THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 11

 The boys had a lot of fun this weekend working on the trailer.  (Friday and Saturday).  It may not show, but they got a lot done.  Not as much as they hoped but good stuff.  First of all they ran the wiring for the

 side markers, side lights, and tail lights.  This then made it possible to glue on the veneer siding.  It really went on well.  With that in place they received the fenders last week so they painted and installed them.  It

 really gives the trailer a solid look to have them in place.  The color of the siding and the accents will be like the inside of the sleeping area.  Cinnamon sugar paneling black burnout trim.  You can see in this

 picture that they have installed the shore inlet so that they can have 110 volt power in the trailer.  Over the next few weeks they believe they will make a good showing on the outside and it is going to be good progress.

Their next objective this weekend is to get the wiring done, and they did it.  It was hectic and they had to do trial and error but they figured it out.  It was fun when they plugged it in and all the lights came on.  Even more fun when the lights running off the battery came on.  They installed the heater and hooked it up and also installed the outlet where the DVD player will fit.  It feels good to have this done.  They can now get on with the wood stuff that they understand.

The next picture shows the power converter installed in the galley.  They wanted it readily accessible and it needs ventilation.

The tail lights are working but they're not ready to install the hatch quite yet.

Keep checking back to hear more about the teardrop trailer and it's progress.  To learn more about Chris and Kent Goodwin, visit Goodwin Mill And Cabinet.

CABINET DESIGN SERVICE: TRICKS CABINET MAKERS USE TO LOWER PRICES

I wrote the blog the other day about our new Cabinet Design Service and I realized there were some things I wanted to talk about in more detail, such as how cabinet makers cut corners to save money and lower their pricing. These methods I plan on talking about reduce the quality of the final product. That's not to say there's anything wrong with getting a lower quality cabinet; I just think it's important to know what you're buying upfront. No one wants a nasty surprise due to unrealistic expectations.

The most obvious sign of a lower quality product is the material the cabinets are made from and their thickness. Prefabricated cabinet boxes imported to the US are becoming more and more popular with customers and cabinet makers. Low prices are the major reason these boxes are In demand. However, the standard thickness of these boxes and doors is roughly 1/2". Doors and drawer fronts made so thinly are highly susceptible to warping and damage. Thinner boxes are also more susceptible to damage and have less support strength after they've been installed. The industry standard for custom cabinet makers is much different in the US; but more and more often, they're bidding against prefabricated cabinetry. Many of them incorporate these mass produced boxes for clients who want them, so this is an area where it's important to be clear on what you want. Letting a bidder know you want prefab cabinetry in the beginning helps you get bids that are accurate. You compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

As I mentioned in my last entry, drawer banks are another area where cabinet makers will deflate their bids. There are two types of bidders. The first type looks at the space and attempts to design an aesthetically pleasing layout that is functional and meets the needs of the client. The second will attempt to do the same while simultaneously looking for ways to cut corners. They might make cabinets bigger to decrease the number of boxes, make drawers bigger to decrease the number of drawers or replace drawer banks with shelved cabinets.

Cost is the major motivating factor in building today, and it's important for a cabinet maker to keep costs down while still providing a quality product. However, there are problems with cutting out drawers and making wide cabinet boxes. When a drawer box is made wider to cut back on the number of banks in a room, it increases the weight on the drawer slides. If the slides aren't designed to handle the weight, they will wear out more quickly. Doors that are wider will also be more difficult to open. A way to judge a good width of an upper cabinet is to stand directly in front of the counter as you normally would, reach out and open an upper cabinet door. If the door swings open without having to step back to accommodate it, then it's a good width. Another test is to measure the actual door width with a tape measure. Anywhere up to 24" is an acceptable width, though let me say 24" is kinda pushing it.

Another danger you face with wide doors is the ability of the hinge to support it. Cabinet doors are usually made with 2 1/2" joints. The door's weight combined with the strength of the hinge determines its life. If the opening is between 21" and 24" wide, it's time to start thinking about a two door cabinet. If weight is put on a door that is too wide, the joint can split apart. The door is also likely to wear out quickly. Any stress placed on a hinge that is supporting too much weight will eventually cause it to slack. That includes everyday use.

Using a Cabinet Design Service is a way to avoid some of this cost cutting and making sure you're bids reflect the layout the way you want it. When you sit down with a cabinet designer and create the layout for your home, you have a specific list showing potential bidders exactly what you want pricing for. They know how many drawers, the sizes of cabinet boxes, molding and finish selections... It's the smartest way to get the best price possible without losing any of the quality you desire.

Goodwin Mill And Cabinet offer a Cabinet Design Service and over the next little while, we'll discuss more reasons why this service can help you make an informed decision and get the most quality for the least amount of money. Visit Goodwin Mill And Cabinet on the web today.
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CABINET DESIGN SERVICE

I recently sat down with Chris Goodwin, the cabinet designer for Goodwin Mill & Cabinet for a chat about a new service they're offering. It's calling the Cabinet Design Service; and here's a little background on what it is, why it's being offered and how it can benefit you.

There are a couple of ways Chris designs a cabinet layout. If he's working directly with a customer, they sit down and design the layout specifically for their home. If he's asked to bid a job from a set of plans, he looks at the floor plan and designs a layout that is functional for that space.

WHAT IT IS:
The Cabinet Design Service is exactly what it sounds like. It's a design of all the cabinetry for your home. Everything from Laundry Rooms to bathrooms, Libraries to Kitchens. You work with a designer like Chris to create the cabinet layouts for each area and specify the details like number of drawers, shelving, type of hardware and and finish.

WHY IT'S BEING OFFERED:
One of the biggest obstacles in bidding is how different cabinet companies bid jobs. Some guys will design a cabinet layout aimed at producing the lowest possible price. This is accomplished by leaving out drawer banks and making single door cabinets that are wide. It's also accomplished by creating a design that uses same size boxes to mass produce a job.

When cabinet makers use single door boxes that are too wide, there's a greater strain on the top hinge of the door. The average door only gives 2 1/2 " at the joint where the hinge rests. Too much weight hanging from that small a center decreases the door life significantly. Where a pair of doors could last the life of the cabinet, (with good care and no accidents), a single wide door will need replacing in three to four years. It's also more difficult to open a wide door. There's also the problem of not having enough usable space. Drawer banks are the most expensive cabinets in a home. Not only are they some of the most used pieces of cabinetry, they are also the first pieces to go when a designer is "trimming the fat" from a layout to cut cost. The final problem is making sure the designer is creating cabinets to fit the space of your house, rather than fitting prefab cabinets into what space is available.

And here's the "WHY IT'S BEING OFFERED" answer. The Cabinet Design Service is a solution because it levels the playing field by comparing prices from apples to apples. For a small design fee, you create your layout and then collect bids that meet your specification. As you submit the design to various cabinet contractors, they won't have the option of deflating their bids by leaving out drawer banks or using oversize doors. They will have to meet your specifications.

HOW DOES IT BENEFIT YOU?
Well, the obvious answer is financial. With each company bidding the exact same work, you get to see who really is offering the lowest price. And then there's the unintended benefits. One is you won't get back ten bids with ten different designs to choose from. You've already made that decision. Another is the knowledge you've got a design that fits your life, your taste and ultimately your home.

Of course, Goodwin Mill & Cabinet will want to be bid your job and in the event you choose them to build the cabinets, the design fee is subtracted from the initial deposit. So you get the design work for FREE!

In the end, you get to make an informed decision, minimize wasted time and get the best possible price for your work. What are you waiting for? Come design your cabinets today!

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 10

As always, you can read more about the brothers and their business at Goodwin Mill And Cabinet. The boys installed the jack stand for the front of the trailer. It will be nice not to have to drag a bucket around to rest the tongue on. This is detachable because they are adding a storage box on the front that will prevent them from folding it up.

They also acquired a ceiling fan and installed it. They are currently wiring all the electrical stuff so they needed it in place to wire. They painted the frame black so it would match the other interior items and trim.

They also installed the sink faucet and water pump. The water inlet came the other day so they should be able to hook up the plumbing in the next available working days.

They are hoping to complete the wiring so they can put the side paneling on the outside of the trailer this next week. They think they will be better off once they get back to the wood things that they understand.

THE SKY RANCH HOME

The Sky Ranch home is being built by a young man named Tad Porter. We've worked with him before and he's a fine builder with quality homes. This job has been very exciting and interesting. The family choose a color with some red tones. These tones make the wood shine and give it an exotic feel.

The first pic is the master bath where you can see the main sink and the two uppers that sit on top of the granite counter top. In the last entry, I showed you these stacked uppers in a more close up photo. Here you get a better view of how it looks together.

The second pic is the lower bank directly across from the main set. This bathroom has two sinks. As you can see in this pic, this set features a drawer bank, a sink vanity and another drawer/shelf combo cabinet on the end. In this photo you can also see the base along the bottom of the wall and we supplied the base for this job.

Another feature this home has is an in-house Casita. This small apartment is connected to the main home through the hallway leading to the garage. In the first pic, you can see the base cabinets. The open portion with the door sitting on an angle is where the fridge will go and the door will attach to the front of it. The counter tops are granite like in the main kitchen, but the slab is cut more thin.

The second photo shows the uppers. There's an opening here too, but this one is for a microwave. The crown molding on these cabinets is a two step molding, but also very simple. In combination with the finish, it makes these cabinets look very Southwestern. I love the way they look and I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out.

This third pic is also part of the Casita. It's the bathroom. This little vanity may not be as flashy as some of the other pieces in the home, but it certainly matches and maintains the styles already introduced. I'm liking the idea of framing the mirror with tile. Once again you see the much thinner granite counter top.

This pic is the powder room. It's right off the Kitchen and behind the bar. It has some exciting features such as the thicker granite counter top and there are turned posts on both sides. This particular pic turned out dark in practically every shot I took. The combination of not enough light and the angle needed to get the shot prevented me from taking a decent picture. Still, I think this photo makes the point. You can still see the vanity and you get a good idea what's going on.

The next set of pics is the laundry room. As you can see in this first pic, the uppers run the length of the room and then stop where a window is. They pick up on the other side and use a smaller upper to go from the window to the wall. I never got a good pic of that second upper. The few times I tried to get photos the light blinded me and the cabinets were all in shadow.

The second pic shows the lower bank under the window and that other upper I couldn't seem to get a pic of. You can see the corner cabinet is a Lazy Susan of rather immense proportions. It was a huge cabinet and it was hard to get into place and install. The granite here is more thin as well. Although the floor isn't 100% clean, you can see the stamped concrete and you can also see the toe kick underneath as well. The stain color is highly complementary to the floor color.

This next photo shows the space where the washer and dryer will go. The base of this section is comprised of two drawers. The appliances will sit on top of a shelf that wasn't installed at the time this photo was taken. The drain you can see sticking up was cut into the shelf. At this point, the space is ready for installation. Above this open space is a row of smaller upper units.

The next picture I'm sharing is in the great room. There's a beautiful stone fireplace and we provided a crescent mantle for it. It looks absolutely gorgeous! If you remember the mantles from the Jones Parade home, you will know these things look flattering and just amazing when they're decorated. If I can get a pic of this when it's all done, I'm sure it will be incredible.

This next set of 3 are the bar adjacent to the Great Room. This view is from behind. You see the paneled side, the counter top and the sink. It fits between two partitions and is actually split into two parts. You will see it in the pics to follow, but there's a hood or ceiling over head. The bar had to be built out a little because of the size of appliances going in on the other side, so it was technically installed twice.

The 2nd photo shows the top part and a partial view of the base cabinets. The 3rd photo will show the base cabinets more clearly, but I really wanted to show you this ceiling item. It's actually a pretty cool addition to the bar and gives it the look and feel of a tavern. It's almost like what you'd see over a pool table in a pool hall. Now in the next photo, the emphasis is on the lower cabinet banks.

Here you can see the lowers. It has a space for an icemaker and a small fridge. I'm quite comfortable suggesting there should be some wine racks or a place to put glasses. From what I understand, there will be some runners along the top where the glasses will slide in facing downward. I'm guessing there will be some sort of rack on the counter top to hold the liquor.

This final round of pics is the Kitchen. This is the main event as far as our work in the house is concerned. In this first photo, you can see a wide angle shot of the entire Kitchen. You can see almost all of the uppers and most of the base units with the exception of those blocked by the island. To the far left, you see the space where the fridge will go. There are two panels topped with a small upper. The panel on the right ties into that top row of uppers and the base cabinets below.

In this next pic, we see the row of uppers coming off that finished panel and running into the cook top hood. The wall behind the cabinets is curved and the cabinets are fitted together on angles. You can see the light rail and the crown in this pic. You can also kinda see the detail in the doors. This set of cabinets features square pieces of wood in each door corner to add dimension to the surface. These doors are also considered pillow doors because the center area pillows up and sits higher than the frame itself.

The next photo shows the hood above the range. This piece by itself is extremely majestic and pulls the eye upward. It's arguably the best part of the Kitchen. We installed it in two parts. The base will hold the cook top hood and the upper cabinets will have shelving and cover the lines running to the range itself.

Now you can see the far right of the uppers. There are more angled uppers off of the hood and then there's the cabinet that will house the oven and the microwave. With the exception of one missing upper, the two sides could almost be mirror images of each other. The cabinet on the end with space for the appliances is also built around two panel sides.

Here I'm attempting to show you the lowers. The center base cabinet will be where the cook top is installed. On either side you can see turned posts. These posts actually hide two slide drawers that contain spice racks. The cook top itself will sit on that lower cabinet; which can be used to store cooking accessories.

Finally, I wanted to give you a closer view of the island. I realize it's only the outside, but I couldn't get a very good angle to take something on the inside. You can see the Corbels under the granite and the giant panels wrapping around the unit. It hangs over the back enough to create a breakfast nook if you put some stools right there. And that's pretty much the house. I took a couple of other pics I wanted to show you.

This is the house from the outside. It's quite lovely and as you can see from the entry area covered in stone, we had to provide some base that was curved for these areas. The base turned out wonderful and the home is just magnificent. I wanted to take a pic of the community, but every pic I got turned out bad. About the only one I took to show you their views is the next one.

This is the view from the front door. They're right up against a beautiful mountain range.

If you're interested in learning more about the cabinets in this home or want to get something similar in your own home, you can read more about the company at http://www.goodwinmillandcabinet.com. Visit the site and set up and appointment to get your work done today.

FINAL PICS FROM SOCHOR AND GLIMPSE AT BROWN'S

Well, let's start the day off by discussing the Brown job. I will hopefully have more pics to show you from this fascinating home within the next little while. The Brown home is located in a subdivision of Hurricane, UT called Sky Ranch. Sky Ranch is unique and fascinating because the home owners there keep planes in garages attached to their homes. There's a long runway that functions as the main road through the community. If you're interested in learning more about this incredible neighborhood, I'll include a link at the bottom.

The first two pictures I've posted today are both from the Brown home and are actually from the master bathroom. They are two sides of the same vanity unit. The first one shows the left hand column cabinet. We had to wait until the granite counter tops were installed before we installed these two cabinets. The second pic shows the right hand column. This one is different from the left hand side because it's finished on three sides as opposed to two. Anyway, I'll post more from this beautiful home soon.

The next area I wanted to update you on was Sochor's property near Hatch, UT in the Paunsaugunt Cliffs Subdivision. We were able to install the magnetic catches to keep the doors closed and finish the job. Even though I've shown pics of this project before, I wanted to show how it looked after everything was done and the cabinets were shut.

This first pic shows the laundry room. It's a little different from the rest of the house because it's all uppers. There are two of these units attached together. It made for a simple, but lovely arrangement.

These next two pics are basically the same shot, but at a slightly different angle. I wanted you to see the kitchen head on and get a sense for how cheerful and bright this kitchen really was. With the sunlight streaming in the window, you get a sense of warmth with the natural wood colors. You can see the cabinets, with granite counter tops, the greenish island and the wood ceiling and floor. The next three are also various angle shots of the kitchen. You can see the island has corbels on the side facing the Great Room. You can also begin to imagine how it will look once the appliances are in place. The final shot of the kitchen shows the opening for the fridge and gives you a better sense of how the windows actually let in such wonderful natural light.

The final two pics I'm going to show are of the book cases. I know I've showed them before and there's probably nothing new to show you, but I think they are just so incredible. They are my favorite cabinets in this house. I absolutely love them. I won't tell you how difficult it was to get them into place, but I will say this... It was worth it. Without a doubt. If you have the chance to have something like this in your own home, I would suggest doing it. Don't wait, don't put it off or ignore the impulse. You will be so much happier if you just do it.

If you want to learn more about Goodwin Mill & Cabinet, just click the link Goodwin Mill And Cabinet. For more information on Sky Ranch Community, click Sky Ranch Community.

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 9

The boys schedule this weekend did not include very much time to accomplish much, so they concentrated on the little things that needed to be completed. They built and installed the face and doors for the electrical chase. They also built the shelves for the cabinets and installed missing drawer hardware, handles and roller catches so the doors would stay closed.

They also started installing the light fixtures. When they got the wire run to them, they touched the wires to a 12 volt battery from a drill and lights came on. It was amazing that these little lights flooded this small room. They were happy to know that it was enough lighting to get the job done.

In the lighting pictures you can see how the lights were mounted and that they are directionally adjustable. Although probably not necessary in such a small space, it's still nice to have the ability to focus light where you need it most. In the first picture, you can see the lights mounted under the cabinetry while in the second photo you can see some where mounted directly on the ceiling.

Kent purchased the oven and cook top they were planning on because they wanted to make sure it all fit. It does have a couple of problems, but Chris thinks they will be able to adjust to make it work. These pictures show it with the top closed and with it up. It will sit on a rolling tray so it can be pulled out for use. They were hoping that the oven could be used right in place but the heat requirements mandate it to be pulled out.

Additionally, they started the wiring of the power converter. It took a little while to figure out but it is coming now. The boys are appreciative of the people who have posted their own information on the web. These experiences have helped the boys make their decisions and have made the job much easier.

If you're interested in learning more about Chris Goodwin, Kent Goodwin and their business, you can follow the link Goodwin Mill And Cabinet to read more about them. You can also find more entries about the tear drop trailer and other work we are currently doing. Check back for more updates soon.