Blog
Researched pieces on materials, costs and running a shop. Every figure carries a source with the day it was read, and a post says when its numbers were last checked.
2026-09-19 · 7 min read
Aftercare is where the next job comes from
Referrals and repeat work are the largest published lead sources in remodelling, and the smallest shops are the least equipped to farm them.
2026-09-19 · 9 min read
Cabinet hardware in 2026: slides, hinges and what happens at year five
Published prices, what the cycle numbers and warranties actually say, what soft close and full extension buy, and what is not published at all.
2026-09-19 · 8 min read
What cabinet materials cost in 2026, and why they moved
Published index numbers, real shelf prices and the dated measures behind the 2026 moves in plywood, MDF, melamine and hardwood.
2026-09-19 · 8 min read
The free design problem
What a set of free drawings costs a two person shop, worked through with published rates and one clearly labelled example.
2026-09-19 · 8 min read
How a raw-material move reaches a client's quote
Rates per finish family, the door as the part that doubles, validity windows, and the arithmetic that turns a supplier increase into a number.
2026-09-19 · 9 min read
Not everything is a kitchen: the rise of the specialty room
What published surveys say about pantries, lockers, libraries and closets, and what a non-kitchen take-off does to the way you price.
2026-09-19 · 10 min read
Painted, stained or melamine: what each costs, how each wears, what to tell the client
What published prices and test data say about the three finish families, and how to present the choice as ranges instead of one number.
2026-09-19 · 8 min read
Photos, not tape measures
Your best clients are often in their fifties and sixties. A required measurement is the fastest way to lose them at the first form.
2026-09-19 · 7 min read
Standing out in 2026 when every shop has a website
A website is table stakes now. What separates shops is answering fast, showing your thinking, and giving one clear number.
2026-09-19 · 10 min read
The design deposit: how to charge for drawings without losing the job
The credit-against-contract design fee is a documented standard form, not a clever trick. Here is where it is written down and how to say it.
2026-09-19 · 9 min read
What a cabinet shop's software should never do: a plain guide to AI in the trade
AI is useful for drafting from your own words and worthless at inventing facts. The rule, the law behind it, and what it costs to get wrong.
2026-09-19 · 9 min read
US and Canada wood tariffs in 2026, in plain terms
The measures, rates and effective dates on lumber, panels, cabinets and hardware crossing the border in each direction, from official sources.