FAQs
Q. I'm interested in having you build something for me. How can I get a price?
A. To keep things simple we charge about $295 per linear foot for "paint grade" cabinets or built-ins (assuming at least 10 linear feet). That price covers a fairly broad spectrum of possibilities but obviously cannot cover every possible design or permutation. That price includes both upper AND lower cabinets (in kitchens & baths) and floor to ceiling built-ins up to 8 feet high. That also includes both the materials AND labor to build AND finish the cabinets ON SITE using typical materials that we select. That price does not include things like door and drawer pulls (knobs) or any other custom hardware that you might specify. We're happy to use fancy, German-made, self-closing, full-extension drawer guides--but they cost five times more than standard drawer guides--so we can't absorb that cost into our $295/ft budget.
If you're looking for stain grade cabinets, our base price for those is $325/ft, assuming at least 10 linear feet of cabinets.
If you only need upper cabinets or only need lower cabinets or if you need custom closets built out or doors and windows installed or crown molding, baseboard, casing, etc.--we'd have to price those things out individually. If you just need a few small things done we're not the right crew for you. You need a handy man or a guy who lives in your neighborhood who has a miter saw and a trim gun. Try Craigslist or the Greensheet. We trim out multi-million dollar houses from start to finish--hang all the doors, build all the cabinets, build the stairs and handrails, etc. We serious carpenters looking for serious customers.
If you have an entire house that you need trimmed out we price that type of work on a square footage basis, depending on exactly what you need done, the number of doors and windows, how many linear feet of cabinets, etc. We use good, quality materials and we stand behind all of our work unconditionally.***
(***What we pay for materials changes on a fairly regular basis depending on a variety of factors. So, obviously we reserve the right to increase (or decrease) or prices as needed from time to time--without having to update this website.)
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Q. What is a linear foot?
A. Let's say you have a bedroom in your home that you'd like to use as an office and you want us to build cabinets and bookcases along one wall. If that wall is 10 feet wide from corner to corner, that would be 10 linear feet of cabinets or built-ins. So, let's say you wanted us to build fairly typical, paint grade built-ins along that wall, with file drawers and a knee space and built-in desk with a drop-down keyboard shelf and adjustable shelves. You would take the $295/ft price and multiply it by 10 feet--and you'd have your price--roughly $2,950. Pretty simple and affordable.
Or, let's say you have a niche in your living room and you want us to build a nice built-in entertainment center in it. The niche is 10 feet wide by 8 feet tall. That's 10 linear feet of built-ins x $295/ft = $2950.
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Q. What parts of town do you work in?
A. Generally speaking, we work from the Woodlands in the north of Houston to Katy in the west to Kingwood in the east to Friendswood / Clear Lake to the south. However, we live inside the Loop here in Houston, so the farther out we have to go from the city center, the more we have to charge for travel time. We prefer to be inside the Beltway but the trend is definitely moving outward so we find ourselves working in the newer neighborhoods out on the fringe of the Houston metro area more and more... and that's fine. We often get requests to go to Galveston or Brookshire or Huntsville or Rosenberg--but it's just not practical. Too many tools, men, and materials to schlep all the way out there. :)
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Q. How long does it usually take?
A. The typical built-in / entertainment center project takes a day or two to build and two or three days to finish (paint or stain). Bigger project obviously take longer. To build a typical kitchen might three or four days to build and three or four days. To fill in two four foot niches around a fireplace (eight feet total) takes about a day to build and two days to paint (or three days stain & seal). The finishing part (paint or stain) is always going to be at least two days due to drying times for primers, paints, stains, caulks, and top coats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. What types of finishes can you do?
A. Our finishers were trained in a high-end cabinet and furniture shop here in Houston so there's literally no finish that we can't do on your cabinets or built-ins. Depending on the application we may use latex, oil-base, or lacquer paints and stains. We can do antique finishes, gold-gilding, silver-leafing, etc. (Obviously the $295/ft price does not include high-end, labor intensive finishes, which are priced separately.) If you had an original Louis XIV commode and wanted us to match the finish on your kitchen cabinets to that antique, we could get pretty darn close. Our base price finish is going to be latex paint applied by hand--mainly because that is a fast drying, low-odor, inexpensive, fairly durable finish for built-ins. If you want to upgrade to oil or lacquer based paints & stains that's totally doable--but obviously a bit more expensive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Sounds great. Can you come out to my house and give me an estimate?
A. We do give free estimates--just not "in home". Until all of the basic details are worked out we prefer to work via email. Typically we would not come out to meet with a client until they are ready to sign and contract for the work and put down the 50% deposit. Houston is just too big and we're too booked to drive around town chasing work. In order to keep our costs low we don't hire salesmen or drive around town giving "free estimates". You can use the pricing info above to quickly and easily estimate the cost of your cabinets or built-ins. Or you can take measurements, make drawings, scan photos, etc. and send them to me and I will happily work up some prices up for you. Let's use the power of the internet to work smarter and more efficiently, burn less fuel, create less pollution, and achieve greater results. The more time I have to spend in my truck the less time I have to build & finish your cabinets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Do you have any references or past customers that I can contact to make sure you do what you say and built quality cabinets and built-ins?
A. Absolutely. Upon request I can send you several homeowners like you that we've done work for in the recent past.
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Q. Do you have a showroom I can come to?
A. Because everything we do is job-built and one-of-a-kind we do not need to have a showroom. Home Depot has a showroom. Lowes has a showroom. There are dozens of cabinet retailers who sell factory cabinets in Houston that have showrooms. But that's not the product we produce. So, no showroom. :) Our photo galleries are basically our showroom. Just a few clicks of the mouse and you can see a broad range of what we can do. A physical showroom would also mean more overhead, more employees--and ultimately, higher prices for our customers. We prefer to stay lean and mean and you end up benefiting from that in the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. How long have you been in business?
A. I've been in construction since 1997. My main business is restoring vintage buildings in the downtown area. Over time I developed a great crew to work on my own projects and started doing side work for other clients about eight years ago. Some of the carpenters on my crews also have ten to fifteen years of solid carpentry experience. So, we've pretty much seen and done it all. And as mentioned above, my finishers were trained by one of (if not THE) oldest and best furniture builders and refinishers in the Houston area--a company that has been making furniture for three generations. So, we're kind of the "Custom Cabinetry All-Stars" of Houston.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for stopping by the site. Hit the contact button to shoot us an email with details about your job. We'd love to hear from you!
J. L. M.
Custom Cabinets and Trim Carpentry - Houston, TX
Q. I'm interested in having you build something for me. How can I get a price?
A. To keep things simple we charge about $295 per linear foot for "paint grade" cabinets or built-ins (assuming at least 10 linear feet). That price covers a fairly broad spectrum of possibilities but obviously cannot cover every possible design or permutation. That price includes both upper AND lower cabinets (in kitchens & baths) and floor to ceiling built-ins up to 8 feet high. That also includes both the materials AND labor to build AND finish the cabinets ON SITE using typical materials that we select. That price does not include things like door and drawer pulls (knobs) or any other custom hardware that you might specify. We're happy to use fancy, German-made, self-closing, full-extension drawer guides--but they cost five times more than standard drawer guides--so we can't absorb that cost into our $295/ft budget.
If you're looking for stain grade cabinets, our base price for those is $325/ft, assuming at least 10 linear feet of cabinets.
If you only need upper cabinets or only need lower cabinets or if you need custom closets built out or doors and windows installed or crown molding, baseboard, casing, etc.--we'd have to price those things out individually. If you just need a few small things done we're not the right crew for you. You need a handy man or a guy who lives in your neighborhood who has a miter saw and a trim gun. Try Craigslist or the Greensheet. We trim out multi-million dollar houses from start to finish--hang all the doors, build all the cabinets, build the stairs and handrails, etc. We serious carpenters looking for serious customers.
If you have an entire house that you need trimmed out we price that type of work on a square footage basis, depending on exactly what you need done, the number of doors and windows, how many linear feet of cabinets, etc. We use good, quality materials and we stand behind all of our work unconditionally.***
(***What we pay for materials changes on a fairly regular basis depending on a variety of factors. So, obviously we reserve the right to increase (or decrease) or prices as needed from time to time--without having to update this website.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. What is a linear foot?
A. Let's say you have a bedroom in your home that you'd like to use as an office and you want us to build cabinets and bookcases along one wall. If that wall is 10 feet wide from corner to corner, that would be 10 linear feet of cabinets or built-ins. So, let's say you wanted us to build fairly typical, paint grade built-ins along that wall, with file drawers and a knee space and built-in desk with a drop-down keyboard shelf and adjustable shelves. You would take the $295/ft price and multiply it by 10 feet--and you'd have your price--roughly $2,950. Pretty simple and affordable.
Or, let's say you have a niche in your living room and you want us to build a nice built-in entertainment center in it. The niche is 10 feet wide by 8 feet tall. That's 10 linear feet of built-ins x $295/ft = $2950.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. What parts of town do you work in?
A. Generally speaking, we work from the Woodlands in the north of Houston to Katy in the west to Kingwood in the east to Friendswood / Clear Lake to the south. However, we live inside the Loop here in Houston, so the farther out we have to go from the city center, the more we have to charge for travel time. We prefer to be inside the Beltway but the trend is definitely moving outward so we find ourselves working in the newer neighborhoods out on the fringe of the Houston metro area more and more... and that's fine. We often get requests to go to Galveston or Brookshire or Huntsville or Rosenberg--but it's just not practical. Too many tools, men, and materials to schlep all the way out there. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. How long does it usually take?
A. The typical built-in / entertainment center project takes a day or two to build and two or three days to finish (paint or stain). Bigger project obviously take longer. To build a typical kitchen might three or four days to build and three or four days. To fill in two four foot niches around a fireplace (eight feet total) takes about a day to build and two days to paint (or three days stain & seal). The finishing part (paint or stain) is always going to be at least two days due to drying times for primers, paints, stains, caulks, and top coats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. What types of finishes can you do?
A. Our finishers were trained in a high-end cabinet and furniture shop here in Houston so there's literally no finish that we can't do on your cabinets or built-ins. Depending on the application we may use latex, oil-base, or lacquer paints and stains. We can do antique finishes, gold-gilding, silver-leafing, etc. (Obviously the $295/ft price does not include high-end, labor intensive finishes, which are priced separately.) If you had an original Louis XIV commode and wanted us to match the finish on your kitchen cabinets to that antique, we could get pretty darn close. Our base price finish is going to be latex paint applied by hand--mainly because that is a fast drying, low-odor, inexpensive, fairly durable finish for built-ins. If you want to upgrade to oil or lacquer based paints & stains that's totally doable--but obviously a bit more expensive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Sounds great. Can you come out to my house and give me an estimate?
A. We do give free estimates--just not "in home". Until all of the basic details are worked out we prefer to work via email. Typically we would not come out to meet with a client until they are ready to sign and contract for the work and put down the 50% deposit. Houston is just too big and we're too booked to drive around town chasing work. In order to keep our costs low we don't hire salesmen or drive around town giving "free estimates". You can use the pricing info above to quickly and easily estimate the cost of your cabinets or built-ins. Or you can take measurements, make drawings, scan photos, etc. and send them to me and I will happily work up some prices up for you. Let's use the power of the internet to work smarter and more efficiently, burn less fuel, create less pollution, and achieve greater results. The more time I have to spend in my truck the less time I have to build & finish your cabinets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Do you have any references or past customers that I can contact to make sure you do what you say and built quality cabinets and built-ins?
A. Absolutely. Upon request I can send you several homeowners like you that we've done work for in the recent past.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Do you have a showroom I can come to?
A. Because everything we do is job-built and one-of-a-kind we do not need to have a showroom. Home Depot has a showroom. Lowes has a showroom. There are dozens of cabinet retailers who sell factory cabinets in Houston that have showrooms. But that's not the product we produce. So, no showroom. :) Our photo galleries are basically our showroom. Just a few clicks of the mouse and you can see a broad range of what we can do. A physical showroom would also mean more overhead, more employees--and ultimately, higher prices for our customers. We prefer to stay lean and mean and you end up benefiting from that in the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. How long have you been in business?
A. I've been in construction since 1997. My main business is restoring vintage buildings in the downtown area. Over time I developed a great crew to work on my own projects and started doing side work for other clients about eight years ago. Some of the carpenters on my crews also have ten to fifteen years of solid carpentry experience. So, we've pretty much seen and done it all. And as mentioned above, my finishers were trained by one of (if not THE) oldest and best furniture builders and refinishers in the Houston area--a company that has been making furniture for three generations. So, we're kind of the "Custom Cabinetry All-Stars" of Houston.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for stopping by the site. Hit the contact button to shoot us an email with details about your job. We'd love to hear from you!
J. L. M.
Custom Cabinets and Trim Carpentry - Houston, TX
