Yes, when possible we prefer to install with the floors in place and finished. There are two primary reasons for this. First, is there a much higher chance of the cabinets getting damaged if the floors are installed after the cabinets are in place. Secondly, by doing the floors first, you have the flexibility down to the road to change your kitchen layout without worrying about patching in flooring, which can be difficult and expensive.

After your initial inquiry, we will reach out for a phone consultation and will most likely request some photos of the existing space and inspiration photos if you have them. The inspiration photos are helpful for us to get a sense of the style you are looking for. If you need help finding your style, you can view our Style Guide here (LINK TO STYLE GUIDE) The phone consultation will help us learn a bit more about what you are looking for. Typically from there we are able to give you some rough pricing. The next step if you are interested in moving forward is that we enter into a Design Agreement. This is a deposit to cover our time measuring the space, developing CAD renderings and honing in on a final design. If you move forward with the build, this deposit is credited towards the project. The Design Process can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the complexity of the project. Once the Design is finalized, we sign a Production Agreement that moves the project into Production. From there it is typically 8-12 weeks until we are ready for delivery and installation. The length of installation will depend on the size of the project, but is usually about 2 weeks for a standard kitchen.

Buying your appliances before the starting the design process is a common one. If appliances are already purchased, there is a lot less flexibility in the design since the kitchen now has to be designed around existing appliances. For example, if you purchased a standard depth refrigerator , there may only be a single location where that will fit where as if you purchased a counter-depth model there would be multiple options that would function better. It’s best to have a design in place before making any purchases or beginning any work on the space. Another common mistake is purchasing cabinetry from a box store. This hardly ever ends well. The designs are typically given minimal attention and thought, mistakes are frequently made while measuring and ordering, and the installers are subcontractors that the store has little if any relationship with. If there are issues, there is not a single point person to answer for it , rather your complaint goes into a massive corporate system that may take weeks or months to remedy the issue, if they ever do.

For traditional “5-piece” cabinet doors that are receiving paint, we use Hard Maple for the Rails and Stiles and MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) for the center panel. Hard Maple is an excellent choice for paint grade woodwork because it paints well, is stable and is very dent resistant. MDF is the superior choice for center panels that will be painted because there are no glue joints that will telegraph through the final coating. There is also considerably less expansion and contraction of the center panel with MDF than solid wood. With solid wood panels, when the weather turns cold and dry and the panel shrinks, often you will a line of unfinished material where the panel meets the frame since the panel is now smaller than it was when it was finished.

At this time we only do interior custom cabinetry and built-ins.