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 A blog of no uncertain musings. What goes on in my mind is often a source of wonder to me. |
Author’s Note: This and my previous entry, "So, You Want a New Kitchen"  , were written about just one facet of my life primarily for my family. I included them just to establish some measure of expertise in the arena of remodeling or replacing an existing kitchen.My last day in the Army was 31 Aug,1992. The next day marked my first official day in business. From a more than adequate monthly paycheck with benefits and vacation to no paycheck on the horizon and no benefits of any kind. I just knew I wanted to work with my hands building something from the ground up. We were lucky though; well, I did plan ahead. We had a nest egg to help us survive while the business grew. I cashed in 60 days of leave when I left the Army, worth two months of my Major’s salary, and because I took advantage of an Early Out Program after the First Gulf War, I received a lump sum severance from the Army. That would last us about a year after paying some bills. Even with that, the road ahead looked daunting. The lack of capital is the primary reason a small business fails in the first year. While I had that part under control, I knew we had an uphill climb. It wasn’t until I walked downstairs to the garage the next morning that the gravity of the situation hit me. I looked around my two-car garage turned shop and saw a few hand tools on a bench, some lumber I’d purchased stacked along a wall, and one 12-year-old Shopsmith. I remember thinking two things: this seems like a lot of space for a shop, and what the hell was I doing? My answer to both things--I had NO idea. Over the coming weeks, I finished outfitting the shop with additional tools I would need along with storage racks and pegboard on the walls. And I did a lot of reading—about business principles, woodworking plans, and IRS pamphlets from the library about setting up a business. It was three weeks before I made any sawdust. Once I did, there was no going back. My first set of custom-made kitchen cabinets happened in a most unusual way. I was approaching the end of my second year in business, and picking up supplies at a local lumber center where I met my insurance agent’s husband. He was the manager at the center. His wife had told him I did woodworking, and since they were completely remodeling their house, asked me to give him an estimate for some new kitchen cabinets. I was surprised as the center sold kitchen cabinets. I’d been trying to get into making cabinetry for months. Talk about getting thrown into the deep end to learn to swim. I’d read books on the subject, and I could see how NOT to make cabinets from the ones in my kitchen. But I was woefully unprepared for the financial end of building and the techniques for installing a kitchen. I mean, a cabinet is just a box with a door on the front. Right? Measuring and designing the kitchen was the easy part; preparing the estimate was not. Using graph paper, I sketched out the kitchen, as well as the individual cabinets to be sure I bought enough material to complete the job. In 1994, I was still using a DOS-based computer, and if any CAD software existed, it was way out of my price range. So, long-hand it was. Actually, I learned pretty quickly how to complete an estimate. That first one took almost a week to complete, though in fairness I checked a lot of resources to be sure I included everything I needed. The problem was, I wasn’t building anything while I was preparing those estimates. Within a year I was down to a long day’s worth of drawing and figuring. In mid-1996, I was contacted by a smaller contractor who was scheduled to build ten homes in a new development over the following two years. To date, I’d only dealt with the homeowner for their cabinetry. The contractor’s usual cabinet-maker had some health issues and was unable to handle the projects. I signed up for the first two as a trial run for us both, and because I was still working out of my garage. Things would have to change on several fronts to handle this much work. Change I did. First, biting the bullet, I purchased some proprietary CAD software that provided both drawings and estimates in as little as three hours (once I learned the software, of course). The software, called Cabnetware, set me back $6500.00, which included a technician who installed the DOS based software and set up all the parameters that told the software how to draw the cabinet diagrams. For example, did each cabinet have a face frame with a raised panel door on the front of the frame, or inset (flush) with that frame? Sounds complex, huh? It took that technician more than 11 hours to input all the parameters needed to generate the drawings. And he knew what he was doing. But I quickly learned how to use the software. Next, I would need specialized woodworking equipment to reduce my construction time. Again fortune favored me. I found a three-day woodworking conference with displays of different equipment and materials available, as well as seminars on woodworking techniques and equipment use. I found just what I needed—two pieces of equipment that reduced my construction time of an average kitchen of 16 to 18 base and upper cabinets from three months to three weeks. By myself. Installation time was extra. Finally, I would need to find a commercial building for constructing, finishing and storing completed cabinets. My garage had no place for storing finished kitchens. And now, I was ready for installation before the contractor was ready for me. By the end of the 90’s decade, I had designed, constructed, finished and installed 26 kitchens with two-thirds of the kitchens in new construction housing versus replacing kitchens in an existing house. By the time I retired 25 years later, I’d completed more than 300 kitchens, many with bathroom cabinetry, plus another 300 or more major projects including entertainment centers, closet systems, garage storage, pantry storage, bookcase systems, laundry room cabinets, and bedroom suites. Several banks and commercial businesses in the area use my cabinetry and counters. My motto was “If it’s in wood, I can build it!” When I re-read these numbers, they seemed low. But then, add a couple thousand small projects such as frames for stained glass, tables, desks, replacement counters, gift items, and so much more over these years. Christmas used to be particularly troublesome for me. Folks would wait until the last minute to ask for this gift or that to be made in time for Christmas. They would blow right through my published deadlines. I hated to say no, but finally realized my sanity trumped the insensitivity of waiting until the last minute. All the above validates my knowledge about what works in a kitchen and what doesn’t. I don’t claim to know everything … but I believe there’s little I haven’t seen or tried. Sorry for my wordiness, but trying to cram 33 years into this space has been a labor (of love). If you’ve stuck with me this long, hold fast. The how’s and why’s of a replacement kitchen is coming. |
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