Finish Carpentry & Trim Work
Crown molding, wainscoting, built-ins and casing. The detail work that separates a renovation from a repair.
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Custom Woodworking
Custom Woodworking and Built-In Cabinetry in Upstate NY
Cabinetry, shelving, mantels and furniture-grade pieces built for the space they live in, in the species you choose.
In short
Custom means built to the opening you actually have, in the wood you actually want. In a house where nothing is square and nothing is standard, that is often the only thing that will fit properly.
Stock cabinetry comes in three inch increments and assumes your walls are straight. In a house built in 1910 neither of those things is true, which is why so many kitchens end up with a filler strip apologising for the gap. Building to fit removes that problem entirely, and it lets the piece use space that nothing off a shelf would ever occupy, like the awkward depth beside a chimney breast or the run under a staircase.
The other reason to build custom is the wood. Off the shelf you take whatever species and finish the range offers. Built to order you choose it, cherry that will darken over the years, quartersawn oak, maple, walnut, or reclaimed stock if you have a source you want used. The grain can be matched across doors and drawer fronts so a run reads as one piece rather than several.
We build for the same houses we roof and remodel, which shapes the work. A mantel for a Berkshire farmhouse and a set of built-ins for a new Clifton Park build are different problems, and the joinery, the species and the finish all follow from the building rather than from a catalogue.
What we handle
What we build
Cabinetry
Kitchen, bathroom, laundry and mudroom cabinetry built to the space. Face frame or frameless, painted or in a finish that leaves the grain visible.
Built-in shelving and storage
Bookcases, alcove units, window seats and under-stair storage. The awkward parts of a house are usually where custom earns its cost.
Mantels and fireplace surrounds
Solid timber mantels and full surrounds, sized to the firebox and the room rather than to a standard length.
Furniture-grade pieces
Tables, benches, vanities and one-off pieces where the joinery and the finish are the point. Slower work, and priced accordingly.
How it runs
How a custom piece happens
Talk through what it needs to do
What goes in it, how it is used, what it sits next to. Function drives the design more than style does, and it is easier to change on paper.
Measure the actual space
Including how far out of square and out of plumb it is, because that determines how the piece is scribed to fit when it arrives.
Species, finish and hardware
Wood selection, finish and the hardware that goes in it. Hardware is where a lot of the daily feel of a piece lives, so it is worth spending time on.
Build and install
Built, then fitted and scribed on site so it sits tight to walls that are not straight. Finish applied so it matches across the whole piece.
Why us
Why build it rather than buy it
It fits the space you actually have
No filler strips, no three inch gap at the end of a run, and it can use the awkward corners that nothing standard will occupy.
You choose the material
Species, grain, finish and hardware are all decisions rather than whatever the range happens to offer this season.
The people who build it fit it
Scribing a piece into an out-of-square opening is where a custom job is won or lost, and it is done by the person who built it.
Where we work
Custom woodworking across the region
We build for clients throughout our service area, and it travels well because the piece is made before it arrives. Most of this work goes into the older properties around Saratoga Springs, Bennington, Manchester and the Berkshire hill towns, where fitted joinery is usually the only thing that will work.
We cover Albany County, NY, Rensselaer County, NY, Saratoga County, NY, Schenectady County, NY, Bennington County, VT, Berkshire County, MA.
Questions
Custom woodworking questions
It varies widely with species and complexity, but expect meaningfully more than stock and often comparable to or below high-end semi-custom ranges. The honest comparison is not price per foot, it is whether the stock option actually fits your space or needs compromises and filler panels to work at all.
It depends on the finish you want and the traffic it will take. Maple and poplar take paint beautifully. Oak, cherry and walnut are for when the grain is the point, and cherry in particular will darken noticeably over the first few years, which some people love and some do not expect. We will show you samples before anything is ordered.
Typically four to ten weeks from agreed design to installation, depending on size and how busy the shop is. Material lead time on less common species can extend that. It is not a fast option and it should not be treated as one.
Usually yes, in both profile and finish. Matching an aged finish is harder than matching a profile because the existing wood has darkened over decades, so we colour-match to the current state rather than to what it looked like new.
Either. We will build to a designer plan, and we will also work it out with you from scratch. If we can see a problem with a drawing, structural, practical or in how it will actually be used, we will raise it before building rather than after.
Related
Other work we take on
Home Remodeling
Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and whole-home renovations, run by the same crew from demo through punch list.
Learn more about Home Remodeling
Barns & Outbuildings
Pole barns, workshops, sheds and storage buildings for rural and residential property, permits handled.
Learn more about Barns & Outbuildings