Custom Kitchen Advice

Marcus W

GUYS WE USUALLY DO ENTRY LEVEL KITCHENS EVERYTHING IS STOCK I GET MEASUREMENTS AND MIGHT CALL A GRANITE GUY IN AT TIMES AND HO GETS APPLIANCES. WE WANT TO TAKE ON MORE HIGHEND JOBS THIS YEAR BUT DON'T WANT TO HANDLE THE PROCESS A$$ BACKWARDS AND LOSE JOBS JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW PARTICULARS. SO HERE IT GOES


WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR WRITING THE ESTIMATE?
DO I BRING BROCHURES?
DO I SEND THE HO THE SHOWROOMS?
DO I INCLUDE CABINETS IN ESTIMATE?
DOES HO PAY FOR CABINETS SEPERATELY? ETC


THANKS

go dart

1st question is who will design the kitchens. you could
* join forces with a good designer. they'll bring the bulk of the jobs until you've earned referals
*establish a relationship with both cabinet and appliance showrooms. ALWAYS meet the homeowners @ showroom visits
*take kitchen and bath design classes often offered by the cabinet manufactures

ChrWright

First, ditch the ALL CAPS.

How long have you been doing kitchens? Any pictures of your work?

Where are you located?

What's the size of your operation & what % do you do in-house vs. subs.

__________________

Christopher Wright, CR: President @ WrightWorks, LLC/President @ Central Indiana NARI, Named to the 2010 REMODELING Big50
www.WrightWorks.net - Facebook - Twitter - Carmel Remodeling
Indianapolis Kitchen Remodeling Contractor - You Can Get There From Here

AtlanticWBConst

Marcus,
You sound like a guy that has been installing kitchens for a larger comapny, and now you want to go out on your own. We kind of need to know more on the extent of your knowledge.
How long have you been doing this?
Do you have your own company?
Are you a one or two man band?
Do you have any kind of licensing, certification, or formal training in this?

Can you provide more information on your background and experience.

....and please get rid of all the CAPITILIZATION in your posting. It hurts my eyes.

So far, the advice given is right-on-target.

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- Build Well -

TaitINC

I have to agree with what everyone else has said. I consider every kitchen i do to be "custom" they select every aspect of the job. we work completely off of allowances. IE plumbing, cabinets, electric, tile, tops etc. what it comes down to is the HO selecting the final product that is installed. if its over the allowance they pay the difference plus my %25. if its under i return the difference plus %25. we get an upper middle of the road price from the supplier, and that becomes the allowance. the customer then goes to the supplier to pick the exact product once the contract is signed. hope that helps a little.

spencer

Marcus W

Sorry about the caps guys.I've been renovating since 2000 and started my own company in 2003 Mawa Contracting Services LLC. I do total rehabs on 1-4 unit residential properties for myself and investors. Me and my lead do all of the carpentry everything from structural to tiling I have a crew of guys for demo and a couple of subs for electric and plumbing etc. For 2008 we are gearing up for ho's due to the market slowdown. We grossed 200-250k not including investment monies, shooting for 400-500k for 2008 with a duct tape marketing strategy looking good so far. I take pride and love what I do. Most of the kitchens and bathrooms we did were pretty much stock , just need some pointers in the custom department . Thanks for the advice good or bad is all appreciated.

chris klee

we do alot of high end kitchens. most high end kitchens are more than the cabinets and c-top. most of the time there is a wall that gets removed, sinks getting moved, ect. our usual kitchen is about 60-70k.
like mentioned, we have a real good relationship with out kitchen designer/ supplier. we can send customers to them and they will take care of them to our standards. they also dont give the customers our prices either, only retail. that way we can give the customer a discount and still make a couple bux on it.
the plumbing showroom is the same way.
The HO almost always buy their own appliances. all we ask for is the spec sheets and delivery dates. most of the time they use our appliance supplier.
as far as who pays, usually we pay, but sometimes the customer insists they do (think they are saving money), and when that happens, the customer pays full retail.

hope this helps at least a little.

Marcus W

Thanks Chris. How's business right now for custom work? What size crews do you use for these type jobs and their skillsets?

AtlanticWBConst

Good Question: How is business with custom kitchen work right now?

What are the cabinet and design trends?

Countertop trends?

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ChrWright

Mid to high end remodeling is doing well right now...at least in my area.

Since it's hard to sell a house right now without taking a loss--many are choosing to stay where they are, remodel & update, and wait until the market rebounds. I know several clients that are in "buy" mode to trade up to a larger house while the market is depressed, though. There are deals to be had in the $1,000,000+ range, if you have the cash to invest and the time to wait out the market.

I build kitchens with budgets anywhere from $30,000 all the way up to $200,000+.

On the low end, stainless (and stainless look-alikes) have gotten more affordable for smaller budgets. I use a lot of counter depth refrigerators. The monster 36", full depth fridges are a pain in the a** to design around.

Stock cabinet lines (like Kraftmaid, Aristokraft, etc.) have continued to broaden their offerings in sizes, parts, trims, accessories, etc. It's a lot easier than it used to be to get a higher end custom look from stock cabinets.

On the high end, I see more European syling and construction being used.

I see a lot of marble being used for counters (beautiful: yes, practical: no). We do a lot stainless countertops, as well.

Quartz and synthetic stones like Caesarstone, Cambria, etc. are a very competive and good looking substitute for natural stone. We use Caesarstone quite a lot.

There are more choices on the high end for appliances these days...I like Miele a lot, as well as Gagganau, Fisher Paykel, & ASKO (ASKO's panel mount system for their dishwashers sucks though). GE's Monogram line is good--I despise the Profile line. I used one of their downdrafts a little while back that was a joke.

We used a Jade built-in fridge last year that I wasn't happy with. It was a whole lot noisier than a Subz (sounded like a VW).

For people who like to cook, dual fuel range/ovens are the average upgrade when they can't afford or don't have room for a dedicated wall oven & seperate range top. Build yourself lots of wiggle room on the rough-ins though--getting all of the hoses & lines to fit can be a huge pain. We usually build a recess in the wall, if there's room, to accomodate everything.

Stay away from KWC lighted faucets. We installed two in a high end kitchen two years ago and neither one works today--after 3 sets of replacements for both. Besides that, they're a total waste--you can only see the light at night with the lights dimmed or out and you have to turn it on (it doesn't come on with the water). Maybe they've improved them by now...

Venting the high BTU ranges is a constant challenge. They sometimes require blowers with up to 10" ducting to vent properly. You definitely want to scope it out at the design phase, and keep your recessed lights clear of where it has to get out (if in the ceiling).

One trend I hope to never see come back are bulkheads. We tear them out of 75% of the kitchens we remodel. Unfortunately they're usually full of electrical & plumbing. It's a good idea to cut holes here & there when you're bidding the project to ensure you allow for whatever re-routes will be required.

There are 1001 other things to look for & consider when doing a kitchen remodel. Take that times 10 if you're doing a high-end project.

In the beginning, leave the design to the professionals. Establish relationships with designers & suppliers for several different price ranges. You'll need to learn where to steer your clients based on what their budget and taste is: from appliances, to plumbing fixtures, to cabinets, to counters, to hardware, to tile, etc.

__________________

Christopher Wright, CR: President @ WrightWorks, LLC/President @ Central Indiana NARI, Named to the 2010 REMODELING Big50
www.WrightWorks.net - Facebook - Twitter - Carmel Remodeling
Indianapolis Kitchen Remodeling Contractor - You Can Get There From Here

big steve

Marcus, I send all my customers to Kuiken Bros in Emerson.They have a seperate kitchen showroom w/3 fulltime designers go there and talk to Kerry,she is dynomite.Get a design from her do youre estimate from the design layout she will give you molding buildup details etc. good luck
Steve

Marcus W

Thanks great advice Mr Wright.

Marcus W

Steve thanks for the advice I'll stop by there this week, maybe we can do lunch one day I do most of my work in Essex County.

AtlanticWBConst

Thanks for your detailed insite and observations Chrwright.
Appreciate it.

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JohnJ0906

The recess is a good idea. There never seems to be room for everything. I'm going to pass that one along.

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John from Baltimore
"One Day at a Time"
All replies based on the 2008 NEC