custom bookcases

[iradi8]

I am trying to decide whether to have custom bookcases built or just try to find some free-standing ones. I got a quote from a local cabinet maker for a painted 10' x 10' unit that is 12" deep on the top part where there is open shelving and about 16" deep on the bottom where there will be cabinet doors. The quote is approx. $6000 and I was surprised at the high cost. I live in Louisiana -- anyone have opinions on this price???

Also, any suggestions where I might find some really nice bookcases (open on top with cabinets on bottom -- very tall preferably) either online or b&m??

Thanks for your help!

[Joseph Meehan]

Price depends on quality. So if the quality is high $6,000 is cheap. If the quality is "builder special," then it is high.

I built my own and they are just want I wanted. Not too hard. but if you have to ask how, I suggest not doing it yourself.

[iradi8]

My dh is pretty handy and often tackles tough projects. I'm not sure if he would want to do this due to the amount of time it would take him. He probably has all of the tools needed so that's not an issue. How long did it take you to build yours and what size did you build? How's about a picture?!

Sloan

[berkshire bill]

Google and Yahoo searches turned up some really nice looking Traditional Bookcases with most of them starting around your local price. There's a couple I could easily fit into my Craftsman Cottage style house.

Bill

[Joseph Meehan]

I'll try to put a photo up tomorrow. It took me a couple of days and a couple more to finish it. It was about eight foot tall (9 foot ceiling.) It was about 10 foot long. Construction is easy. I would guess I sent a couple of hundred on it including trim and finishing.

[ameijers]

6 grand seems pretty steep for bookcases. Now, if they were hardwood with a nice grain and finish, I could maybe see that kind of price. Before I even thought about laying out that kind of money, I'd at least play the graph paper game and price out the wood to do it myself. If you want painted, the wood doesn't have to be that pretty, just straight and no open knots. Most of the box could even be made from plywood.

If your DH has a decent table saw or radial arm, and knows how to use a tape measure and a square, shelves like this are one of the easiest thing for a DIY to build. At worst case, they will look ugly. The house won't fall down, and as long as they are tied to wall, they won't fall and kill anyone. Bookstore or big-box will have lots of books with pictures showing how to proceed, and big-box will have all the hardware needed to make the shelves adjustable, if you want. Just when you start cutting, remember no room is square, so you will either end up cutting each board to fit, or making a nice square box and scribing some sort of moulding along the wall to disguise the crookedness.

[effi]

if you can go with something not as tall, get 3 of either of these and placing them side by side will give you shelving/cabinets below of about 6' tall by 9' wide

$249 each

$239 each add in delivery charges from office depot (or wherever you buy o'sullivan furniture - it's available all over), and assembly charges (if you don't want to or can't assemble them - actually pretty easy to assemble with a screwdriver) paint the units if you want painted finish, and save the other $5,000 or so

[Mac Cool]

iradi8:

Custom anything is expensive, but mostly you are seeing the difference between the cost of real cabinetry and the stuff made by slave labor dumped here by China.

I would have to see examples of the cabinetmaker's work to tell if it's expensive or not.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That price is very possible for a good custom setup, but could be high for fairly simple stuff. .Depends on the specs and material used. Ask over on rec.woodworking for some places to go or people to contact.

[iradi8]

Thanks, will do that.

Sloan

[iradi8]

Yeah, makes sense. He is well known in the community and stays very busy. His work is always good quality.

Sloan

[iradi8]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am hoping to get real wood and something a bit sturdier.

Sloan

[iradi8]

Thanks. I forwarded your post to my dh.

Sloan

[iradi8]

Thanks, Joseph!

Sloan

[William Brown]

Ikea has a lot of this type of thing for far less than $6K, and you can take them with you when you move.

I d> I am trying to decide whether to have custom bookcases built or just try to

[Charlie Bress]

I haven't read all the answers to your query, but let me tell you about my similar situation. When we bought our first house, we wanted to add kitchen cabinets. They had to match what the builder had installed. When we got a price quote from the local cabinet maker we were floored at the cost.

What I did was decide to build them myself. I bought a radial arm saw, although a table saw would have also been a good choice. You can buy the right kind of material for your project and build what you want without having to compromise with what is available.

When I got done, the cost including the tools needed were less than the price quote and now I still have that saw and the other tools even though it is four houses later.

Charlie

[John Willis]

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 10:49:19 -0500, William Brown scribbled this interesting note:

Ikea does not have what the local, high quality craftsman can make. They have nothing even close.

Personal preference?

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

[John Willis]

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 15:26:28 -0600, "iradi8" scribbled this interesting note:

In my experience, doing a high quality paint job (semi-gloss, oil based) on wood is more time consuming and tedious than a stain and varnish (satin or low sheen, which is my preference) job of equal quality. This may account for some of the high cost.

A very high quality set of book shelves, like you describe, built by a custom, high end cabinet maker, isn't disposable furniture like you find at Wal-Mart, Sams, Office Depot, Staples, Ikea, or most any home furnishing store. If you hire this fellow to build your shelves you then have heirloom quality furniture that will last several lifetimes. If you look at the cost per day of ownership across all those lifetimes, that $6,000.00 piece of furniture was actually cheaper to own than that disposable stuff you see every day.

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

[Mac Cool]

Charlie Bress:

I think if you really think about it you'll realize that you didn't build them to save money, but because deep down you wanted to and had the aptitude.

[Mac Cool]

ameijers:

I think you are underestimating the project. I suspect the cabinetmaker was quoting something along the lines of this:

painted instead of varnished.

The units would be built of cabinet grade plywood and trimmed in solid wood. This is not a project for the casual DIY, although it is perfectly reasonable for someone to do it themselves.