Break Into Custom Cabinetry

Of all the rooms in the house, kitchens and bathrooms are two of the most important in regard to the value of a home. As the kitchen is the center of the household, homeowners usually look there first when deciding to make improvements—be it adding the newest appliances, adding space or an aesthetic overhaul by installing new cabinets.

Having the skills and expertise to offer custom cabinetry—or at least touch ups—to clients for their kitchens, bathrooms or other rooms can do much to enhance your business.

Use the Skills You Have
Dean Bennett, president of Dean Bennett Design and Construction Inc. in Castle Rock, Colo., says many homeowners need custom cabinetry and carpentry services on a periodic basis, so the demand is there for someone who is skilled, reliable, provides quality work, and can establish and work within budgets. Custom cabinetry often is used when clients have a specific look in mind—usually a more modern look that you can’t buy pre-fabricated, or they want cabinets in odd spaces with non-standard dimensions, he says.

“Developing the skills in these areas can effectively lead to more, and larger, projects if the individual can display a creative side and help homeowners see what kinds of things they could do,” Bennett says.

Bennett says that the basic skills needed in custom cabinetry are close to other general remodeling talents—understanding what can be done, developing ideas for effective designs, the skills in actually doing the work, and knowledge of timelines and budget. But there are specific skills that are needed, depending on the complexity of the job. Bennett says furniture-quality work requires more specific training and tools. In its most simplified form, though, a remodeler who has knowledge in carpentry can do cabinetry.

Be More, Get More
Being able to offer these services and do the work in-house means—from a business standpoint—more work and less need to contract out these services, Bennett says. The more flexibility a person has in this area—the ability to step in and do the work that's needed—the more in-demand you will be. And as the business grows, you also will be able to supervise any custom cabinetry/carpentry contractors hired, he says.

Eric Balstad, shop manager and certified kitchen designer at Parrish Construction in Boulder, Colo., says custom cabinetry gives the company another level of labor from which to draw income. He says most contractors make money from retail markup or labor. For Parrish, it’s mostly the latter.

“In our case we make money off of the labor of the cabinet makers and carpenters in the field,” Balstad says. “Cabinetmakers are generally more trained and are at a higher level of skill than general carpenters. They allow you to charge a little more for their services; that might be a selling point in adding custom cabinetry to your services.”

Balstad says that the main benefit is what you pass along to the client. “From a customer’s perspective, it makes us more appealing because it’s one call for them. It adds a layer of service. They’re talking to the same people in the same office, at the same organization,” he says.

“It’s less brain damage for the client, at least the way we’re set up,” he says. “It offers an added service—the client is getting the whole job—electric, plumbing, cabinetry, finishing, etc.—by one company rather than using multiple ones.”

Providing custom cabinetry can come with a price tag, both literally and figuratively, however. Alan Hanbury, CGR, CAPS, co-owner of the House of Hanbury Builders Inc. in Newington, Conn., says that his company usually buys custom cabinets for his clients when the need arises.

“We did it for five years and it didn’t work,” he says. “It takes forever in man hours—10 hours to build a cabinet. Why waste time and work hours on something when you can buy something that is cheaper and is of higher quality? It’s not something that skilled carpenters should spend time on.”

Bennett accedes that two disadvantages are that additional training can be necessary to do it and that it can be time-consuming, depending on the project. He says it can take anywhere from a day’s work to two or three, depending on the level of complexity or the type of materials. But he agrees with Balstad that most custom cabinet jobs create another source of profit without having to find additional customers. He says it’s not any more expensive because of the profits gained by the extra work. Depending on the level of finish—if it’s a standard look—it’s cheaper for him to do it. If it’s “very” custom, it’s sometimes cheaper to outsource the work, depending on you skill level, budget and priorities, he says.

“I have yet for someone to not ask me to do some kind of custom cabinetry on a job,” he says.

“I think that remodelers who do offer [custom cabinetry] will see more profits,” Bennett says. “For me, it’s one less person in the line of communication. It’s a lot easier to work; I know what I need to do to go back and make something work, instead of explaining it to someone else.”