11/14/2025
✨Transparency and education post✨
For anyone looking to have new cabinets, stained.
We just finished a stain job on a set of built-in cabinets with raw wood. Now you may be thinking, “that’s not a lot of Cabinets surely it won’t cost that much”.
Staining new cabinets you need the following….. wood conditioner, stain, sanding sealer, and a lacquer or topcoat. That’s in addition to needing all the masking supplies, lacquer thinner, lacquer retarder, and rags.
The material ONLY for these cabinets was a little over $700. Now, cabinets need 3-4 days of labor. First day is the wood conditioner. That needs to dry for half a day. Then you have to stain. That takes a full day. After that the stain needs to dry for 2 days minimum for full saturation. Only then can you do a sanding sealer, and then apply the top coat for the desired finished.
The average day rate for a good experienced crew is anywhere between $600-$800 a day. Meaning for just material and labor you’re at a MINIMUM $3,100.
It’s not the size of the job. It’s the process needed.
Can you find it cheaper? Sure. But it’s cheaper for a reason.