Sticker shock is very common among those confronted with the real cost of a custom cabinet project. Most folks understand that custom work won't be priced like something available from Office Depot, et al., but they fail to anticipate the large difference in the pricing.

Custom cabinet cost, surprisingly, is driven mostly by the design and interaction time required. Think about it… (more…)

Update: Click here for some enlightening Built-Ins Videos.

In the first year or two of my custom cabinets business, it really grated on me that so many people wanted white cabinets for their built-in casework. Stained wood just seemed so much more rich and interesting to me, but time and again I was asked for white. I think I even had a mentality of white = generic, and resented that my portfolio was so tilted toward white woodwork.

But I've had a change of heart on this. Here's how it happened. (more…)

Here's a reality check for those of you planning a kitchen remodel. You need to think about where the heavy kitchen appliances and cabinets are located on your layout, and then do due diligence to assure that your flooring system is up to the task. Don't assume that the kitchen designer will do this for you. (more…)

Having been heavily involved on the cabinet end of construction for several years and being always interested in modeling and rendering technologies, I thought I would take a moment to give my perspective on the cabinet design software known as Twenty Twenty, 2020, or 20 20. (more…)

This happened about four years ago.

I was working on a remodel of a 1905-1910 house on Lookout Mountain. Part of the plan was to tear up the shoddy concrete floor of the basement and replace it with a thick, freshly poured slab.

It fell to a friend of mine by the name of Jackson to actually break up and rip out the existing floor, which was at ground level. The tool of choice was a steel wrecking bar. You probably think I'm talking about a crow bar. I'm not. (more…)

We are a mobile society, so there is something to the idea that furniture is better than cabinets because we can personalize it and take it with us.

On the other hand, furniture designed for a specific house (like the massive dining room table at my in-laws which was built in that room and couldn't easily be removed — let's call them “Stuck ins”) or even fastened to the house (“Built Ins”), also seems to be the future. (more…)

When most people think of cabinet design software, they think of the kitchen designs or layouts you might get from a Home Warehouse. Nearly all design software has now transitioned to a 3d-modeling platform. The idea is that you build the thing first (virtually, of course), then you let the program make the drawings for you.

I first used computer-aided design software in the mid-90's at engineering school. (more…)

I'm sure the bath and kitchen cabinet industry is not alone in having this quirk.

Here's the deal: The typical cabinet showroom doesn't charge for its designs. After reading this, you may decide that free isn't the way to go in this case. (more…)

Not long ago, our master bathroom door started sticking, then jamming. It was rubbing the top of the door frame so that the door wouldn't close completely. (Luckily this was the master bath and not the one company used.) The problem grew worse over time. After doing some thinking about the problem, I realized the door wasn't the problem. Neither was moisture. (more…)

Hello gang!

In response to popular demand for a simpler, more concise web address, I have registered FineRemodel.com and am going to migrate our existing content to it over the next few months. Hopefully it will make our info a little easier for folks to find.

So, pass the word that this is the new location.

Thanks,

Nathan