Bookcase job finally finished.

[keith micinski]

I got this job and after a lot of headaches with the design and weeks of delays from myself and the finisher I finally got them in and installed. I took this job right as I bought a house to flip and decided that I wanted to concentrate my efforts fully on this project since it was a big job and an important client. I made the desicion to do the house and then focus on the bookcases. The client was ok with that since they had no real time frame for this project. Unfortunately the house flip took me about a month longer then I thought because I took on more then I could handle job wise, apparently. I did a lot of computer design with sketch up and after finally getting started the bookcases turned out just like the drawings with no surprises which is a really nice benefit of using sketch up. I hate finishing and this would have been by far the biggest finishing project I have ever taken on so I looked into seeing if I could farm the finishing out. I found someone that has been running his own refinishing business for 30 years and after speaking with him and multiple other people he was the only one I felt comfortable with taking a chance on. Unfortunately that turned out to not be the best decision. The job was originally supposed to be 2 weeks and 900 dollars. It ended up being 1300 and taking 5 weeks. Needless to say I wasn't happy with this but part of the delay was because I was behind schedule so I had to live with it. As long as I got the professional finish that I paid for I was still going to be ok. Unfortunately I didn't get that. I got a passable finish that was no better then I could have done and maybe even a little worse and I'll be the first to admit I am not a professional finisher by any stretch of the imagination.He sprayed the toner very poorly and all of the corners and recessed areas got a very poor finish. The last photo is of the backside looking in from the backside.
Unfortunately he also finished half of the beadboard pieces incorrectly because somehow he wasn't able to tell the that one side was a bead and the other side was a v groove. This lead to more delays in installation since I couldn't really install anything until I got all of the backs on. luckily there was only one snafu on the installation after I got the back pieces fixed and installed. As I was walking up the stairs to get the client I looked over and noticed that on two of the steps you could see the tops of the bookcases that did not have a finished look to them. I never thought of that even with all of the planning I tried to do. I got the home owner and we decided that two 1/4 inch plywood pieces covering the top and stained to match would give the top a finished look. I rushed home and cut the pieces and luckily I had enough stain from the finisher that I was able to do it myself. I rushed back and put the tops on they did fix the top issue and looked much better. Sadly I got ahead of myself because I just wanted to get the job done. I looked up and noticed a small mark on the top of the face frame. Upon further inspection I noticed that one of screws holding the new tops on had almost POKED OUT OF THE FACE FRAME!! It was a fitting end to a trying project. Luckily I was able to back the screw out and fix the area with no real problems but boy did I have egg on my face as the client was standing right there. I learned a lot of small lessons I should have already known from this project but at the end of the day while I would not consider the job a smashing success I am happy with the end result. I knocked 10 percent off of the price in the hopes the client wasn't totally disappointed in me but I am not so sure I succeeded in that. I am hoping that once she gets all of her art books in there I can get some better pictures to it has more of a finished look.

[Harold Burrell]

Wow...that is quite the ediface!

I am preparing to FINALLY put in a large bookcase too (not THAT large, mind you) so I appreciate the thread. In fact, your post makes my project seem less daunting. :D

[Sam Murdoch]

Mam oh man I have sweated through jobs like this too. I can surely relate. Even with 100s of successful projects behind me I still approach an install with trepidation. And for what it's worth I have never had a completely satisfactory finish job done by someone else. No one cares as much as the builder. The thing is that a good finish often takes just as long as the woodworking. You saved it though. Looks good and your client will get more than a lifetime of service from them.

And - I laughed a bit and cringed a bit when I read your screw tale. I made this mistake too many times and so I now keep my basic shop and install screws sorted like this: 3/4" are phillips drive and black, 1" are square drive and silver, 1-1/4" are phillips and black, 1-1/2" are square drive and silver etc. up to 2". You need to be sleeping to drive the wrong screw even if you accidentally have thrown a few in the wrong pouch or bin. Of course I use lots of GRKs in mostly gold and with my favorite tip profile - the torque drive. I still need to pay attention there. :)

[keith micinski]

Ya the screw thing was really just me getting in a hurry and not paying attention to what I was doing because I just wanted to get that damn job over with.

[keith micinski]

Here are a few photos with the books in them. I tried to talk them into letting make the middle two cases 6 inches deeper to give the wall more depth and After the project is done I really really wish they would have let me do that because I think it would have really helped the project. I still might try and talk them into letting me take everything apart and move the middle two out 6 inches and then redo the moulding. The problem is they aren't going to pay for it so I would have to do it out of my own pocket.

[Phil Thien]

The problem is they aren't going to pay for it so I would have to do it out of my own pocket.

It is fine, leave it alone. You risk screwing something up if you start taking things apart again.

Next time don't start pointing out problems to the client. Issues like the toner coverage in corners are not atypical, they are part and parcel of spraying a finish. We've all seen lots of factory-produced product with the same effect. Could it be better? Yes. Could it have been worse? You bet it could.

I think you new year's resolution will need to be remembering that you're your own worst critic.

It looks great and your client should be very satisfied.

[keith micinski]

I don't disagree with anything you say and yet I still feel like if I don't make every attempt to make things the best they can be I am letting myself down. I didn't point out the toner coverage by the way because that was going to be a nightmare to try and fix and they didn't say anything so I was kind of happy about that.

[Mel Fulks]

You deserve credit for following through on a troublesome job.....I have a couple of suggestions. On book cases I always suggest a thin cloth covered back to be fitted over the real back,something like a bright red or yellow moire,you can easily find pics of British Isle libraries with that feature . It stops that black hole look.The color is too dark to be on that much area. I would not use a finisher who uses toners; I would only hire a finisher using dye stains. I'm sure the customer picked the color ,most of them take the samples out doors and look at them horizontally. I insist they look at the samples indoors , preferably holding them vertically.

[keith micinski]

I wasn't to concerned about the backs on these since I knew from the beginning they were going to be chock full of books. In hind sight I regret suggesting the beadboard back as you cant see very much of it with them being packed full of books and it was a big part of the problems. As far as the color they actually wanted to maybe go one darker but luckily I talked them out of it. I dont know why but most people think the darker a wood the "Richer" it looks. I dont mind walnut but I hate dark stained wood. Unfortunately I didn't have a choice in this matter.

[Mel Fulks]

You were wise to warn them about the color. I have yet to see the finished color that the client says is too light ,but used to hearing "it's darker than I thought it would be". Hope we all see more money in this new year!

[Jim Riseborough]

I think for 900-1300$ it looks great...I cant think how I could build that for that much. Can I ask what the material costs were?

[Mike Heidrick]

Soo awesome for that price. Great job.

[Brian Tymchak]

... In hind sight I regret suggesting the beadboard back as you cant see very much of it with them being packed full of books and it was a big part of the problems...

Personally, I think the beadboard adds a lot of character even with the books in place. It appears to be a more high-end piece of furniture to me. IMHO, a dark solid back could help highlight any inconsistencies in the finish or heavy grain pattern, whereas the beadboard breaking the surface up de-emphasizes that .

[keith micinski]

I think I mis communicated the price. The price for the finisher alone went form 900 to 1300. I had about 900 in materials and then another 4-500 in other costs.