Cabinets for New Construction: Spec Once, Repeat Every Lot

Why One Spec Per Plan Beats Selecting Every House

A plan-based spec turns cabinets from a decision into a reorder. Once Plan A has a cabinet list, every Plan A lot gets the same list, the same finish and the same price structure.

That matters for the things builders track most: schedule reliability, matching finishes across units and a cost per house you can put in the pro forma. Selecting cabinets house by house adds design time, re-quotes and more chances for a wrong SKU on the truck.

It also helps the sales team. Buyers walk a model home and know exactly what their kitchen will look like, because the model and the production house come from the same spec sheet.

In real estate development with several phases, a spec that changes between phases costs more than any price difference: buyers compare houses side by side.

What a New Construction Cabinet Spec Sheet Should Include

A useful spec sheet answers every question the supplier, the installer and the superintendent will ask, before the first lot is framed.

• Plan name and elevation (kitchen, baths, laundry)
• Finish for each room, including any two-tone island
• Door style (one style keeps it simple)
• Format: RTA or assembled, by room or by unit
• Full SKU list with quantities, including fillers, panels and moldings
• Ceiling height and wall cabinet height, so tops align
• Delivery point: lot, warehouse or showroom
• Who receives and inspects the delivery on site

The ECG Spec Book lists every SKU with cabinet, door and drawer sizes, so your takeoff can be built straight from it.

Example Kitchen Takeoff for One Plan

Here is what a plan-level takeoff looks like using real ECG SKUs for an 8 ft ceiling kitchen. Quantities are an example; your plan sets the real numbers.

With 30" uppers mounted at 54", the tops land at 84", the same height as an 84" pantry. That alignment is built into the plan once and never re-checked.

How to Keep the Finish Consistent Lot After Lot

Consistency comes from a short, fixed menu. ECG stocks one full overlay Shaker door in four finishes: Shaker White, Shaker Dove, Shaker Lightwood and Shaker Evergreen, and every catalog SKU is listed in all four.

Because the finishes are stocked rather than built to order, the Plan A kitchen on lot 40 is the same cabinet as the one on lot 4. Stock is confirmed before each order ships.

One note for wood finishes: Shaker Lightwood is natural wood, so grain and color vary from door to door and mellow with light. That is a natural characteristic, not a defect, and it is worth a line in your buyer selection sheet.

Offering Buyer Options Without Breaking the Spec

Give buyers a small set of options on top of the base spec, not an open menu. Each option should be a swap of known SKUs, so it never needs a new design.

Price each option once per plan. Your sales team can then quote it in the design center without calling the supplier.

RTA or Assembled for Production Building

Pick the format by who does the labor. Assembled cabinets are ready to set on arrival; RTA ships flat-packed and suits builders with crews that assemble between phases.

At ECG both formats use the same 1/2" plywood box, solid wood dovetail drawers and soft-close hardware, so the choice does not change the spec. You can mix both in one order. See how RTA and assembled compare on labor and freight.

Ordering and Delivering by Phase

Once the spec is fixed, each lot becomes a short order: plan name, lot number, delivery date. ECG returns quotes within 1 business day and delivers to the jobsite, warehouse or showroom in 1–5 days, with no minimum order.

That short window lets you order close to the install date instead of storing cabinets for weeks. ECG supplies and delivers; your crew or installer sets the cabinets. For the timing in detail, read the cabinet delivery schedule by phase, or send your plans to our cabinet supplier program for builders.