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How do European-style cabinets compare in price
with typical face-frame cabinets?
Generally, European-style cabinets cost a little more.
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| What types of hardwoods do you use for
your cabinetry?
I have a large selection of domestic and imported
hardwoods available to me, and I'll use any hardwood that you desire. Typical woods
include hard maple, cherry, white oak, red oak, birch, ash, knotty pine,
clear pine, and
pecan. I like to use woods that are lighter in color because they tend to give a more open and spacious
appearance to your kitchen. Hard maple has been very popular lately, and
it is one of my personal favorites, along with cherry and white oak.
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| I don't know what style of cabinet door to
choose. What do you offer and what would look good in my home?
For many years, a very popular door style has been the
raised panel door, whether square or arched. These days, the trend has been
toward a look a little less "colonial" in style. People are
choosing a door fronts more clean and up-to-date and less ornate. The most
popular door styles I supply fall into two categories: the flat panel door,
and the flat slab door. The flat panel door is much like the raised panel
door but with a flat center panel instead of the raised panel. A variation
of the flat panel door is the "shaker style" flat panel, in which
all of the edges are left square. The other really popular door style is the
flat slab door. This is a very clean and uncluttered look. The wood grain is
oriented vertically, and all the doors and drawer fronts from one particular
cabinet group are cut from a single piece so that the wood grain continues
from front to front. Very cool.
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| I don't like the look of white melamine on the
inside of some frameless cabinets I've seen, is that the only choice?
Definitely not. Although I will use melamine for your cabinet interiors if you
request it, I typically use hard maple for my cabinet interiors, whether the
cabinets are to be painted or to receive a stain and lacquer finish. Hardwood
plywoods are durable, strong, smooth to the touch, and easy on the eyes. I like
to steer away from using products such as particle board, which can give off
formaldehyde fumes and can self-destruct if allowed to get wet. It is true
that they are inexpensive, but I think the disadvantages far outweigh the
advantages.
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Speaking of finishing, do you offer finishing
for your cabinets?
I do not. Typically, the finishing will be accomplished by the painters on site
after the cabinets are installed, mouldings are applied, and adjacent trimwork
is installed. That way, any scribing of the cabinets to fit walls and ceilings and any nail holes
in the mouldings can be filled and sanded on bare wood instead of on a
pre-finished product that has to be "touched-up". I do know other
tradesmen such as cabinet finishers and countertop fabricators that I can highly
recommend.
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| I really like the convenience of adjustable
shelving in the cabinets, does that cost extra?
Actually, adjustable shelving is less expensive to produce. Normally, all
interior shelving in my cabinets is adjustable unless there are reasons for a shelf to be
fixed. It should be noted that any adjustable shelf that is too long will sag
over time. I like to restrict my adjustable shelves to a maximum length of 36".
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Do you offer other cabinet convenience items such
as lazy susans or roll-out interior drawers?
Yes, any configuration in any amount of convenience hardware can be included. I will
give you options to choose from, and make recommendations for each cabinet area.
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| On my current set of cabinets, the first thing
to break was one of the drawers. How do you construct your drawers to keep this
from happening?
Because the drawer boxes often undergo hard use, I use the strongest drawer joinery available.
The drawer box corners of all the drawers are
dovetailed. The same goes for the roll-out interior drawers. They are built using either
Baltic birch or solid maple. The drawer glides are Blum Tandem all-metal fully-concealed full-extension glides with a 100 lb.
capacity rating and very
smooth action. I suggest a clear natural finish on all the drawer boxes to
highlight their natural beauty.
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What type of information do you need from me in
order to get started with my project?
I need a finished design, and I need to know what relevant appliances and
fixtures you have picked out. If you give me the name of your appliance
salesperson, I'll ask him to fax me the information I need. I also
need to know what type of floor and what type of countertop you have
chosen.
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| I don't have an architect or my architect
would rather defer to a specialist, how can I get a finished design for my kitchen?
I do kitchen layout design as well. If you'd like, I will help
you arrive at a beautiful and functional layout for your kitchen. I will
produce the floorplan, cabinet elevations and perspective drawings that you
will need for your contractor to bid from and ultimately, to work from. Often, one or two meetings together is all it
takes. I strive to be prompt, professional, and easy to get along with. My aim is to make this a good experience for us both.
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| Tell me a little more about your design
services.
I offer two levels of kitchen design service. The
first is a complete floor plan and set of elevation drawings of your
kitchen, (as well as any other cabinetry areas). These are cabinetry
specific drawings so that you can see how the finished cabinetry will look
and make any changes before production. I can produce these in two or three
days and I charge a nominal fee for this service, which I credit back
to you if you let me build your cabinets.
The second level of service is a more complete set of kitchen design
drawings that will include all the things your contractor needs in order to
give you an accurate bid, and ultimately, to work from. In addition to the
cabinetry, this will include items like surface finishes such as walls,
floors, counters and backsplashes. It will include appliance and fixture
specifications and electrical switches, plugs, and lighting. This type of
design work I charge for and will, of course, need quite a bit of
interaction with you in order to get all the information required. In the
near future, I hope to have a section of my website dedicated to a client
interactive exchange. This will be a place where a client can log-on and
find design drawings, to-do lists and any special information specific to
their project.
Design service #1 needs to occur anytime before the cabinet construction
gets underway, however design service #2 needs to be completed before making
contact with general contractors to bid your project.
Here you can see a couple
examples of level one cabinetry specific design drawings.
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| I have a kitchen design from a large home
center and I am considering buying my cabinets from them. I would really
like to have a custom cabinetmaker build my cabinets instead, but I don't
know that I can afford it. Would you be interested in bidding my project
from these drawings?
More than a few times, people have brought me such
drawings. I would show them some of my work, pass on some useful
information, give them a list of references and bid their project. Most
times, I would offer suggestions and changes to their design and price those
as options. I really don't know how my prices compare with the prices from
the home center, but I do know this: every project I've bid this way I've
gotten.
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I would like to see some of your work, is that
possible?
Yes, definitely. I would just need to make arrangements with one of my past
clients. I respect their privacy, and I would need to coordinate with their
schedule, however, they have been very happy to show their new kitchen for
my prospective clients. I keep a current list of references that I will supply
to you as well.
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| I've decided I want to use you to build my
cabinets. When should I get you started?
Ideally, you'd want your cabinets to be built and
ready for installation by the time your general contractor has your kitchen
ready. This means that under most circumstances, you'd want to get me
started as soon as possible in order to avoid delays. It takes me a certain
amount of time to produce a project and that amount of time has many
variables, such as current work load, etc. It generally takes me four to six
weeks to complete a medium sized kitchen, not including the
installation.
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Are you insured?
Of course.
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| What else do I need to know as I
contemplate my kitchen remodel?
I've added a page devoted to information for home
owners wanting to tackle a kitchen makeover. Go to my kitchen
remodel page.
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| What forms of payment do you accept?
Checks, cash.
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