FAQ

Q: What services do you offer?

    Architectural design, plans, and permits

  • Residential – renovations, additions, and alterations; C of O plan set
  • Commercial – tenant build-outs; restaurants, offices, small businesses
    Built-in cabinets, Design through Installation.  I make all components in-house.

  • Residential – kitchen, bath, office, library, benches,shelves,banquettes, Murphy beds, custom closets, bars, islands, knee walls, creative storage solutions, radiator covers, and innovative gadgets that have no proper name
  • Commercial – reception desk, hostess stand, waiting area, any cabinetry+, laminates
    Custom furniture – open to discussion – classic, modern, hardwood, bent laminates etc.
    Historical repair and enhancement

  • Trim replicating, Custom doors and windows + installation, Porch enclosure, Chair rail & wainscoting
    Art framing

  • Custom lightweight stretchers guaranteed to fit existing canvases
  • Floater frames
  • Display collaboration and building
  • Installation art consulting/engineering

Q: How much do you charge?

This question is impossible to answer accurately.  Since I don’t use standard sizes or designs, price may be affected by myriad factors.  The following is my best attempt.

Cabinets:

  • (base cabs only) as low as $300/linear foot
  • (floor to ceiling built-in) could be as high as $1500/lf or more
  • Open shelves in an alcove may cost $150/lf

Architectural design + plan set: all commissions are charged by flat rate.

  • Most of my (small) projects are within the range of $1-2k
  • A small project may be limited to a specific area, interior only, no major structural work.  And example may be: kitchen renovation + enclose adjacent porch and convert to breakfast nook…finished basement in a bungalow…existing conditions plans for certificate of occupancy…office build-out in a first-floor commercial space…deck with roll-up garage door…site grading with concrete retaining walls, slab, and stairs.
  • Mid-sized projects, which are completed through a partnership with a licensed architect, range from $1500 to $6000
  • Finished attic with shed roof or pop-up dormers; Addition; basement underpinning; whole house renovation; 3-story rear porch; rear yard oasis w/ Jacuzzi, benches, pavers, lighting, and planters.

Permit expediting: The following pertain to projects in DC and Arlington.

  • Walk-through $300 + government fees
  • File job $450 + $50/hr beyond 10hrs
  • Public space $400
  • Board of Zoning Administration (BZA) varies

Historical work/carpentry $50/hr

Furniture – varies per job.

Artist collaboration

  • I charge about $175 per large (4’x6’) stretcher, any thickness, with hanger.  I will bring a power-shot to help you stretch your canvas.
  • Other jobs will vary by the project.  I appreciate the chance to work with artists and price accordingly.

Q: Where do you work?

The shop/office in Northeast DC.  Most of my clients are in DC and Arlington, but I can readily travel anywhere inside of the beltway.  My ability to travel farther is based on the size of the job.

Q: What are you doing to limit your impact on the environment?

I avoid using solvent based finishes.  I use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sheet materials.  I save scraps and reuse them for other projects.  I avoid using high-formaldehyde plywoods.  I control dust at the shop and at the jobsite with custom baffles and vacuums.  I focus on creating structures which get their strength from the configuration of parts, not just mass of materials.  These techniques are applied to my tools which take a great deal of abuse, my home, and my hobby – cardboard furniture – and posted on craft sites to hopefully inspire other reuse-minded individuals.

Q: How did you get started in woodworking?

I was just a curious kid and my father, an electrical engineer, happened to be on the tail end of his own woodworking phase.  He answered all of my questions, and shared a great many “tricks of the trade” which taught me to solve problems.  I would constantly bother him with questions about his antique tools, about electronics and mechanics, and follow his answers up with the question Why?  When I quit my day job and began doing design-build full time, he gave me all of his antique chisels and planes.  Having access to such fine antique tools, which I use almost every day, gave me a pretty strong sense of being part of a long tradition, a huge respect for “old” technology, and an appreciation for the capabilities of a steel blade in skilled hands. This mix of emotions and knowledge gave me the patience to learn many grueling tasks of woodworking.  There is something about the craft that is so real, so tangible, in a primarily digital world, it continues to feed my spirit through the rough days.