We are looking to do have someone do some custom woodwork in our bedroom and potentially other places throughout the house. Nothing over the top, but nice built in type work is what we are after.

Other than material costs, what should we be expecting as far as labor as we get bids in? We are in Johnson County (south of FW) for what it's worth. I imagine size of the project has an impact, so I would say these will be relatively small projects overall. It would be nice to just have an idea on potential budget I should be establishing so I don't go into conversations completely ignorant. Thanks!

Price can vary a lot. You thinking cabinets or shelves or desks, etc? Uppers & lowers? Painted or stained? Standard sizes vs custom sizes. Custom tops and finishes? Size could be deceptive, too - a kitchen full of cabinets that are built to the same spec could be cheaper per linear foot than a bunch of one-off specs. Without more info, I'd probably ballpark $250-500 per linear foot (feet along the wall, not square footage).

There are people on here who know way more about pricing this than me.

We're doing a project that involves a desk wall with uppers. It was all rolled together in the bid, so no help other than adding an 8x4 built in bookshelf at the end of a new wall was a $1100 change order including drywalling it's in and painting.

ETA this is south FW pricing

When asked how much a cabinet project will cost in the first meeting or two, I can respond, 'how much does a car cost?' The general answer is, it depends.

Just like a car, there are a multitude of options. And quality is relative. What is good cabinetry? It is up to you to decide whether you feel the value is there. How important is it to you? How much wear/tear is it going to get? What is its purpose? How fancy/detailed/complicated is the project? Do you want it to still look great 10 years from now? You staying in that house for 5 or more years and want to enjoy it?

If you just need basics, Ben's response is probably close, $250-500 per LF. For the lower end you will get a finish carpenter level cabinets, may or may not be finished, minimal design or creativity, may not include drawings (drawings go a long way to making sure you are getting what you've agreed to), they may not be insured (what happens if they do damage in your house during installation?)

The higher end, $500 or more per LF, you will probably get a big step up in all the categories above.

As a cabinetmaker, my prices per foot can range from $400 per foot to $800 (uppers, lowers, no counters). I figure that for basic cabinetry (still top quality materials) and then present a list of options (like the old days of buying a car) and let the customer decide what they want to include and what they want to spend. (Species of wood, type of finish, lighting, glass doors, specific details, moldings, etc)

As far as an hourly rate if you go 'time and materials'. If it is a finish carpenter perhaps building the cabinets on site, you'll probably be in the $50-80 per hour, but again, that is still probably lower end cabinetry, possibly lower end skill set? If the cabinet guy has a decent shop, is insured, likely better quality and more experience, you may be in the $80-120 per hour? This plus materials, which can vary wildly depending on your project.

Sorry I can't be more precise, but like the car analogy, there are so many options. Let me know if you have more questions. There are lots of guys who say they can build great cabinets, I am sure some can. But in 33 years, I have fixed too many projects from guys who said they could build great cabinets. You need to see their past work if the cabinetry is important to you.

Appreciate it all.

First guy came back and basically gave a NTE number of $14k which was not even in the same universe as I was. From some of what has been talked about, he seemed like it could be more of a high end product, with there being a detailed drawing phases, etc. He has a ton of experience and seemed to get the concept from the beginning. He doesn't multi task with different projects and focuses on one until completion.

Project would entail building a fireplace bump out (10'H x 4'W x 2'D) on a completely blank wall with an insert for electric fireplace. On the left side would be a built in bench seat 4'W x 2'D tying into the other wall. We'd like some practical storage options and overall nicely trimmed out. Nothing over the top but in line with the rest of the house with straight lines. Don't need any exotic woods as it'll likely be painted.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Appreciate it all.

First guy came back and basically gave a NTE number of $14k which was not even in the same universe as I was. From some of what has been talked about, he seemed like it could be more of a high end product, with there being a detailed drawing phases, etc. He has a ton of experience and seemed to get the concept from the beginning. He doesn't multi task with different projects and focuses on one until completion.

Project would entail building a fireplace bump out (10'H x 4'W x 2'D) on a completely blank wall with an insert for electric fireplace. On the left side would be a built in bench seat 4'W x 2'D tying into the other wall. We'd like some practical storage options and overall nicely trimmed out. Nothing over the top but in line with the rest of the house with straight lines. Don't need any exotic woods as it'll likely be painted.

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You want one person to do it all I assume...a carpenter to build out the fireplace chase, what will that surface be? Drywall? Who does that, him? Or wood panels? And then the bench seat, anything above it? Practical storage...is that within the bench seat, or elsewhere...additional cabinetry?

Sounds like you got a good guy, but his price/experience may be more than your project calls for. I wouldn't ask him to try to come down in price. Need to probably find another guy.

1988PA-Aggie said:

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10andBOUNCE said:

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Appreciate it all.

First guy came back and basically gave a NTE number of $14k which was not even in the same universe as I was. From some of what has been talked about, he seemed like it could be more of a high end product, with there being a detailed drawing phases, etc. He has a ton of experience and seemed to get the concept from the beginning. He doesn't multi task with different projects and focuses on one until completion.

Project would entail building a fireplace bump out (10'H x 4'W x 2'D) on a completely blank wall with an insert for electric fireplace. On the left side would be a built in bench seat 4'W x 2'D tying into the other wall. We'd like some practical storage options and overall nicely trimmed out. Nothing over the top but in line with the rest of the house with straight lines. Don't need any exotic woods as it'll likely be painted.

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You want one person to do it all I assume...a carpenter to build out the fireplace chase, what will that surface be? Drywall? Who does that, him? Or wood panels? And then the bench seat, anything above it? Practical storage...is that within the bench seat, or elsewhere...additional cabinetry?

Sounds like you got a good guy, but his price/experience may be more than your project calls for. I wouldn't ask him to try to come down in price. Need to probably find another guy.

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Yes I'd be looking for one guy. The gentleman I spoke to already mentioned drywall which I wasn't sure about. For example if we just wanted shiplap, would you need to drywall underneath that final trimmed treatment? Or just shiplap straight onto the framing?

Nothing above the bench area. The seat would likely be one where you could open up and store blankets and pillows underneath. Storage possibly on the side of the FP bumpout - just shelves or maybe a cabinet or two for books, misc.

Not sure this project needs to be just 1 guy. A good contractor who can demo, frame, hang drywall, move electricity, and paint probably has a cabinet maker on speed dial that he works well with. Subbing that out vs paying cabinet maker rates for the rest probably is cheaper anyway.

If you want one man, give David a call. He's priced fairly and can do that project turnkey. Smaller jobs (not a full kitchen) he does a lot of the cabinetry himself. https://www.slaughtercc.com/

Thanks. Thinking about it now, perhaps it might be manageable to contract out the framing vs drywall vs final trim for all of this. There should be no electrical work that I can tell. I may reach out to David, thanks for the recommendation.

We're doing some major renovations but part of it is an office build out. Our quote for this portion was about $7k, not including drawer and cabinet hardware, library light, or new chandelier as we're providing those. These are all made custom on site, for an idea of size the wall is 13.5' long, 10' ceilings. We've used this contractor before and his carpenter built custom cabinets to match existing in the kitchen and we were pleased with his work.

Thanks for the comp -very helpful! Looks really nice!

These builtins were about $3k for us a few years ago. I drew it up, so it was 100% custom sizing.





So many factors here, your best bet is to get a few quotes.

mosdefn14 said:

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Not sure this project needs to be just 1 guy. A good contractor who can demo, frame, hang drywall, move electricity, and paint probably has a cabinet maker on speed dial that he works well with. Subbing that out vs paying cabinet maker rates for the rest probably is cheaper anyway.

If you want one man, give David a call. He's priced fairly and can do that project turnkey. Smaller jobs (not a full kitchen) he does a lot of the cabinetry himself. https://www.slaughtercc.com/

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We reached out to David and he's been really nice and communicative in understanding our wishes with this project. We very likely may hire him to do the work as the initial estimate he gave was reasonable and in line with our general budget.

Awesome. If you do, feel good where your money is going. Great guy & family.

"Nothing over the top, but nice built in type work is what we are after."

Hate to break it to you but that's premium level nowadays.