Main Category: Kitchen
Dollar Amount: $25,000 - $50,000 Sub Category: Design Briefly describe your business and the type of products manufactured. We are a second generation, family owned and operated custom cabinetry manufacturer. Our featured product line is European style cabinetry, however, we also are well versed in American face frame product, providing all our products in a variety of materials and finishes. We are full service, and our clientele ranges from Commercial General Contractors and the Residential Building Industry to the Architecture and Design communities, as well as individual homeowners. We possess a staff trained in vast areas of expertise, along with having both professionally trained engineering and design professionals, enabling us to provide services customarily outside the scope of many of our competitors. What materials/species were used in this project/item? Tree Frog Veneer- Grey Oak Lati Groove Wilsonart Laminate Cabinet Interiors Columbia Forest Products – PureBond plywood Element Designs -Metal Glass Doors ML Campbell - Stealth Red Lacquer With Krystal High Gloss top coat Hafele - Lemans II blind corner PO US Futaba - Metal pantry PO Hardware Resources – top mount Trash Dwr PO Hafele hinges – European concealed clip hinge with integrated soft close Grass DynaPro Heavy Duty, full extension,3D soft close undermount drawer guides Describe, in detail, the project/item's construction This was a remodel project on a 1950’s home, maintaining absolute visual alignment with a slit skylight running the length of the space. Euro box construction with 1/8” consistent reveals throughout. Tree Frog Veneer laid up on Columbia Forest Products PureBond plywood with Wilsonart laminate interior. Entire project book matched for horizontal grain, Tree Frog Veneer used as directionally matched edgebanding maintaining . 36” deep base cabinets with 30” deep drawers on Grass Dynapro 3D Heavy duty drawer guides. Element Designs metal glass doors. What is the most unusual aspect or outstanding characteristic of this entry? This project was an extreme renovation, both interior and exterior, of a small home built in the 50’s which had not been updated since the original build. The unique, vaulted ceiling skylight and ceiling bracing, which occurred at the onset of the project, determined location of everything that came afterward, with spacing and placement being strategic. The customer ultimately selected a Tree Frog veneer for the exterior, with a light grey laminate interior throughout. Difficulty was encountered during the field verification process, as the dividing wing walls could not be installed prior to measurement or cabinetry construction. However, with multiple field verifications and a critical eye for accuracy in the design and drawing phase, few errors were encountered. Further complication was encountered when the customer selected and ordered a Sub-Zero refrigerator model which is not currently in actual production, nor is it even on the market to date. This required us to (hopefully) size the cabinetry properly for future installation, with limited specification information from the manufacturer and provide a false panel in place until its arrival. The design, while appearing very simplistic is anything but, with virtually all cabinetry being a non-standard height and/or depth, consistency in marrying the varying combinations among the specified work areas became an exercise of logistics in the two long runs of cabinetry. Additionally, the increased height and depth of the toekicks necessitated building separate toe boxes which had to be installed while leveling the cabinet boxes independently due to foundation issues which occurred and substantially corrected during this process, but still left issues to be addressed during installation. The focal point, a bow front pantry complete with independent wire pull out units, changed from being a painted finish to a high gloss lacquer mid-way through the project. Though the color selection the customer had made appeared red in the color sample, upon application it was discovered to be more of a bubble gum pink. This necessitated refinishing the cabinet in a newer, more vibrant red finish, with repetitive sanding and buffing to achieve the high gloss finish desired. The addition of metal framed glass doors in the butler’s pantry portion of the kitchen ultimately became a focal point in their own right. Once installed, it was discovered the GC failed to allow sufficient room for outlets above the counter on the lowered sink wall with the many changes encountered, so creative cabinetry modifications became necessary to allow for pop-up outlets near the countertop back. How has being a member of the CMA benefited you and/or your business? I would, without a doubt, say the single, most important benefit I derive from being a member of the CMA is that of having a network of professionals, like me, knowledgable and experienced in virtually any area I may encounter. The eagerness to share hard earned expertise and assist fellow cabinet makers among the membership through forums and/or personal contact has proven itself invaluable time and time again. I have personally realized the savings of time, money, resources, failure and sometimes I have been provided the wisdom to “just simply say no” when I might not have otherwise reached that conclusion on my own. Everyone becomes a mentor in their own unique role – honestly, what business could not benefit from that type of relationship? The second real benefit I derive is credibility. Being a member of a national and well respected organization provides me with a competitive edge, alleviating the “fly by night” persona sometimes associated with this industry. The marketing benefits including additional presence, both online and in print, along with the Wood Diamond Awards, have enabled me to capitalized upon my successes, and work to not only enhance, but forward my own individual marketing efforts by setting me apart from other shops in my area. I expect those benefits will only increase as the efforts of the organization increases. List any items that were outsourced. Tree Frog Veneer laid up on PureBond plywood by Rugby ABP Element Designs - Metal Glass Doors |