by Steve Shearer | Feb 22, 2024 | Cabinets, Challanges
Tracey was looking for a craftsman who could make her kitchen updated with a unique Euro design, and found me from a referral. She also wanted to incorporate these convenience options: sink tip-outs, trash tilt-outs, file drawers, tray storage, and two appliance lifts.
I discovered this easy-to-use, versitle plastic foil, Northern Contours 9013 Oyster Bay 3D laminate for verticle surfaces with this job. White with gray veining, it looks like bleached eucalyptus with the durability of Formica plastic laminate.
Tracey’s original knotty alder kitchen
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Kitchen layout drawing via SmartDraw diagramming software
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Convenient corner cabinets refaced.
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Appliance lifts for mixer and toaster oven
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Double trash tilt-outs in a 12″ base cabinet
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Custom metal extension for a kitchen breakfast peninsula
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Tracey’s Oyster Bay 3D foil kitchen reface, sink wall
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15-inch tray cabinet with Oyster Bay 3D laminate
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by Steve Shearer | Dec 23, 2022 | Cabinets
This house was built in 2006, with acreage in Prescott Prairie, Prescott Valley. Originally, the cabinets were raised panel oak with a Formica countertop. Yes, this home needed an update to contend with today’s styles.
The design began with staggered glass door wall cabinets, then to fill in the sink area with a six inch spice cabinet. To top it all off, I had a left-over wine cabinet we added to the oven wall.
The scope of work included: 24 white Shaker cabinets in kitchen with 5″ cove crown molding, and 3 styles of cabinet pulls.
4 Spartman kitchen full penninsulia Prescott Valley AZ
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3 Spartman Kitchen dovetail drawers Prescott Valley AZ
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2 Spartman kitchen – center cabinet raised Prescott Valley AZ
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5 Spartman M-bath moving in Prescott Valley AZ
5 Spartman kitchen pull-out spice rack Prescott Valley AZ
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by Steve Shearer | Nov 24, 2022 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets
It’s Thanksgiving day, 2022 and yes, I’m NOT working!!
Yes, I do have hobbies, tho she wouldn’t consider it as a hobby. It’s architectural design. And I fricken love looking through website images of this stuff.
Today while browsing through some files, I came across this job I did in Sedona, AZ: This equestrian estate, built by an heir of William Wrigley, known as El Rojo Grande Ranch—includes equestrian facilities, a guest casita, a caretaker’s cottage and a park with a bandstand.
El Rojo Grande Ranch, featured in the Wall Street Journal, is one of the most exquisite and private properties in Sedona. Originally owned by one of America’s most iconic families, this pristine property is just 1.5 miles of west of Sedona. The original Wrigley family owner intendedit as a state-of-the-art equestrian center.
This home is especially iconic to me, as I did most of the work installing cabinetry, shelving, and the kitchen walls all out of Eucalyptus hardwood durring the summer of 1995. Eucalyptus has a distinct looking grain that catches the eye and fits well with most any decor. This job holds sentimental value as well. And I’d love to experience what I had when working there: an orange 1952 Chevy pickup. Every monday for 3 months, I would use that truck to drive from Glendale AZ to Sedona.
El Rojo Grande Ranch, Sedona AZ Zillow.com
1 El Rojo Grande Ranch Eucalyptus Cabinets
5 El Rojo Grande Ranch Eucalyptus Cabinets
4 El Rojo Grande Ranch Eucalyptus Cabinets
3 El Rojo Grande Ranch Eucalyptus Cabinets
2 El Rojo Grande Ranch Eucalyptus Cabinets
Red Rock News El Rojo Grande Ranch May-6-1992
El Rojo Grande Ranch ariel view 2
El Rojo Grande Ranch ariel view 1
El Rojo Grande Ranch house entrance
Eucalyptus Shaker Kitchen Cabinets
australian-eucalyptus-figured-wood
by Steve Shearer | Nov 10, 2022 | Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
James originally purchased Hampton Bay Elgin White cabinets from Home Depot and wasn’t satisfied!
I met James through one of my ever-so-popular Facebook Marketplace ad. His house is in Prescott Valley, Arizona, about 5 minutes from mine. What he had originally ordered are thermo-foil MDF doors. Our cabinet doors are 5-piece hard rock maple.
The first contact I had with James was on August 9, 2022
Nelson Kitchen & Bath white shaker cabinets ordered: September 8, 2022
Begin installation: October 28, 2022
Project totally finished November 5, 2022
Schmidt kitchen remodel Prescott AZ
Schmidt kitchen remodel extended penninsulia
Schmidt kitchen cabinets spice rack
Schmidt kitchen cabinets lazy Susan detail
Schmidt kitchen cabinets corner upper cabinet view
Schmidt kitchen cabinet drawers details
Schmidt kitchen Shaker cabinets from Nelson Cabinets
by Steve Shearer | Sep 12, 2022 | Cabinets
by Steve Shearer | Aug 31, 2022 | Cabinets
At the initial request, I had assumed the we would keep the same original configuration which consisted of only one eight foot wall. But after doing take-off measurements, I realized that we could add double the size, as the wall behind the appliances wasn’t being used. And this being a flip home, she wanted the absolute lowest cost cabinets, so I ordered Hampton Bay Shaker Satin White Stock Assembled Kitchen Cabinets from Home Depot. And the 10th one was free!
I met Leanne via James Michener, who I did a kitchen at Chino Valley back in January. Her and I had never met until I was half way through installing these cases. Although, we did have plenty of conversing through phone & email messages.
This house is in Dewey-Humboldt and I’ve included a pitcure of a historic building at 13100 Prescott St, Dewey, AZ
The first contact I had with Leann was on May 12, 2022
Hampton Bay white shaker cabinets ordered: May 17, 2022
Begin installation: June 3, 2022
Project totally finished June 15, 2022
Bakke’s $3500 kitchen Dewey AZ
Jones St kitchen original cabinets
Cabinet layout for Bakke using Photoshop
Cabinet extended using open shelves
by Steve Shearer | May 21, 2022 | Cabinets, Challanges
I’ll have to admit, Michele’s kitchen was a challange 🥺. She has custom made cabinets that have different sized face frame styles and she wanted quarter inch spacing between all doors & drawer fronts. We ended up buying four different back-set hinge styles 🤦!! I figured there was over one thousand calculations to get this job done, and I made a ton of mistakes. Michele took it all gracefully as I had to reorder 18% of the fronts 💰.
She frequently referred to this house as one of those “money pits 🤑,” where you just have to replace this BC you repaired that. They knew when buying this that there would be a lot of changes, and it was her husband’s full-time job doing most of the remodeling 🚧 hisself. One of the more notable changes was to remove most the wall-to-wall 96 inch tall storage cabinets that were piece-built in two garages. I would estimate that this amounted to a whole bunk of 3/4″ particle board scraps.
Her cabinets turned out smashing 👏 and she loved it!!
Now that the kitchen was finished, Michele had another project for me, a set of bypass doors.
by Steve Shearer | May 5, 2022 | Cabinets, Challanges
To sum up my day, it all started when I arrived at my cabinet install job in Dewey. I mistakenly backed up my 2007 Ford van
onto loose gravel in Doug’s driveway and got stuck. It took me 90 minutes to get it back on the pavement & now I have some landscaping clean-up to do
.
The job at hand today, was to remove a DB18 & replace it with the original cabinet I had for it, a DB15 (don’t ask me why
). I also had to relocate the plumbing holes in the SB36 floor (plumbing comes from the floor for mobile homes) and make patches for the slotted holes (I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow). Starting at about 10:30 am, I got it done finally at 2:30 pm.
Next, I realized that the DW was hard-wired with an 18″ cord, which isn’t a problem, unless you want to replace it. I guess it was installed 2 years ago by Home Depot. Don’t know HTF they did that without removing the countertop
???
Then I discovered that the countertop had some 1/4″ hardboard glued to the bottom (we are re-using the Formica post-formed tops). This became an issue with his wife.
They were going back & forth about these issues, so I thold them that they can discuss it all & I’ll go get materials for it. That was at 3 pm. But I still made it home before 5:30, so it was a GOOD DAY!!!
I forgot to mention that the DW was a short (24″) live-wired connection that got shorted out when I tried pulling it away from the wall & had to fix that so it wouldn’t happen again.
by Steve Shearer | Sep 18, 2021 | Cabinets
Nick, owner of All Affairs Contracting, contacted me at the end of June, 2021, through my Facebook Marketplace ad. When I arrived to install the cabinets, I noticed a design flaw and told Nick about it. His designer at Home Depot had ordered two 24 inch base cabinets for the seating side of the bar. These come with drawers, which are useless beneth a countertop overhang. We were able to exchange these for two 24 inch upper cabinets, with no time loss (I had to build a toekick for these). I also informed Nick that his cabinet package included several items that we didn’t need. Hope he got his money back (I’m sure he did)!
All-in-all, I think it looks very nice, very clean.
I have noticed that this type layout using 36 inch uppers, that leave a six inch space abouve the crown molding, is being featured more often these days.
Before I left the job, Nick mentioned that he has another project coming up for me to do. I hope I can continue working with All Affairs Contracting.
Job for All Affairs Contracting
Before and after kitchen at 601 Campbell St, Prescott, AZ 86301
2 piece ref. end panel for N Catherine Drive PV
Island cabinet at N Catherine Dr PV
Confusing cabinet plan view
by Steve Shearer | Sep 12, 2021 | Cabinets, Challanges, Custom Cabinets, Millwork & Trim
It’s not elaborate at all, we’re changing the stained wood into white shaker, but not touching the island. And we’re not done yet.
Bob’s project started on September 01, 2020. He’s been through 2 painter companies for his doors, and taking them to a shop in Phoenix for the third go-around. Today, September 10, 2021, I drilled the doors for hinges.
And I really feel good because when I went to layout the doors and drawer fronts, I only got 1 wrong, and Bob can probably use it as a frame for an artwork crafted by our local merchants.
I had finished the wall-to-ceiling crown molding on Thursday, September 02, 2021.
This is something I hadn’t done for over 20 years. And as sure as God made little green apples, I had zero experience at pricing this project. But I wanted to do it and gain this knowlege.
He wanted 6 inch crown molding, and that monkey is not available in our small town, so I had to order it. I ended up getting 14: 3/4 x 6-1/8 x 84 Primed MDF Crown Moulding pieces. More pieces equals more joints. Great start for underpricing this job. Next, we need to paint it and since it’s already primed, I get to skip that step – WRONG!! The primer was obviously laid on with a machine – very, very wavy. So now the trim has a texture that needs sanded (see pics) AND an extra coat of paint because 50 percent of the primer got sanded off! More time for underpricing!! Then I start the project with a return-to-wall trim piece – WRONG!! I should have started where the paint color changes (see pics). So this misstep burned a few more hours.
The job took about 30% more time than I had bid. Naturally, the joining of the crown took the most time. And about 75% of the way through this project, I realized that using a biscuit cutter would save time and even the joints out better.
I had introduced to Bob that we could use rubber molding for the curved bay window area, but it was a lot more expensive. I’m glad we didn’t use it, because you’ve only got one shot with this. Miss by over 1/16th of an inch, and I buy a new one. There was also no guarantee on how it would match up to the straight trim. I ended up making it with 6 pieces, about 17 inches long each to span the almost eight foot compass window.
I had unknowingly under bid myself on his wall-to-ceiling crown molding, but it’s no big deal,as I wanted to add it to my portfolio. I was solving someone’s problem, while I was prospering on my main goal.
Cabinets painted, 5 doors hung to check sizing
Anybody want these? Nice doors, solid maple.
Island cabinets stay the same with Bob in the background.
6 inch wall-to-ceiling crown molding
6 inch wall-to-ceiling crown molding
Curved bay window with 6 inch wall-to-ceiling crown molding
Bob’s reface in Stoneridge AZ afterwards, with existing island cabinets
Bob’s kitchen in Stoneridge AZ afterwards, with existing island cabinets
Bob’s kitchen with 1/8″ reveals. NOT recommended: should be 1/4″ minimum.
by Steve Shearer | Sep 1, 2021 | Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
Tony and his wife were intent on replacing their maple cabinets with white slab doors until I showed them the price difference, along with the quality, of Nelson Cabinets.
- The first contact I had with Tony was on June 9, 2021
- Nelson white shaker cabinets ordered: June 14, 2021
- Begin installation (demo): July 19, 2021
- Glass ordered on July 26, 2021
- Cabinets done except for glass doors: July 31, 2021
- Project finished August 28, 2021
The project was finally finished on August 28, 2021 … we had to wait over one month for the glass.
After: a custom open wall unit, sink wall
Finished peninsula: now bar seating is at a comfortable height
After: Tony’s white shaker kitchen, oven wall
Finished project, Tony’s white shaker kitchen, sink wall
Before: Tony’s natural maple kitchen, oven wall
Before: Tony’s natural maple kitchen, sink wall
Before: Tony’s kitchen with tile backsplash, sink wall
by Steve Shearer | Aug 11, 2021 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets
Being July in Arizona, and my backlog needing food, I accepted this job up north where it’s always cooler, even cooler than where I live, in Prescott Valley.
Harold got his cabinets and plans from a friend, and I’m guessing at a discount from Elmwood Cabinets, because I know what these would cost. A few of the components had me puzzled, as they were labled with abbreviated names of which I have never worked with. It’s like this: “Show me where the sink cabinet is. Oh, that’s it, the DSME638-B27MSB-EE3.” Come on, it’s aa SB27! The biggest surprise was the microwave cabinet which was wider than the oven beneath, as well as the microwave that is going there.
What really makes these cabinets distinctive is the double crown molding (on top of the uppers) and light rail (beneath the uppers).
But prior to taking these photos, I removed it fron two of the cabinets; I’ll get an updated picture of this soon.
Shaker double crown detail
Harold’s deluxe shaker cabinets in Flagstaff AZ
Harold’s custom microwave cabinet, Flagstaff
Harold’s cabinets: I’m leery of that kitchen table!
Harold’s kitchen walls in Flagstaff AZ
Elmwood Cabinets of Canada
Plan view print, Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly
by Steve Shearer | Jul 30, 2021 | Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
Nelson cabinets are so easy to sell. I believe what attracts customers first, is the price, but then I tell them about the quality and it’s a closed deal.
This order had damaged and missing parts. Dino from Nelson Cabinets was quick to resolve the issue.
Nelson cabinets for Aimee 2
Nelson cabinets for Aimee 1
Bathroom cabinet for Aimee
Nelson cabinets for Aimee 3
by Steve Shearer | Jun 8, 2021 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
This covered her entire wall – 15 foot long by 9 foot tall.
We got the lower cabinets from Nelson Cabinets, and I fabricated the shelves and countertop from 3/4″ melamine.
The shelving is something I haven’t done before, to connect the components with some sort of KD fastner. I searched and found furniture cam lock fasteners, got the parts & the jig, and effortlessly pre-fabbed the project. I supplied a couple of photos to show how it’s done.
Cutting the melamine was a big part of the job when you realize that it took 15 minutes to rip an eight foot cut on my tablesaw! Yeah, we’re talking twenty hours or so just to cut it out.
To my amazement, it all went together very well, until I went to place the last end panel. I had machined the countertop wrong and had to make timly corrections. I fixed it as you can see here.
Furniture cam lock fasteners
The process and the tiils
by Steve Shearer | May 30, 2021 | Countertops
They choose FORMICA Laminate in Mineral Jet with Premiumfx Radiance Finish. This particular finish highlights the beautiful veining of stone and granite looks with 3D holographic facets that refract and reflect light.
Custom Formica Countertops-3
Custom Formica Countertops-2
Custom Formica Countertops-1
by Steve Shearer | Jan 14, 2021 | Cabinets, Challanges, Custom Cabinets
Z and Andy run a custom bike & vintage auto restoration & repair shop in Prescott Valley, AZ
Z found me on Craigslist on June 1st of last year. He introduced me to Andy, who has coordinated the build. They needed somebody to restore the cabinets & panels for a 78 VW Vanagon. This will be a project for me that will likely take about 4 weeks of off-and-on work set between other works (mainly cabinets).
1978 VW-Vanagon web picture 1
1978 VW-Vanagon web picture 2
1978 VW-Vanagon web picture 3
1978 VW-Vanagon in garage
78 VW-Vanagon refrigerator unit
78 VW-Vanagon Sink-range before
78 VW-Vanagon Sink-range veneered & primed
78 VW-Vanagon Sink-range unit 2
78 VW-Vanagon Sofabed+closet
78 VW-Vanagon Sofabed before
Hardass Customs at Lake Havasu State Park
by Steve Shearer | Jan 11, 2021 | Furniture & Décor
Signature Cowboy offers unique items such as cowhide toilet seats, western clocks and artwork, western home accents and all kinds of western decor. See her Epsy shop here:
Step stool (made lots of these)
The hampers ready to send
by Steve Shearer | Dec 30, 2020 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
Tim had just bought this new home in Granville, Prescott Valley, and wanted to save some money on garage cabinets.
We ordered the conventional cabinets from Nelson Cabinetry, and I made the monster at the end of the garage.
The “monster cabinet” at the end of the garage was made out of 3/4 inch MDF & painted a matching gray color. The doors utilize sliding door hardware. Although the doors have pulls, I thought it would be a good idea to add chains to open the doors from the ground.
by Steve Shearer | Nov 22, 2020 | Cabinets, Carpentry, Countertops
I run a few Craigslist ads to get work and that’s where Gina found me.
She had quite the list for what she wanted doing and had to narrow it all down to what was most important. But my 1st job was for her sister who needed an exterior blind hung, some curtains hung, and a large painting.
My 1st job for Gina was a fireplace surround using white shiplap (see in pics), which I did in September 2020. But her foremost project was to replace the countertops, and she would be painting her laminate cabinets. Gina was taken aback with the prices she got from Lowes and Home Depot: they wanted upwards of $3000 for Formica countertops. I supplied them for $500 (see in pics) plus laminate cost.
I also did her subway-style tile backsplash, hung a few lights, replaced a fan, some drywall repair, and framed a mirror wal
B-Gina-in-her-new-kitchen
E-Gina’s-fireplace-before
f-Gina’s-fireplace-after-2
by Steve Shearer | Oct 19, 2020 | Furniture & Décor
I build the base components for Adriana, using Pine and Cabinet Grade Plywood. She has variety of products for Cow Poke enthusiasts.
Wastebasket with lift-off lid
by Steve Shearer | Sep 17, 2020 | Millwork & Trim
Live Edge Alligator Juniper Slabs for Alcove Display Shelving
I got the alligator juniper slabs from Matt Hanson, owner of Second Life Slabs.
by Steve Shearer | Jun 23, 2020 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets
Custom Cabinetry with Floating Shelves with a Four Wall Scribe
This was a job for Ramido Alvarez’s residence. He is the owner of Home Tech Foundations Systems, Inc. I did a kitchen install for him about 10 months prior for a house that he flipped (one of my 1st jobs & didn’t get pics).
Ramido Alvarez custom alcove cabinetry
Alcove cabinets with 4 wall scribing
Alcove cabinets with cleats in place
Alcove cabinets prior to install
Alcove cabinets finished, close-up
Ramido Alvarez utility shelving
by Steve Shearer | Apr 5, 2020 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets
This is a job I got from Bobby Dixon, owner of Tri-City Home Improvement Pros. As you might notice, these cabinet doors are very different – and it’s a first for me, just seeing them. But of course, there’s no one who deals knotty alder up here in Prescott, AZ, so I had to go see one of my old suppliers in Phoenix, Spellman Hardwoods. They had it all: lumber & various 4×8 sheet goods I needed. They even planed the lumber to 3/4 (for a fee), while I waited.
I had to make 2 cabinets, 2 doors, a few pieces of trim, and I replaced 2 door panels with glass.
Island cabinets, finished 1
Island cabinets, finished 2
Kitchen island, before and after
Glass installed in cabinet doors
by Steve Shearer | Jan 11, 2020 | Cabinets, Furniture & Décor
Farmhouse Paneling for Island Kitchen
This is for a ranchette in Dewey AZ. She has horses, chickens, and three prized papillon pooches.
Staircase for Karen with 45 Degree Slope
This is a bit more slope than usual, or what could be permitted. But we didn’t have any inspectors look at it.
Rustic Reclaimed Wood Outdoor Flower Boxes, and Picture Frames
I got lucky and found some FREE weathered fence boards. So I made some stuff – a planter box and some picture frames. I also made a rustic reclaimed wood sliding door TV cabinet with some of this. And I have more to use for my living room tables (coming soon).
by Steve Shearer | Jan 10, 2020 | Cabinets, Nelson Shaker Cabinets
I planned out the kitchen, and Thomas ordered the cabinets from Nelson Cabinetry.
You might have seen their ads on Craigslist. Their website is nelsonkb.com.
White Shaker Style Cabinets, RTA (ready to assemble).
- All Wood Construction
- Plywood box
- Maple Frame and Drawers
- Maple Wood Doors
- Soft Close Doors and Drawers
- High Quality Hardware Made by DTC
- Premium Full Extension Drawers
- Dovetail Drawer Construction
- Stained/Finished Sides
- Base and Wall Cabinets come with Shelves
Thomas Manning’s kitchen before 2
Thomas Manning’s kitchen before 1
Thomas Manning’s kitchen: new cabinets 1
Thomas Manning’s kitchen: new cabinets 2
Thomas Manning’s kitchen: new cabinets 3
by Steve Shearer | Dec 20, 2019 | Carpentry
Debbie runs an equestrian ranch, 20 miles north of Prescott, AZ. The 1st project was a 15 ft. x 18 ft. double door storage shed made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic with metal bracing. The second, a prefab cat enclosure.
by Steve Shearer | Oct 15, 2019 | Cabinets, Custom Cabinets
We used quarter-sawn red oak, finished with Varathane Traditional Cherry gel stain and 4 coats of lacquer, to achieve an “antique look.”
When I retired from 50 years of carpentry (mostly doing cabinets), Glenda (wife of 15 years) and I decided that I needed a project. And conversely, our kitchen was in need of a total makeover. We started the remodel in mid April of 2018, and finished just before Christmas.
The RTA (ready to assemble) cabinet panels came from Cab Parts, the doors and trim from Hiland Wood Products.
by Steve Shearer | Jul 19, 2019 | Cabinets
I worked for Dana Hayes at Kitchens Southwest in Scottsdale from 2000 to 2004. My work was mainly repair & clean-up, but I installed most of their displays, as you see here.
