Get matched with top kitchen cabinet refacing pros in Phillips, ME

"Hello, My name is Phil Carr-Jones, I am reviewing my experience of working with and building my own kitchen, using cabinets and doors from Arkansas Wood Door. While I am an Episcopal Priest, it turns out I get to do a lot of things they don't teach you in seminary. Over the years, I have had to get fairly skilled in all the trades, including, no surprise, carpentry. But I am by no means an expert. For instance, I employed a retired carpenter to help out with the crown molding and other trim. Apart from that though, this is all my and my wife's work. So let me state up front, Arkansas Wood Doors is the go to place for the DIY’er who is thinking of remodeling their own kitchen. Here's why: I searched the web for months, literally doing comparisons and research on flat pack rta cabinets. I went to the big box store for a design and pricing in their three lines of cabinets, and I went in for a consult with a small custom shop in my area. Here's what I found. 99 outof 100 rta cabinet companies have their product made in china which means the standards for formaldehyde are going to be as fishy as they smell, plus you can only get cabinets in fixed sizes so if you looking to eeck out every last inch of space you're going to lose a lot and you'll be using a lot of filler strips wasting what could have been useful storage. If you want to go custom, then you only have less than a handful of online options, companies that will make to order in any dimension. For instance, I only wanted an 8 inches deep spice cabinet to allow for greater working room over the counter. My wife and I are pretty serious about cooking from pastries to mains and sides. We want a very serious kitchen. Plus, I'll tall so I needed the room. In any case, if you want something custom your choices online are limited. The big box stores don't really do custom and are just as limited in their options as are the online rta places. Most online rtas offer far cheaply made boxes with construction methods less sturdy. I have found that if I buy cheap, I shouldnt expect my kitchen to hold up past a few years. The finish will fade. The drawers will warp. The joints will open up. The big box stores basically offer the same thing, too. When I go to a big box store to buy something, I do it knowing I probably willl get a year out of it, whether that’s a lawn chair of a power tool. I mean when was the last time you regretting spending too much money on a better grade of power tool? So if you want quality, a better and safer grade building material and much wider choices in sizing then your basically down to three or four options. I went with Arkansas Wood Door and am completely pleased and impressed by the experience. Now I could have spent twice what I did and gone to a small custom shop and gotten the same thing, but I am in to saving money and frankly I enjoy the challenge. AWD worked with me directly. Working up the order and getting the plan for each box just right. If you have never designed and built a kitchen before, there are plenty of tips and guidance on the web and I recommend you heartily research all of the aspects and complications involved. I hit a couple of unexpected bumps. But more about that below. So do your research. For instance you can save a lot of money by building the plinths yourself and only order squared off boxes without the toe kick. By making the platform on which you place the lower cabinets first, you can get that plumb and level, so throwing up the boxes is a breeze. And again, the cabinets are also less expense, a complete all around win. AWD uses an easy system for matching up box parts so assembly was easy. No special tools required. Given the many parts and I used a mix of frameless and face framed cabinets, there was a moment or two when in amongst all the materials I got nervous about having everything I needed, but low and behold, all was right there in the end. I also recommend the concept from French cooking "mis en place" that is have all your ingredients in place and all your tools where you need them before starting out. Also, it was a lot easier to work with my wife than doing it alone, but I did a few by myself and so if that is your only option than you should have no problem. I've assembled a lot of cheaper Swedish flat packed furniture in my day, and the quality and sturdiness of AWD leaves no doubt about how long these will last. Just rock solid. Great thing about AWD is the cost to quality ratio. Cant beat it. Which also means if you make a mistake the replacement is so reasonable it becomes not big deal. I mis-measured one box and so I needed to order the right size. Worked out fine, but that was because AWD had an incredibly fast turn around. The other few reliable companies are several weeks to months. And these other places are crazy expensive. And in truth, the other companies are a complete rip off on trim and accessories. AWD pricing was so amenable that my mistakes cost me so little in comparison with what I was saving. So there's a built in confidence for the first timer. Also AWD made one mistake on the placement of a hinge in two doors. They immediately and without question remade them and sent them out in under ten days. You just can't get that service anywhere in the custom cabinet world. It was so affordable I upgraded on one side to black walnut. Trying doing that at the other quality shops. The quality of the roll out drawers and top drawer boxes is superb and the hinges and under-mount sliders are top grade excellent. The hardware was the easiest part frankly. Their system, for lining up the hardware is just so easy. Drill driver is all you need as the placement is already leveled for you. SO: high end quality custom built cabinets, superior custom support, fastest turnaround in the marketplace, most affordable pricing out there, excellent hardware, and oh yeah, I almost forget, color choices. They offer complete line of lacquer - just pick a SW color and they'll match it. SO completely and truly custom for a fraction of cost without sacrificing any quality. The Rev. Philip Carr-Jones"

"Excellent!!!! Eric did a beautiful job refinishing a double drain board kitchen sink. There was a lot of rusted areas and chips. Came out gorgeous."

"We contacted Richard regarding the job, and had a quote back within the week - good quote.  He quickly responded to any questions  we had, and scheduled the work.  They completed the demo in one day, a few days before the cabinets showed up - if I had to do this again, I would hold off on the demolition until the cabinets were in, as it is difficult to live without a kitchen, especially with children.  It took approximately two weeks for the kitchen to be completed, with slight delays due to a damaged cabinet, time for the new countertops to set, appliance delivery, etc.  One hitch developed when the dishwasher was hooked up incorrectly, and water ran into my basement - I called Richard, and once I got through the answering service, he contacted the plumber, and we resolved the problem immediately over the phone, and the plumber was at my house at 8 the next morning ( a Saturday of a holiday weekend) to permanently fix the problem.  At the end of the two weeks, we had a great new kitchen, well installed, and we were thrilled!"

"Gui was a delight to work with. He knows his business and provided me with an onsite quote to speed the start of work. I was really grateful to Gui and his team for double checking design elements with me, making corrections when needed, and for staying late to do thorough cleanup. Looking forward to having Gui and his team complete more work for us in the near future."

"Ron from Home Depot was very knowledgeable and professional. He gave me some great tips for future references. He called to confirm he could come out sooner than appt. time . He had thorough answers to all of my questions and the cost was fair. I would highly recommend."

"Tanner Homes installed our new kitchen cabinets and reinstalled some existing cabinets along with crown molding for all the upper cabinets. They took the necessary steps to tie them altogether seamlessly in perfect alignment. They also removed two small windows and installed three large windows facing the water that changed the entire feel of our lakehouse. Their window work also included trim and siding replacement . A SUPERB job!"

"Very professional and efficient. The finished floor looks great and it came in under budget."

Rockland Wood Fronts has served Maine for years with pride and integrity.\n\nSpecialized in high quality cabinet refacing, the experts with Rockland Wood Fronts have the knowledge and experience to truly exceed expectations.\n\nCall today for a free estimate!\n

"They did an amazing job on time very professional I highly recommend them"

"Casey Merry was great to work with. His attention to detail and making sure that everything was just right was wonderful. He was quick and efficient and I would definitively hire him again."