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"Hello, My name is Phil Carr-Jones, I am reviewing my experience of working with and building my own kitchen, using cabinets and doors from Arkansas Wood Door. While I am an Episcopal Priest, it turns out I get to do a lot of things they don't teach you in seminary. Over the years, I have had to get fairly skilled in all the trades, including, no surprise, carpentry. But I am by no means an expert. For instance, I employed a retired carpenter to help out with the crown molding and other trim. Apart from that though, this is all my and my wife's work. So let me state up front, Arkansas Wood Doors is the go to place for the DIY’er who is thinking of remodeling their own kitchen. Here's why: I searched the web for months, literally doing comparisons and research on flat pack rta cabinets. I went to the big box store for a design and pricing in their three lines of cabinets, and I went in for a consult with a small custom shop in my area. Here's what I found. 99 outof 100 rta cabinet companies have their product made in china which means the standards for formaldehyde are going to be as fishy as they smell, plus you can only get cabinets in fixed sizes so if you looking to eeck out every last inch of space you're going to lose a lot and you'll be using a lot of filler strips wasting what could have been useful storage. If you want to go custom, then you only have less than a handful of online options, companies that will make to order in any dimension. For instance, I only wanted an 8 inches deep spice cabinet to allow for greater working room over the counter. My wife and I are pretty serious about cooking from pastries to mains and sides. We want a very serious kitchen. Plus, I'll tall so I needed the room. In any case, if you want something custom your choices online are limited. The big box stores don't really do custom and are just as limited in their options as are the online rta places. Most online rtas offer far cheaply made boxes with construction methods less sturdy. I have found that if I buy cheap, I shouldnt expect my kitchen to hold up past a few years. The finish will fade. The drawers will warp. The joints will open up. The big box stores basically offer the same thing, too. When I go to a big box store to buy something, I do it knowing I probably willl get a year out of it, whether that’s a lawn chair of a power tool. I mean when was the last time you regretting spending too much money on a better grade of power tool? So if you want quality, a better and safer grade building material and much wider choices in sizing then your basically down to three or four options. I went with Arkansas Wood Door and am completely pleased and impressed by the experience. Now I could have spent twice what I did and gone to a small custom shop and gotten the same thing, but I am in to saving money and frankly I enjoy the challenge. AWD worked with me directly. Working up the order and getting the plan for each box just right. If you have never designed and built a kitchen before, there are plenty of tips and guidance on the web and I recommend you heartily research all of the aspects and complications involved. I hit a couple of unexpected bumps. But more about that below. So do your research. For instance you can save a lot of money by building the plinths yourself and only order squared off boxes without the toe kick. By making the platform on which you place the lower cabinets first, you can get that plumb and level, so throwing up the boxes is a breeze. And again, the cabinets are also less expense, a complete all around win. AWD uses an easy system for matching up box parts so assembly was easy. No special tools required. Given the many parts and I used a mix of frameless and face framed cabinets, there was a moment or two when in amongst all the materials I got nervous about having everything I needed, but low and behold, all was right there in the end. I also recommend the concept from French cooking "mis en place" that is have all your ingredients in place and all your tools where you need them before starting out. Also, it was a lot easier to work with my wife than doing it alone, but I did a few by myself and so if that is your only option than you should have no problem. I've assembled a lot of cheaper Swedish flat packed furniture in my day, and the quality and sturdiness of AWD leaves no doubt about how long these will last. Just rock solid. Great thing about AWD is the cost to quality ratio. Cant beat it. Which also means if you make a mistake the replacement is so reasonable it becomes not big deal. I mis-measured one box and so I needed to order the right size. Worked out fine, but that was because AWD had an incredibly fast turn around. The other few reliable companies are several weeks to months. And these other places are crazy expensive. And in truth, the other companies are a complete rip off on trim and accessories. AWD pricing was so amenable that my mistakes cost me so little in comparison with what I was saving. So there's a built in confidence for the first timer. Also AWD made one mistake on the placement of a hinge in two doors. They immediately and without question remade them and sent them out in under ten days. You just can't get that service anywhere in the custom cabinet world. It was so affordable I upgraded on one side to black walnut. Trying doing that at the other quality shops. The quality of the roll out drawers and top drawer boxes is superb and the hinges and under-mount sliders are top grade excellent. The hardware was the easiest part frankly. Their system, for lining up the hardware is just so easy. Drill driver is all you need as the placement is already leveled for you. SO: high end quality custom built cabinets, superior custom support, fastest turnaround in the marketplace, most affordable pricing out there, excellent hardware, and oh yeah, I almost forget, color choices. They offer complete line of lacquer - just pick a SW color and they'll match it. SO completely and truly custom for a fraction of cost without sacrificing any quality. The Rev. Philip Carr-Jones"

"Raine was so great and his work is just amazing. He was so helpful, I bought the wrong door and Raine didn’t reschedule he simply put the door in his truck we met at Menards he helped me return the door and find the right door and the right screen door. He was efficient and kept me in the loop with everything he was doing. I will be doing more business with Raine and his company"

"We wanted to replace just the kitchen cabinets because they were outdated and we wanted something new.
After talking to Dmitriy, he offered us to get rid of the wall that was standing in between the living room and the kitchen.
One of the best decisions we have made regarding that remodel.  
The whole living space right away felt much more open and spacious."

"Excellent. The guy was in and out in twenty minutes. Fast efficient and nice. Does a good job. Can always depend on him."

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Wow...  Lot's of good and some bad here too.  First - I must say that I've never been involved with an extensive remodel before, so this was a big one for me.  Not having a lot of know-how with building things I hoped to rely on the contractor (GCM) for the oversight and expertise. 

I knew up front (after asking) whether they did the work or whether they used contractors - so, unlike other posts here, I knew what to expect - and this was fine with me - having contractors who specialize in a particular area is probably a good thing.  They could probably be more specific at the outset on this to avoid confusion though. 

As the other poster mentioned - the contractors were splitting their time with various projects - including a rather large commercial project with Pappa Johns.  This also didn't bother me - since I understand that they can't sit idle waiting for my paint to dry, tile grout to set, drywall mud to dry, etc.  This project did tend to drag on through the end of September - which seemed a bit long to me.

Part of the delay - and probably about $1000 added expense was my fault when I selected the most awful yellow paint for both main room and bathroom.  I had them repaint!  It was the best-spent money of the project!

The various contractors were both high and low points. 

Bad:

The people who sprayed the textured ceiling came unprepared - not enough tape to seal off the area - borrowed some duct tape from me, but damaged some painted areas removing it.

The wall that was installed to frame in the fireplace was so poorly done initially that I just about terminated the contract - nails sticking out whole sections of studs that were loose and uneven.

The sad part was that most of the quality control issues I had involved the GCM manager assigned to my project.  A nice fellow but not too concerned about quality.  This was unfortunate because it was what I really needed from them with my lack of experience in these things.

Good:

The tile contractor!! What a great job those guys did.  I had a natural stone tile selected for the shower - and they really worked h****** the placement of the tiles to ensure that they looked well.  It became the nicest part of the remodel.  Even the building inspector commented on how nice it looked!

The fireplace installer - The guy knew what he was doing - but they had already framed the wall for it without checking with him and he was forced to tear out the wall framing to install the fireplace - then GCM had to reframe the wall all over again.  The second reframing was the problem - the first guy who framed - and later came back to repair the reframing work, really knew his business.  That guy was quick and did quality work - as far as I could tell.  This took some skill on the part of contractors and GCM people because they had to work the venting around the main gas line along the outside wall - and gas lines running through the wall they were venting out of.  This left very little room to get the vent installed while avoiding gas lines in the wall and outside, and ensuring safe distance from privacy wall and sliding door.  They made it work and the fireplace looks wonderful and works great.

Finally - and most important, one of the owners, Ben, was terrific and was willing to bend over backwards to make sure I was satisfied with the end result.  This guy was very professional in handling every aspect of the project from the bid - which he was one of the few who came and gave me one, to satisfying my concerns and complaints.

Yes...I would consider using them again (perhaps not the project manager if I could avoid that), but they were up front about the cost - made allowances for multiple changes I requested (move the fireplace, recess the lighting, tile everything, and of course - that repainting issue I created).  With the exception of the textured ceiling sprayers, all the contractors were respectful and friendly and seemed to have a good knowledge of their craft.

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"It went great he had great ideas the details were spot on. meeting with Nathan went very well and had product guides to show me the products that  I was looking for.  he also on his computer did a 3d model of my basement for me it was very helpful. I will deferentially use him again.
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"They did a wonderful job!"

"I was contacted via phone before I had even completed my information as to what the project would entail. He was very friendly and courteous. He set up an appointment immediately to review the project in person. He was extremely honest in stating that he had never done a project like the one I needed done. He spoke of his work experience. We were sent installation instructions with the materials that we were having installed and he asked if he could take one for further review before starting the project. He worked quickly, efficiently, and in a timely manner."

We pride our company on reliability, great communication, integrity, and quality work. We are experts in our trade and will do our best to keep you as educated as we can on your particular task or project. We look forward to earning your business!

If you want your project to be handled with care, quality and integrity then myself and my crew are your answer. I prioritize clear and cordial communication, excellence in the quality of service, and honesty of my character, work, and that of those I work with. I believe anyone can “satisfy” a customer, that is why “satisfactory” is not enough, we go the extra mile whenever we can.