The home improvement craze that was created by shows like This Old House and people like Bob Vila, has created it's own industry and has changed the way manufacturers create new products. With channels like DIY Network and HGTV, there is now a 24 hour source for home improvement tips and real life stories. Because of this explosion in this segment of the construction market, manufacturers have had to not only create new products geared towards home owners, but also change the way they market them. Marketing products solely to contractors and builders will no longer allow a company to be the leader in their product segment.



In some cases, entirely new products had to be designed and sold to the masses. A good example of this is kitchen cabinets. Prior to the DIY craze, the traditional method of remodeling a kitchen was to hire a contractor, go to a kitchen design center, order your cabinets and wait a couple of weeks (sometimes months) to have them delivered. As more and more shows centered around how an average homeowner could renovate a kitchen or bathroom themself, the design of the kitchen cabinets had to change to allow for this. This forced the creation of RTA Kitchen Cabinets. While RTA Cabinets had been used by contractors and builders for years, they were not widely available and were not the highest quality cabinets. As homeowners started doing more of the projects themselves, manufacturers had to create a product that was comparable in quality to made-to-order cabinets, but also offered the saves associated with DIY projects. Manufacturers quickly caught on to this trend and started making a higher quality RTA Cabinet that was more durable than their prior versions, but were simple enough for an average homeowner to assemble and install.

Homeowners are now so comfortable with the concept of RTA Kitchen Cabinets, that they are being purchased directly from the importers via the internet, cutting out the retail mark up. Long gone are the days of having to go through a kitchen design center or home improvement store to get your kitchen cabinets, which just added time and cost to the overall price of the cabinets. RTA Cabinets are even being featured in all of the shows that revolve around house flipping and renovating on a budget, because they can cut 3-6 weeks off the lead times and cut the overall cost of the project by 30-40% which is a win-win in both situations.

So as you watching the home improvement shows that you are now addicted to, pay attention to all the products that are going into each project. When you think about similar products from years ago, you will be amazing how much of an affect the DIY revolution has had on construction industry.