Our Process
Step 1 – Design Consultation
The first step is to gather enough information from you to be able to provide an estimated project cost.
This step needs to be conducted at our showroom since we will need you to choose a door style, wood species and finish for each room of cabinetry. You may need to bring some items with you, such as samples of your floor covering samples and backsplash, paint color chips, etc. If you have not yet picked out some or all these items, that is fine; many people prefer to start with the cabinetry and design the rest of the room to complement it.
If you have employed the services of an interior decorator or designer, you may want to bring her or him with you to assist in these selections. We welcome the opportunity to work with your design professional, and just ask that you notify us prior to the design consultation that they will be accompanying you.
During this meeting we will discuss your ideas: what you would like your cabinetry to look like, and what features you wish to incorporate into it. Typically we start with your architectural blueprints, so we will need you to either bring a copy that you can leave with us, or send one to us via email (preferred).
If you are not working with an architect, do not have blueprints, or your project does not require blueprints, we ask that you provide us with a simple sketch like the one shown here. This sketch does not have to be perfect, so please don’t be intimidated by it. We simply need enough information to determine the overall floor plan and the location of any fixed objects like doors, windows, etc.
Our primary objective in this meeting is to develop a good understanding of your design ideas and to answer any questions you may have concerning those ideas.
Things we will need from you at the Design Consultation:
- Blueprints or sketches
- Appliance specifications, if applicable or available at this time
- List of features you would like included in your cabinetry (we can help with this as well)
- Any samples you may need to assist in your selections
- Photos of the existing space
If there are budgetary requirements or constraints, it is very useful for you to let us know at this point.
There is no practical benefit in designing a $30,000 kitchen if your kitchen budget is $18,000. Once an estimated cabinetry budget has been established, we will assist you in selecting materials and door styles to fit within your budgetary constraints.
Step 2 – Estimate
Legacy Wood Creations provides free estimates. These estimates are very detailed, and will provide you with the information you need to make a fully educated decision about your custom cabinetry requirements. We are more than happy to provide several alternate pricing scenarios, so please do not hesitate to ask. If you think you might want to upgrade to an applied mold door, upgrade the drawer box, change from slab to raised panel ends, or any other alteration, addition, or subtraction, we are more than happy to accommodate those change requests. This is the time to do so, not after the manufacturing process has been put into motion.
Typically, our estimates are sent to you via e-mail as a PDF attachment, but we can fax or mail your estimate if needed. If you prefer face-to-face meetings, we will gladly schedule a meeting in our showroom to go over your estimate, and even run a few “what if ” scenarios while you are here if that would be beneficial to you. Our sophisticated estimating software makes if very easy to change wood species, finishes or door styles, and get an alternate project cost.
To move forward from the estimate phase of the process to the design phase,
The things that we will need from you to move forward to the design phase are:
Signed copy of the last page of your estimate A check for the design fee shown on the estimate Appliance spe cifications ( if we have not yet received them)
Once we have all these items, we will schedule a time to visit your project site to field measure any areas that will require cabinetry. We will then produce a preliminary design and schedule a time to meet again in our showroom to go over it.
By the way, signing our estimate is not a contract authorizing us to manufacture your cabinetry; you are only agreeing to pay us to field measure and design your project. Once we have produced the drawings and ultimately a proposal, if you choose to purchase your cabinetry from us the design fee will be part of the proposed price. If you choose to purchase your cabinetry elsewhere, then you are free to take the drawings, which you paid for, and shop them with as many cabinet makers as you please.
Step 3- Design Review
As soon as we have received your signed estimate and your check for the design fee, we will schedule a time to come and field measure your project using our advanced laser measuring device to assure accuracy. While we are field measuring, we will typically identify any conflicts with plumbing, electrical or HVAC items and inform the appropriate person (site supervisor, project manager, builder, etc.). We will then produce a design using our advanced design software that will allow you to see what your cabinetry will look like before we manufacture it.
The next step will be a design review meeting at our showroom. We will present you with our drawings and review them room by room and wall by wall. We will redline the drawings with any additions, changes, or subtractions, and note any discrepancies discovered.
If there are no discrepancies, additions, changes, or subtractions, or once they have been dealt with, we will proceed to produce a detailed proposal for your project.
As with the estimate, this proposal can be e-mailed, faxed, or mailed to you, or we can meet at our showroom to review it in detail depending on your preferences.
Once you have reviewed the proposal and everything meets your approval, we will then need the following to schedule your project for manufacturing:
- Signed copy of the last page of your proposal
- A check for the deposit amount shown on the proposal
- A target delivery date for each phase of your project
Once we have all these items in our possession, we will review our current manufacturing lead time (it ranges from 4 to 12 weeks depending on the number and size of the current projects in progress). This determines the delivery date for each phase of your project. We will then notify the appropriate people of our proposed dates for delivery and installation.
We will coordinate delivery and installation with the appropriate site supervisor or the builder. We also will provide the site supervisor with mechanical drawings of all cabinetry involved in the project to be used, to answer any questions by any of the other trades involved in the project.
Step 4- Engineering & Manufacturing
At this point of the project, we will visit the job site a second time to double check our drawings against the actual field conditions. Typically, if there are any errors on our part, or any other trade’s part, we will discover it while double checking all of the dimensions in each room. If there are any errors or discrepancies, we will notify the appropriate person immediately.
The next step for us is to engineer your project, which simply means that we will review every detail of the design and check for any potential issues that may arise. This includes things like making certain that the drawer pull on one side of an L-shaped corner will not interfere with a drawer, door, or appliance on the adjacent side.
This is a painstaking and tedious process, but it is one of the most important aspects custom cabinetry. Each and every project is unique. We are not installing stock cabinets in 3″ increments that will allow the cabinet supplier to substitute a different sized cabinet if one does not fit properly. We must get it right the first time.
Step 5 – Delivery & Installation
Once all your cabinetry, or the first phase of your cabinetry, is completed, we will contact you or your contractor to schedule delivery. You will typically need to pay a second payment at the time of the second delivery. Please refer to your proposal to see if this is the case. If it is, you will be contacted by someone at Legacy Wood Creations to arrange for this payment.
Delivery is made with our own company vehicles, and each cabinet is blanket-wrapped to ensure that it will not get damaged during transport from our manufacturing facility to your job site. This is when your dream starts to become a reality.
The installation process can take anywhere from a few hours to multiple days or weeks, depending on the quantity of cabinets involved and the complexity of the project. Installation requires extreme accuracy and highly skilled technicians. Our installers are some of the best in the industry and have the very best tools and equipment available. They will install your cabinetry with the same skill and care that we employed when crafting it.
Legacy Wood Creations utilizes the latest technology when it comes to functional hardware, providing a level of accuracy that is second to none to ensure the very best fit and finish.
We sincerely thank you for taking the time to review our process. I hope that the five steps have been explained in a clear and thorough manner, but if not, please do not hesitate to call or email us with your questions and concerns.
Andrew did an amazing job building exactly the custom cabinets for our new kitchen. Being installed in a 170-year-old house, he took the time to custom fit each piece to make it work in the space. We love his work and receive so many compliments on his amazing work.