12' built in book shelf

[Jerry Nettrour]

I am so glad to be done with this unit. I did it for a customer, she requested white and I had a lot to learn with this project. The construction of this went smooth. I attempted to roll this unit with latex white from HD. Rolling the unit was not the answer, so I introduce myself to HVLP. Sprayed out quick and easy. Next issue was the finish never would dry and cure completely. Always felt tacky. The customer requested we re paint. This time we used oil based by Benjamin Williams. The unit was already installed at customers house. We sprayed 3 coats of oil primer and then 3 coats of regular oil based paint. I brought the shelves back home and finished them in my garage shop. The shelves took up all of my room in the shop and therefore I was unable to do any other project for about 9 days. In any case, it is done now and we are very happy with the results. All the shelves are adjustable. There are adjustable shelves inside the cabinet doors. The middle section is 8' tall, the outer sections are 7 1/2' tall. I cut the cove molding on my table saw using rockler's cove molding table saw jig. Made this process fairly easy and straight forward. The customer lives about 30 minutes from our home and gas about killed us because of having to go back to spray all subsequent coats. It is all MDF and very heavy. The unit is built solid and has a nice hard enamal oil finish.

Could someone who does woodworking professionally tell me a ball park figure of what something like this should cost counting delivery and installation. I charged the customer around 1700.00 delivered and installed. I believe the customer got a really good deal but since I am fairly new at taking on customers and pricing I am not sure.

Thanks for looking everyone.

Jerry

[Narayan Nayar]

The customer definitely got a good deal.

My neighbor recently had two built-ins custom made and installed. Not MDF, but poplar (probably some MDF parts), and based on just the photos you've attached, of similar quality, though it's hard to say for sure.

He probably had a total of 20' done over the two units, and that includes a built-in seating area in one of them, but he paid over $40K.

Of course, that's in Silicon Valley, where everything is ridiculously overpriced anyway and people seem to operate on a different plane of financial existence. (let me add that I think he paid way too much--that is in no way the "going rate" even around here) You'll really have to compare locally to see if you did well, but I'll just say--I won't show my neighbor this post :)

But the units look great, you learned a lot, and you've got experience for the next time.

[steve reeves]

Even making them out of MDF, I would have charged about twice what you did.

These are the type of experiences that are invaluable though as you'll soon learn the value of your time.

And ALWAYS plan for something like what happened to you... with almost every project, something goes awry. Sometimes it's minor and sometimes it's like what happened to you. If you had been doing this job for a "living" you'd have lost your tail just on the repeated trips to the customers home... never mind the gas (bad as that is) but the time spent "fixing it" would have meant some serious lost income had you had other jobs pending.

The paint thing is weird..... latex usually dries faster than you want it too on a job that size... was it really humid in your shop? Maybe the MDF had absorbed some moisture from somewhere???

In any event whenever I have a job that will be painted (rare) I always spray a couple coats of shellac sealer on it first.... stops anything that's in the wood from coming back to bite you.

[Jerry Nettrour]

Thanks for the encouraging comments. I really enjoyed reading them. I just have to say 'wow' about that neighbor and his 40K unit, that is 2000 per foot. And I thought $200 per foot was a lot of money whenever looking at cabinets at lowes or HD. I do learn a lot just from reading post here. Most of what I have learned has been from fine woodworking and now I am learning a bunch from all you guys. Thanks again for the comments.

Jerry

[Dewey Torres]

Jerry,
Did you fair ok on profit (all things considered)?

A good quality primer is critical w/ painted MDF. I have even seen drywall compound used as one of the primer coats for the ends. I might be preaching to the quire to you on this issue though.

I like the way it turned out. The details really make it look rich.

[Craig D Peltier]

It looks nice after all that work. I usually want to lean towards charging more for paint grade.Its very difficult to handle. Especially if your installing after it has been painted. Just transport is tough. I'd love to be able to shy away from paint grade. Right now im doing 10 pieces, all paint. Yuk.
Anyways I would of charged 4500-5500 pending specifics, i.e. time frame, steps, ease of install, distance, size.

[Jim Becker]

Oooh, very nice work!

[Steve Clardy]

Very nice work

[John Thompson]

Nice work, Jerry. Fortunately for me that all that inside the house got done years ago. The really good news is she's satified and hopefully won't have to do it again. :)

Sarge..

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Looks very nice--congrats on a job well done!

[Charles Wilson]

Very nice work.

As for the HVLP, what was the set up you decided on. I have been contemplating an Earlex but have a small compressor and have also been thinking about just getting a nice spray gun.

As for the paint, Benjamin Williams? :rolleyes: Which one Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams? I recently started to use ICI's Dulux Diamond and really like it (on walls).

Chuck

[Jerry Nettrour]

Thanks for all the comments. To answer some questions. Profitable, kinda, maybe some. I only paid $22 per sheet MDF, there was total of 13 sheets, lots of glue and screws/pocket screws. I cut all of my own trim. I purchase european style hinges in bulk from D lawless webpage for about .90. Shelf supports were $5 for bag of 100. But count in numerous trips and all of my time in labor with re doing the paint job, I would hate to see what my hourly breakdown was, probably $5 per hour. I made some money but not much. The paint/finish was spendy. I will say that the Benjamin Williams product impressed me a lot. A friend who is a painter told me Benjamin Williams is the best product he has ever used. My father n Law will only use Sherwin paints.

As for the HVLP. I intend on buying the Earlex. The wood whisperer did a neat clip on the new Earlex model and looks to be everything I could ever need or ask for and for a great price. But in a pinch and new to the whole deal I just ran down to HD and bought a husky 1 qt gun to run with my craftsman aircompressor. That thing is just obnoxious though. Way to loud.

Have a fun and safe woodworking experience.

Jerry

[Steve Rayboy]

Jerry,

Very nice work, but a very low price...at least it would be here in Brooklyn. I am currently working on a built-in bookcase/wall unit for a client.

Birch ply with MDF backs;
paint grade, but I'm not responsible for the painting;
10' wide (4 pieces 30" each) x 102" high...floor to ceiling;
no doors;
no adjustable shelving;
face frame, but no crown molding
I will caulk it in on all sides

built, installed, and paint ready...$5600

It was probably good experience for you. With experience, you will get better at building and pricing your labor.

Hopefully, you'll get some referrals from your client. Ask them not to disclose the price.

steve