Gladiator cabinets - are they worth buying?

[walt67]

Just finishing building a new shop and considering putting in Gladiator cabinets? Are they good quality or should I be looking for something else?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Tips are good too from someone who has installed these before too.
Thanks

 

[Dominico]

Walt,
I started out with two wall units and then purchased a third. For the most part they are sufficient for what I use them for (basis garage type items). They were easy to assemble and look great! When compared to some other cabinets they are not cheap, however I really like the look of them. I would recommend them.

 

[Strouty]

If you are talking about the ones from Lowe's (any of the ones that need assembly), they are not very good. I had some and sold them within a few months. I do have a bunch of the welded ones, they are great. The welded ones are usually sold at sears, they are more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I also have a couple of the maple work benches and a bunch of the roll around tool boxes. I bought all of mine at a local job lot store, they had a few dents, but nothing that I couldn't fix myself. The cheaper ones, will hold light things, but don't think you can load them full of spray paint without having the shelves scream.

 

[ket-tek]

I have a sh*t-ton of the RTA (ready to assemble) ones mentioned above. The metal is super thin, but they do hold plenty of weight with no problem. A shelf load of paint doesn't affect it at all.. You mostly only notice the thin metal on the doors, as they flex a bit when you open them.

I got all mine at the lowe's $29 deal, so I am happy, if I had paid the retail $129 ea I would be super pissed and would have took them back. They do look good though. I keep waiting to pick up the matching tall storage cabinet when I catch it on sale for alot less than the $300 retail, my neighbor bought an openbox return w/ no damage for $75.. Lucky guy. I've been working on trading him some labor/work for it, I'm gonna make a deal one day when his car needs repair

I have seen the welded versions in person and they do seem much better and are really not much more when you compare retail-to-retail pricing.

There is alot of competition out there when you start talking retail pricing, seems like everyone is in on the garage cabinet market now.

My old gladiator build thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31704

 

[fourfeathers]

Stay away from the "cadet" line sold @ Menard's and Farm and Fleet etc. They are **** by comparison.
Sears here is closing out many Gladiators. YMMV

 

[slice]

Like these ?????

 

[Strouty]

Like these ?????

What no fridge to match?

 

[padronanniversary]

so gladiator has two different lines, one welded and one not ? Or is it a different brand such as cadet that someone had referenced ?


thanks

 

[walt67]

Thanks for the replies. I have checked with 2 sources in Ontario for even the 30" wall gearboxes. Sears is $216 each and another source is $230 each. Sounds like we do not have the deals like our southern neighbours

 

[ket-tek]

so gladiator has two different lines, one welded and one not ? Or is it a different brand such as cadet that someone had referenced ?


thanks

Yes, two different lines still made by whirlpool/gladiator Fully Assembled and Ready to Assemble RTA.

 

[ket-tek]

You can tell by just looking a picture of either, the RTA's you can see the black bolt heads on the front corners of the cabinets, and the welded ones you see no bolt heads at all.

 

[Munich77]

I have the fully assembled cabinets and they are great. I like that they are welded together - but they are **** expensive. Fit and finish of the cabinets were great - except I picked up one where the shelf was bent - and I just ended up returning it. The biggest pain was using the track to mount the wall cabinet in the place I chose.

 

[bill9860]

Friend of mine got gladiators on sale at sears. They look good and he likes them. Seem tough enough for anyhting he will do 2 of the three were damaged when he opened the boxes. I would advise opening them at the store

 

[Opel]

I got two of the wall cabinets from Lowe's - they're good general-purpose and I've put some rather heavy things in there. No bending issues at all; though the doors ARE a bit flimsy. I ended up getting a Craftsman Professional floor cabinet (The one that's the size of a fridge) on the cheap because of a small dent in the back. Love it!

 

[archirelic]

If you choose to go with Gladiator, get the welded version sold at Sears. Continuously check online and you can snag them sometimes for up to 20% off. As others have mentioned, Lowes has the RTA version and while still functional, not nearly as durable in my opinion as the welded variety.