What to expect when commissioning custom wood work.

Overview

All the work I do is custom built to order for individual clients. I have been solving peoples design and space problems for over thirty years. In that time I have evolved and developed a process that allows the customer to become directly involved in their project. This is a brief overview of the process.

An interested customer contacts me and is invited the studio for a brief tour and portfolio review or visits the website for a virtual tour and information. The customer contacts me and the project , time line and budget expectations are discussed. I will not quote contract prices in these discussions because I do not have enough information to do it properly or accurately. There are two distinct parts of the process involved in commissioning custom work , one is the design process and the other is the construction process. Unless a client brings me an accurate scale working drawing of their project I can not and will not provide hard project prices.

Design

Design is the first part of the process. There is a fee for this process determined by the amount of work estimated to complete a site visit and a working drawing. The design fee is a minimum of $500 for small furniture projects and typically runs $750 to $1,000 for home theater and large built-in  projects. This fee serves several purposes: it holds the client's shop time on a first come first serve basis, covers the time to do site visits and gather criteria, and includes the production of working drawings for pricing and construction. The entire design fee is deducted from the project down payment when construction begins. If for any reason construction does not commence the design fee is typically forfeited.

Another way to handle the design / price dilemma is for the client to provide a realistic budget for the project. Based on the client's criteria (more the better) I can usually determine if the budget is realistic for my work. The design fee is still required but I will be drawing the project within a predetermined budget. 

Site Visit

Most larger scale and all built in projects will require at least two site visits, one for preliminary measurements and one for installation. At the job site visit, I will take all pertinent measurements, I will look at the architecture, the furniture and a variety of other criteria. I will ask for all the clients needs and expectations. I will make suggestions and discuss a viable solution to develop into a working drawing. I will be using my expertise as not only a designer but also as a fabricator to make these suggestions. I will take that information and go back to my drawing board and execute the first draft of the project.

Drawings

All projects will require working drawings, these drawings will generally be complete in one / two weeks from receipt of the design deposit. When the draft copy of the project is complete I will be able to quote an accurate contract price. Another meeting will take place at the jobsite or my studio for the client to review the drawings and prices. Any changes or modifications will be determined at this meeting. If any changes were made I will make them in the drawings and the contract. If all is in order, I will generate a contract to accompany the working drawings and we will be ready for construction.   Click here to see a sample set of drawing.

Construction

Construction will begin when the drawings are approved and the contract is signed. Your project may begin immediately or may take some time to start. This will depend on work in progress and my previous commitments. I generally work on one project at a time in order to remain focused and provide high quality. I will however have several projects going at different stages ( drawing / construction / installation ) most of the time. I will be as up front and realistic about execution and delivery as I can. Large projects can take two weeks or more of shop time. Two weeks of shop time may take 3/4 weeks of real time to complete. The whole process generally takes 4-6 weeks for most projects, larger projects may take 6-8 weeks and major projects like kitchens can take 10-12 weeks. This is not cut in stone and does vary dramatically, it all depends on what I am currently committed to completing and the scope and scale of your project. Experience has shown me that if you order a custom couch from a store and order custom work from me the same day I will probably be done way before you ever see that couch. 

Contracts and payments

I write contracts on all the work I do. This keeps things clear for all involved. The contract has all specific criteria and terms written out and is usually accompanied by a working drawing for reference. ( Click here to see a sample contract).  Since I am a licensed CA State Contractor, and if the project is built in, I will write a contract with a standard lien notice required on all contracts written in California over $600.00. Contract work that is free standing will not require a lien notice or release but will be subject to CA state sales tax if applicable.

The terms are usually in one of two formats determined by project price. Projects of $5000.00 and under will require a down payment of 65% of the total to start construction. If a design deposit was paid , it will be deducted from this figure, 35% will be due on completion.

The second format is for projects of over $5000.00. The down payment required will be 50% of the project price less the design fee paid. A 3/4 payment will be billed and due at 3/4 progress. I will invite the client to the shop or send a picture with the bill so the customer can see that the work is indeed at 3/4 progress. This payment is due when presented, if more than a few days goes by without payment it will affect the construction schedule and delivery date. Final payment of 15% will be due on completion. On built in projects, I will send out a lien release when the final payment clears.