Cabinet installation sets the sequence for most of the other interior finishes trades on a multifamily floor. Countertops cannot be measured until cabinets are set. Plumbing fixture trim-out cannot begin until countertops are installed. Window treatments should go in after paint but before the superintendent’s first walk. If cabinet installation runs behind, every subsequent interior finishes trade runs behind with it.
New Mexico’s multifamily construction market is active in Albuquerque across the full product spectrum, in Santa Fe at the premium end, and in Las Cruces driven by New Mexico State University enrollment and cross-border El Paso employment. Each market has different finish grade expectations and different production timelines, but all of them share the same interior finishes sequencing problem: cabinet installation needs to happen on time, to the right specifications, on a floor where drywall and paint are complete.
What the unit type matrix controls
On a multifamily project with multiple unit types, the cabinet specification varies by unit type. A studio unit has different cabinet counts, different configurations, and sometimes different cabinet finishes than a two-bedroom unit. The cabinet sub must confirm the correct product for each unit type before procurement begins, because a cabinet delivered in the wrong configuration or the wrong finish cannot be replaced on the project schedule without a significant delay.
Before procurement, the cabinet sub should receive and review the unit type matrix in full: every unit type, every cabinet configuration, every finish specification, and the count of each unit type in the building. The sub should confirm that the matrix is consistent with the drawings and flag any discrepancies before placing the order. A discrepancy discovered at delivery costs significantly more to resolve than one caught during procurement review.
Hardware finish coordination
Cabinet hardware finish coordinates with two other interior finishes scopes: Division 10 toilet accessories and Division 22 plumbing fixture trim kits. On Class A New Mexico projects, particularly in Santa Fe where design intent and material coordination are scrutinized closely, a hardware finish mismatch between cabinet pulls, towel bars, and faucet trim kits is a visible deficiency that the developer and the end user will notice.
The cabinet sub should receive the hardware finish specifications for Division 10 and Division 22 before selecting and ordering cabinet hardware. On projects where Innergy covers all three scopes, this coordination happens internally. On projects where three different subs cover the three scopes, the GC needs to confirm that all three have received and are working from the same hardware finish specification.
Delivery confirmation before mobilization
Cabinet delivery to a floor where drywall is not complete or paint is still wet creates two problems. First, the cabinet crew has to work around the drywall crew, which slows both trades. Second, cabinet installation before paint is complete means the paint crew returns to the floor after cabinets are set, and paint applied in a room with installed cabinets is more likely to result in paint on cabinet faces than paint applied before cabinet installation.
The right sequence: drywall complete, prime coat applied, cabinets delivered and installed, finish coat applied on walls not covered by cabinets where specified, countertop measure the day cabinet installation is complete, flooring installation, finish paint on base and trim, window treatments, punch walk. Confirm that the cabinet sub understands this sequence and builds their delivery schedule around drywall and prime coat completion, not around their own procurement timeline.
The countertop measure trigger
The most consequential scheduling item in cabinet installation is not delivery or installation itself. It is the communication to the countertop sub that cabinet installation is complete on each floor and the floor is ready for template measurement.
If cabinet installation is complete on a floor and the countertop sub is not notified that day, template measurement is delayed by however long it takes the countertop sub to schedule the visit. If template is delayed by three days, fabrication starts three days late. Fabrication takes ten to fourteen days. Three days of delay at template is three days of delay at countertop delivery, which is three days of delay at plumbing fixture trim-out, which is three days at floor completion. On a production multifamily project in Albuquerque or Las Cruces running on a tight timeline, that chain matters.
Confirm that the cabinet sub has a specific process for notifying the countertop sub when each floor is ready for template. On Innergy projects, both scopes are ours, so the notification is internal. On projects where the cabinet and countertop scopes are separate, this is a superintendent coordination item unless the GC builds it into the subcontract requirements.
New Mexico-specific considerations
Albuquerque’s high desert climate creates lower ambient humidity than Pacific Northwest markets, which reduces moisture-related concerns for wood-based cabinet products during construction. However, high desert temperature swings during construction, from cold nights to warm days in spring and fall, can affect wood products that are delivered to unconditioned buildings before HVAC is operational. Confirm that cabinet delivery timing accounts for the building’s HVAC status on projects where seasonal temperature extremes are a factor.
Las Cruces’s proximity to El Paso means that cabinet subs based in El Paso can serve Las Cruces projects efficiently. Innergy’s El Paso headquarters positions us well for Las Cruces projects and for projects that span both markets.
Santa Fe’s design-forward project mix and the scrutiny applied to finish quality on projects subject to Historic Design Review means that cabinet quality and installation precision matter more in Santa Fe than in a standard production multifamily market. Custom or semi-custom cabinet packages are more common in Santa Fe than in Albuquerque or Las Cruces, and the installation standard is correspondingly higher.
How Innergy handles cabinet installation in New Mexico
Innergy covers finish carpentry and cabinet installation on New Mexico multifamily projects as part of our Division 6 scope under an active New Mexico NMCID contractor registration. Before delivery, we confirm drywall and paint completion. We review the unit type matrix before procurement and flag discrepancies before ordering. We notify the countertop sub immediately when cabinet installation is complete on each floor. We coordinate hardware finish against Division 10 and 22 specifications, which are also our scope on full-package projects.
For New Mexico GCs who want Division 6 cabinet installation as a standalone scope or as part of a full seven-division package in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, or Las Cruces, contact us and we respond within one business day.