INTRODUCTION
Since you are looking for a custom design, I will have to first understand what you are looking for so that I can both give you a free estimate and know what it is that I might be building. Perhaps you are still deciding how large you want your unit and have not completely decided how you want your unit designed. I hope the following information will help you understand what I need to know to start the design ball rolling. If you are first in my work queue, a project can normally be complete in 2 to 3 weeks. This time can vary, if I am also doing the finishing of the project.
To give you a price for your project I will need to know the rough dimensions of the unit to be built. My customers some times ask me what is the standard size for bookshelves. If you look in the stores probably a lot of them are 12” deep. But your needs might be different; what if you have a lot of large books that are 14” wide, 12” would not meet your needs. Since this is a custom design you have the freedom to get just what you want.
If you are looking for a wall unit or entertainment center you should decide on what you would like to store in the unit(s) which will give you an idea of the size of the various parts of the unit. Keep in mind that I use ¾” thick Oak veneered plywood and Oak solids for the doors, drawers, sides, and shelves of the cabinets. I use a ¼” oak veneered plywood for the backs. You have to allow for these thicknesses if you have anything that requires a critical dimension. I do not use any particleboard for my cabinetry.
In the case of an entertainment center, these are some of the questions you might consider:
DESIGN
1. Do you want a crown molding at the top of the unit?
2. Do you want pocket doors to hide the TV? (the pocket door hardware can cost $25+ per door)
3. Do you want drawers to hold VCR tapes or CDs? (allow 7” height per drawer opening to house CDs)
4. Do you want flat panel or raised panel doors? Raised panels are more expensive than flat panel. For the flat panel door I use oak-veneered plywood that has oak on both the front and the back.
5. Do you want any wood framed glass doors? Something to consider when you think of using any glass is the safety issue. Tempered glass is made so that when it breaks it shatters into small pieces instead of long jagged pieces. This is something to consider if there is the possibility of children coming in contact with the glass doors and getting injured.
6. How high would you like the first bottom shelf to be off the floor (2” or 3” is typical)? The bottom shelf can be lowered behind the base trim to give you more room inside the unit.
7.You will have to decide on how you want the face frame wood to be finished (rounded edges etc). I have samples of the various edge treatments I can give you. The same holds true for the drawer and door edge treatments.
8. Do you want any portion of the back of the unit removable or any holes for cables or wires?
9. Do you want any adjustable shelves? (The adjustable shelves can be supplied with a metal bracket that is mounted flush with the surface of the cabinet walls, and is painted with a color to try and match the color of your unit. This provides a professional look to your cabinets, and the hardware provides for a shelf to be mounted at ½” intervals. Or you can also have holes drilled in the cabinet walls and use shelf clips.
10. What are the rough dimensions of the unit? (height, width, and depth)
11. Do you want drawers?
12. Do you want doors?
13. I also offer fancier trim such as fluted and beaded treatments – rosettes are also available.
14. I work mainly in Oak but would you like any Black Walnut to be used as accent trim pieces?
HARDWARE
1. Do you want hidden or visible hinges?
2. Do you want full extension or ¾ extension drawers? (Full extension drawers show the whole contents of the drawer, but the hardware can cost 2 to 3 times that of the ¾ extension hardware).
3.You can pick up the door and drawer handles locally or I can order them for you from the many catalogs I have. I can also make you custom wooden handles.
FINISHING
1. Do you want to stain and finish the unit, or would you like me to do it? I typically charge 35% of the cost of the unit, minus any hardware costs to finish the unit. I can give you the directions on how to apply a finish if you wish to do it yourself. You also have the option to have a professional finishing shop apply the finish, but expect to pay more than what I would charge for the service. If you want to match an existing stain color, I would expect you to find and purchase the stain. I can supply wood scraps for you to try your stain on. Color can be very subjective so I would rather the customer be responsible for making sure they are happy with the color and that it matches to their satisfaction.
DELIVERY/PAYMENT
1. I normally ask for a down payment and the balance on delivery.
2. Do you want to pick up the unit in my shop in St. Charles, or would you want me to deliver and install the unit?
3. The price I quote you includes Illinois sales tax. If I give you an initial quote it probably does not include hardware costs (since I will not know these till you pick out the hardware), finishing costs (normally 35% of wood working part of the project), delivery, or installation costs.