Chose European hinges over standard ones for a kitchen job in Nashville last month

Went with Blum soft-close over regular self-closing hinges and now I'm wondering if the extra $1.50 per hinge was worth it on a 27-door project since the client hasn't mentioned it once, has anyone else regretted that call?

3 comments

3 Comments

reese_nelson14d ago

40 doors on a job last year and I went the same route with Blum. @hunt.nora makes a good point about the callbacks, that's the real savings. Customers rarely compliment the hinges but they sure will complain if a door sags or slams. $40 extra on a whole kitchen feels like cheap insurance to me. I sleep better knowing those soft-close mechanisms are in there.

hunt.nora15d ago

That's the thing with upgrades like that, you're paying for peace of mind more than anything else. Lots of little improvements people never notice until something goes wrong, like a drawer slamming shut or a hinge going loose after a year. $1.50 per hinge adds up quick on a big job, but if it means no callbacks or complaints down the road, that money feels better spent over time.

abbyg6014d ago

Right there with you on that... peace of mind is worth a lot more than people give it credit for. I've had customers who went with the cheap stuff just to save a few bucks, and then six months later they're calling me back because a hinge stripped out or the soft close stopped working. Ends up costing them more in the long run with labor and frustration on top of it. And you're dead on about the drawer slamming thing... people don't realize how nice a quiet close is until they've had the loud ones driving them crazy for a few months.