cabinets installed before full cure can dent or stick to felt pads.

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Who Should Buy Unfinished Cabinets?

Unfinished cabinets make the most sense for:

  • Homeowners matching an existing kitchen with cabinets that already have a unique finish.
  • DIYers with time, space, and the right tools to finish cabinets properly before install.
  • Budget-driven remodels where the labor of finishing in-house is worth the cost savings.
  • Specialty paint or custom color projects that aren’t available as factory finishes.

If you want the fastest possible install and don’t have a sealed garage or workshop to finish cabinets in, our prefinished stock cabinets are a better choice.

Shopping Unfinished Cabinets at Builders Surplus YeeHaa

We stock unfinished cabinets in the most common sizes and a rotating selection of door styles and wood species. Common widths are typically available to take home, with short lead times on less-common sizes.

Our design team can help you plan a full kitchen or bath layout in unfinished cabinets and confirm the sizes will work for your space, free of charge. We can also recommend stains and topcoats that hold up in real kitchens.

Professional installation can be arranged for any cabinets purchased from us.

Visit a Builders Surplus YeeHaa location to see current unfinished cabinet selection.

Unfinished Cabinets: FAQs

Unfinished cabinets typically run $80 to $250 per linear foot of cabinet, before finishing materials and labor. Compared to prefinished equivalents, expect 20 to 35% savings on the cabinets themselves.

Most are. Common species include oak, maple, birch, pine, and hickory. Some entry-level lines use a paint-grade soft wood or MDF for the door panel with a solid wood frame. Always confirm construction when shopping.

Yes. Light sanding with 220 grit smooths the surface and helps the stain absorb evenly. Skip the sanding and you’ll see scratches, mill marks, and blotchy stain.

Absolutely. Painting is simpler than staining in many ways: a coat of bonding primer plus two coats of cabinet paint (like an enamel or alkyd) gives a durable, smooth finish.

Plan on one to two weeks of working time for a typical kitchen, including sanding, staining or painting, multiple coats of topcoat, and curing between coats. Spraying the finish speeds the process; brushing and rolling takes longer.

We sell cabinets unfinished. Some customers hire a local painter or cabinet finisher to spray finish the cabinets before  installing. Our team can recommend finishers in the area.

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