Frequently Asked Questions
•In practical terms, I function as the coordinator for most projects. I design the kitchen, bath or office, supply the cabinets, provide installation plans and on-site consultations.
•I'll advise and provide referrals for countertops, appliances, flooring, plumbing and lighting. For the actual tear-out, rebuild and cabinet installation, I can refer you to one of my contractor associates or work with your contractor. Without exception, the builders and installers I've worked with are extremely pleased. They are impressed with the quality of my cabinetry and with the level of professional service, be it pre-construction, installation or follow-up.
 Do you build the cabinets yourself?
•No, I am not a cabinet maker, but you could consider me the liaison to many excellent cabinet makers. On a daily basis I collaborate with the engineers and production staff who are the experts. My time is spent in design, not in fabrication.
•I've evaluated the quality, construction and customer service of many cabinet manufacturers over the past twenty years and have selected five excellent companies. They can provide anything from the most basic stock cabinets, to custom cabinetry for the most sophisticated projects.
How
does a person find a good contractor?
This can be a real dilemma! Even though
the local Phone Book has four pages of Building
Contractors listed, the Tahoe norm is that
if you call ten, only five will call you
back, two will show up and one will bid
the job. It's even harder when you consider
the good contractors stay busy solely on
referrals and don't bother to advertise.
So what can you do? Contact your Tahoe friends
and neighbors who've gone through this before and ask who they recommend. C
heck with the local lumber yards, in contractor sales, and get a half-dozen names from them. Or call us and we'll provide a referral for someone who handles your type of job and has an opening in their schedule.
The requirements for the contractors I work
with are;
- Their infrastructure and finish work is
excellent.
- They call people back and show up when
they say.
- I'd trust them with my kids and credit
cards.
How
do you compare to the big home stores
"Been there,
done that, now what…"
I hate to admit that I can be competitive
with the "Big Boys", but if price
is your only consideration, please stick
with them. Yes, they are good at having thousands
of products for instant purchase, but when
it comes to the complicated, service oriented
aspects of construction, they’re too
big to care. Would you at $9.00 an hour?
Check with any contractor. Once the sale
is made, it is difficult to get the “Warehouse”
to help with installation problems, replacement
of damaged or defective cabinetry and on-site
consultation is unheard of.
Anecdotally,
with a new neighbor of ours it took three
months to get most of their cabinets delivered,
another two months to finally get the right
ones in, weeks to locate an associated contractor
to show up, then a few more weeks to fix
the mistakes made during installation.
I'd
be glad to review your "Box Store"
design, but don't be surprised if simply
fixing their mistakes adds from $500 to
$1,000 to the bid. I can match the cabinetry
apples to apples, but if the bushel is short,
it’ll cost more to fill it up. Us
"Small Guys" work under the cloud
of these giant multi-nationals but we will
always win on customer service.
How
does your cabinetry compare to shop-made
cabinets?
There are many excellent custom cabinets
makers in the Tahoe region that are my professional
associates and friends so I am reluctant
to criticize them.
Taking the cabinet construction view, I'm
totally confident that my "modular"
cabinetry is easily as good, if not better,
than the "custom" ones. The typical
shop cabinet uses an MDF (particle board)
box verses the more solid plywood my cabinets
are built from. My drawers are typically
of solid wood dovetail construction with
custom shops often using a multi-laminate
plywood edge-nailed together. It’s
in the finish where the big difference is.
The smaller custom shops end with a great
looking lacquer or polyurethane, but unfortunately
it doesn’t always stand the test of
time. The catalyzed conversion varnish used
in my finishing departments, allow at least
a 10 year, if not a lifetime warranty. The
sophisticated, multi-step glazes and accents
available from these modern facilities simply
can’t be duplicated in a local shop.
Taking the designer's view, I feel I am
simply a better designer than the cabinet
shop guys.
It still amazing me that clients with be
spending tens of thousands of dollars and
receive either no advanced plans, or plans
of poor design. Over the past 20 years,
I've trained with numerous NKBA* and professional
design classes. A decade on the 20-20 CAD
software allows client visualization and
modifications well before any cabinetry
is built. Experience with the design and
construction of hundreds of residential
and commercial projects has given me a depth
and breadth of what beautiful interiors
can be created. Finally, as a working mother,
with a busy family and two cook household,
I appreciate the value of a “kitchen
that works”!
(*National Kitchen and Bath Association)
How
much could a total remodeling project cost?
Well, that’s
a big question. Are you adding square footage,
does tearing out walls require re-engineering,
are you raising the roof and adding a second
story? It used to be building costs were
around $100 per square foot, but nowadays
you’re doing good if you can make
$200/ft. Many of our nice new Tahoe homes,
with their granite, log and rockwork range
from $400 to $600/ft. Whether new construction
or remodel, be forewarned that budgeted
money often runs tight by the time finish
materials and cabinetry is ordered. This
is really tough when your big beautiful
project may have to settle for a mediocre
finish. Many old timers recommend you figure
out your budget then add one third.
Remodels are affected by the amount of tear
down; the design, engineering and addition
of rooms; movement of walls, plumbing and
electrical, etc. Many contractors won’t
provide a bid price for remodels because
they can’t predict what they’ll
find when they open up the walls. They’ll
only take the job on a time and materials
basis. But as a contractor friend says,
"Anything can be done, it's only a
matter of time
and money!"
How
much will my kitchen cost?
My average kitchen project ranges in price
from $10,000 to $20,000. I've designed small
projects as low as $2,000 as well as lake
fronts for over $60,000.
The price of kitchens, baths or offices
vary according to;
- the number of cabinets required for the
size of the room,
- construction quality of the cabinetry
itself (drawer guides & box, case materials,
etc) and
- the specie of wood, the type of finish
and the door style.
Of course the number of bells and whistles
you desire will also affect the price.
Installation costs vary according to the
complexity of the design and the sophistication
of the finished look that you wish to achieve.
What
if you’re planning on doing the work
yourself?
It is possible and
quite gratifying, to do many parts of a
remodel yourself, but when you want the
finish to look really good, a good cabinet
installer is worth his/her weight in gold.
Although, I've seen DIY'ers accomplish great
things, it's the exception and not the rule.
Unfortunately, it’s also possible
to do it yourself and spend as much money
as a professional would have charged in
the first place.
To do it yourself, you should consider;
- are you experienced and confident in your
remodel skills?
- are you well tooled and willing to buy
more if needed?
- do you have enough available time to eventually
finish the project?
- do you know the materials you’ll
need and can you find them at a fair price?
- is your budget realistic? (Use $150 to
$300 per square foot as a rough estimate)
- is your marriage secure? (It’s pretty
stressful with everything torn up week after
week)
You might consider the owner-builder option
where you locate, schedule and pay the various
tradesmen directly. What’s critical
here is your network…are you cold-calling
from the Yellow Pages and not getting called
back, or do you already know and trust folks
to do the work. This is where paying a little
more for a reputable contractor pays off
by having the job done professionally and
in a timely manner.
What
kinds of cabinetry do you supply?
Anything and everything
is the short answer.
I spec and supply a variety of stock, semi-custom
and custom factory made cabinetry. I’ve
worked for years with a small number of
dependable manufacturers; a couple are versatile,
family run operations that have grown over
the years (DeWils & Hertco), another
larger Iowa outfit specializes in higher
end custom pieces (Omega), while two more
are national scale with regional facilities
whose economy of scale produces a high quality
cabinet at a competitive price (Kemper,
Aristocraft).
I also consult with two local
custom cabinet-makers if they better suit
a client’s desire. Competition among
style and specie is keen in the cabinet
business. The “standard” woods
are oak, maple, alder, hickory, cherry and
“thermofoil” laminates. A longer
list of other species is available, along
with innumerable combinations of door and
finish styles.
Click
here for more product information
What
are the advantages of using a kitchen designer?
Kitchen
design is an expertise that even experienced
architects and home builders routinely sub
out. Think of it like a 100 piece puzzle
with a supply of 5,000 pieces to choose
from.
Factor in NKBA’s* 31 rules of kitchen
design and I’ve found that many people
simply get overwhelmed. (*National Kitchen
and Bath Association)
Although there are hundreds of “Kitchen
Designers” that have learned to apply
the rules, many don’t have the experience
to address the subtleties of your lifestyle
and desires. Even good designers, and custom
cabinet makers, don’t take the time
to listen to their clients preferences but
instead build them a stock kitchen.
Kitchen design must be a collaborative effort
between the client and the designer. You
may be able to install the cabinetry yourself,
(see the do-it-yourselfer faq) but at least
get some advice on your design. Look up
the Rules at NKBA.com and try to apply them
to your project.
Go to 20-20.com, the makers
of my commercial CAD software, to rough
in your plans and get an overview of cabinets,
appliances, countertops, etc. Take your
own graph paper designs to the box store’s
hourly designers to get their example of
a “standard kitchen”. Once you’ve
done your homework, bring it to us and we’ll
take it to the next level.
To end up with a “kitchen that works”
it is definitely to your benefit to utilize
the experience of a professional designer. |
