Throwback Thursday - Lunada Bay Barbershop

I went to Torrance High School with this guy named John Rios.  The story I heard was that John got injured while working for Fedex and was able to collect some money for hurting his back.  John used that money to buy a barbershop. John and I have a handful of mutual friends. We were never super close, but he's someone I can drive across the country with and we would probably never run out of things to talk about.  My visits with John are always cut too short. I should give him a call soon to say hello.

In 2004, John contacted us to build him some cabinets. So for three hours, I sat there and watched him cut hair.  I asked him hundreds of questions and he had hundreds of complaints.... "the health department needs all the clippers to be covered, so there's a hole on the side of the cabinet to put all of our clippers in.  The problem is that all the cords will get tangled up and if I pull one clipper out, another clipper will fall out onto the floor.  It's expensive to replace a damaged blade, but it happens all time!"

(click on the pictures to enlarge to full size)

We met all of his requests and had we fun with the project.  I think he was happy with the results. 

We worked into the wee hours on installation day so the shop can be open for business the next morning.  This picture was taken by John at 4am. 

(That's me on the left and Larry on the right)

And for good measure - 

Oh no! Little Laundry Room Project

It's 7am in Marina Del Rey.  Time for demolition before we install some new cabinets. 

Oh NO! MOLD! 

(after two extensive tests from a water damage insurance claim)

Oh NO! Rohl Shaw's Original Farmhouse Sink!

Time to start building a structure to support the heavy fire-clay sink!

(Weight = 132 lbs. Price = $1,200)

OH NO! The sink corners are round and we have a European frame-less cabinet!

(A farmhouse apron sink like Rohl Shaw is most ideal for face-frame cabinets. We had to create our own solution to house this sink in combination with a frame-less cabinet.  Creating a false-front apron surrounding this sink took almost 3 hours.  We had to make two cardboard templates and slowly sculpt our panel to the uneven shape of the fire-clay sink)

After 10 hours of straight installation, Juan and I were able to complete the installation of these two base cabinets.  I underestimated everything involved with the Rohl Shaw sink. We were supposed to install cabinets across the top (wall to wall) today as well but due to the mold discovery, we will resume installation after the mold is removed. 

My kitchen design meeting with a veterinarian and engineer

My day started with a very pleasant 4 hour consultation session with Dylan and Christine.  They initially wanted a reface, but now they are going with a full remodel that they seem extremely excited about. We worked as a team today. We created drawings, spreadsheets, and researched multiple options. Everyone kicked-ass and we got it all done! I can not emphasize more that this is the most important step of any remodel!  This is where all the thinking needs to take place.  This is where all the drama is removed from the project. This is THE most overlooked step and the number one reason why projects turn into nightmares. Here's a picture of Dylan and their old kitchen that they are happy to get rid of.

I provided them with a drawing just so they can get accurate countertop bids. This "countertop drawing" will keep all the bids they receive "honest." 

Otherwise, they would be getting a bunch of "ballpark estimates" and missed expectations.  Do not get bids without a drawing!  Do not schedule a contractor to come to your house if you do not have a drawing of what you are looking to do.  If you are thinking to yourself ,"well I do not know what I am doing and I don't know anything about this stuff," then focus on finding someone that can help you plan, design, draw, create a budget, and a critical path.  You want to work with someone that recognizes that all the real thinking of a project must be done before the project even starts.  

Dylan and Christine's remodel is going to take place in July which gives everyone and everything plenty of time to be on-time, no excuses. That's about the best anyone can do to minimize any unwanted surprises. 

Meanwhile, Juan and Larry are in Eagle Rock at a project we refer to as "Wawro."

We built and installed this kitchen back in 2005 (8 years ago!).  Here is a picture of the kitchen taken in 2005 right after it was completed-

What I found interesting about this house was that the owners hired/flew-in a designer from Seattle to design their house.  They discovered the designer through HGTV's show "Designer's Challenge."

This picture was taken by Juan today-

They hired us back to build/install this bathroom vanity-

Returning customers are always a good sign!

Daily Blog, so it begins...

Around midnight...
Kerri: Where are you going?
Me: I'm going to blog
Kerri: Your blogs are too long, come to bed! Why do you have to blog tonight?
Me: I want to start blogging everyday, at least every "work-day"
Kerri: That's too much to do everyday, your blogs are too long!

Today we made our second attempt to deliver the "black cabinet." This is the before -

and this is the after -

A Manhattan Beach couple needed a cabinet to fit a corner of their master bedroom, but couldn't find the perfect size cabinet and for the right price. They already had this cabinet that was part of their daughter's baby crib furniture set which fit perfectly in the corner, but didn't match the rest of the black furniture in the bedroom. Unfortunately, we had to spray lacquer and deliver this cabinet twice.  On our first delivery attempt, the cabinet had white over-spray from a different project which we thought can be easily wiped off after the accident happened. Juan and I desperately wiped and wiped at a Panda Express parking lot on PCH, but the spots wouldn't come off.  I had no choice but to abort the delivery, make that dreadful call to the owners to confess what had happened and why I had to cancel at such last minute.  This was last Wednesday.  I was so upset and embarrassed that I drove out of that parking lot like a pigeon from hell, then abruptly turned right into Round Table's "all you can eat lunch buffet" and buried my sorrows with one pizza slice after another. I fled right before the crowds of retired seniors started fighting over the slices with jalapenos. They did not care if the jalapenos were paired with pineapple or sausage. They just wanted their jalapenos.  I don't blame them. I sought after the same slices myself.

By Friday morning, the cabinet is beautiful again (thanks to the finishers, Nelson and Rudy, for a quick turn-around). We couldn't afford another over-spray incident because the white project was still in progress so Juan picked up the cabinet first thing in the morning (thank you Juan!), but now the owners couldn't receive it that day. We had no choice but to store the cabinet in the foyer of our condo over the weekend. Kerri was not happy with the smell of fresh spray lacquer, but I think she was even more worried about Cameron (18 months) being around it. These are the sacrifices a cabinet maker's family makes.

So today, Monday, we said our farewells to the "black cabinet" and delivered her safely. She was returned to her corner to serve her storage duties.  She is no longer part of a baby's crib set, but instead all grown up and now part of the master bedroom set.

The rest of the day, Juan and I scrambled up and down the 405 fwy to get our next job going- getting samples approved/picking up materials, etc. I had to call on Larry too to get materials out his way which worked out perfectly.

This is the nice view from our new client's office (Olympic Blvd/405 fwy 10th floor)-

The new client's name is Gary. He's done some woodworking too.  He recently restored an old boat just to show his kids that he can do more than just sit behind a desk with a nice view and run his own business. Naturally, game recognizes game, so he gave us a deposit!