Custom Made Interior Barn Doors from Florida Craftwood

We've added a new product we're offering customers in the Tampa/Lakeland Florida area. Local suppliers have started offering hardware that is available for use and can easily be purchased for quick jobs in the area. We've had a shop for nearly 30 years and can design and build barn doors for interior use of your liking. The standard size hardware is 72 inches in length which allows coverage for an opening slightly smaller than 36 inches or the door can be sticking out slightly into the opening if necessary. The next size larger is 79 inches which allows for the doors to swing back out of the opening and also be made slightly larger than 36 inches wide.

Below is a sample of a set of doors that were made previously.

These were made of pine using a product that was ordered from Home Depot requiring planning. The tongue and groove backing was also purchased from Home Depot locally. The door above is unfinished. We currently do not ship door, rather build and install locally.

Specialty Office Furniture: Custom Built Library Bookcases

In this recent work, I designed and built library bookcases as a specialty office furniture where a computer resides and file drawers are built into the cabinets, along with a place for a printer, and office desk area. The owner then adds some features, a glass top is being built for the desk area, and the design is surrounding a unique wall hanging photo that is framed with additional lighting.

© Florida Craftwood

The photo above is taken from outside the room which has two glass openings built into the wall, here one in the foyer, and above the desk area to the right.

© Florida Craftwood

The cabinets were built out of solid birch and utilizing birch plywood, then were stained with red mahogany mixed with ebony attempting to darken the color which matches the floor.

© Florida Craftwood

The room is rather small about 11 feet by 11 feet in diameter, so it was difficult to get the right lighting without additional lights to see the cabinets . The center section with the bookshelves has a section at the bottom where a shelf is built in that has a back and sides. The counter top is seamed in front of the pilaster in the center of the photo above.

© Florida Craftwood

All the shelves are adjustable and faced with a rounded top edge; the switch to the lights has a dimer behind the pilaster to the left. The doors and drawers are inset with soft-close Blum hinges, and the pilasters are fluted.

© Florida Craftwood

A two-part crown moulding is added to the top, while basebaord and shoe moulding is added at the base, both wrapping the pilasters. The finish is a sprayed on sealer which is sanded and satin lacquer.

The four drawers left are all file drawers and the desk has one file drawer at the bottom. The center cabinets has storage left, and a pull-out for the printer right. Special wire chutes are built into the upper part of the base cabinets to feed computer and electrical wires.

Florida Kitchen Color Designs Matching Granite Counter Tops

Here are some recent photos of a kitchen remodeling job I have completed after about 6 weeks work building and designing the cabinets from drawings which I completed. The original cabinet design was poorly thought out reducing the efficiency of the room where it was practically useless. The cabinets were factory built and as usual not very attractive and not in keeping with the old house in which they resided.

In this design, we went back to inset doors as in the old ways but with upgraded hardware where the doors are soft closing hinges which do not require funny rubber door stops. The drawers were also the upgraded self-closing soft close under-mount hardware. The lower cabinets have a pilaster with beads, as part of the facing at corners, and the style of doors are drop panels that are mortised rails and styles without any profile.

South wall with drawer cabinet left, lazy susan in corner, ducted hood over stove with pine trim
© Florida Craftwood

West wall, small sink cab right of refrigerator, extended cabinet above
© Florida Craftwood

North wall,  utility cabinet with pullout above drawers, microwave inside upper cabinet
© Florida Craftwood

East wall, under-mount sink with built-in drain pan, and dishwasher (note: this sink is built into the cabinet at shop)
© Florida Craftwood

The lower cabinets are a color called ebony field, upper cabinets a delicate white. Here are a few close ups to see a bit more detail.

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

Trump Proposed 20% Import Tax on Mexican Junk Products

RT | Jan 26, 2017

Editor's note: Good news for small business, and a good example is "Rooms to go", a big box store that peddles cheap wood-derived products and has put all furniture makers out of business by moving into your towns. It would be nice to see them lose their competitive advantage.

U.S. President Donald Trump © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

After signing an executive order to build a wall on the US southern border, President Donald Trump has said that Mexico will pay for the costs of the construction "one way or another." The White House has hinted that would be with an import tax.

In the past, Trump has said that the initial funds for the wall would come from US taxpayers, and later be reimbursed by Mexico; however, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto says that Mexico will not pay for any wall. [...]

“The U.S. has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico. It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers of jobs and companies lost,” the president tweeted. “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”

Mexico will pay for the wall "one way or another," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during the Thursday briefing. He announced plans to impose a 20 percent border tax on Mexican imports into the US.

'We have the moral high ground': #Trump details how to make #Mexico to pay for border wall https://t.co/nh7o0gWP3lpic.twitter.com/V63KdoGwGn

— RT America (@RT_America) April 5, 2016

The 20 percent tax on annual Mexican imports would raise $10 billion a year to pay for the border wall, which is estimated to cost between $8 billion and $20 billion, Spicer said.

Read more..

 

Crown Moulding Installation Cost Tampa Florida Region

Florida Craftwood offers the best price for crown moulding installation you can find in the Tampa, Florida region. A standard sized moulding that is used in most homes is a moulding that is 5 1/4 inches wide which is purchased pre-primed from the factory. (see sample pictures) Lengths are 16 foot. This is professionally installed, nailed into existing studs, caulked into ceiling and wall, nail holes filled and sanded, and one finish coat of high-grade semi-gloss latex paint applied.

Price ranges from $5 to $6 per foot installed depending on ceiling heights and obstructions for this particular moulding. Below are some recent photos.

Hexagon ceiling in dining room
© Florida Craftwood

Divided wall between foyer and family room
© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

Frog tape is used to mask off moulding to wall leaving a clean line between painted moulding (semi-gloss) and wall color (flat) when completed. A sample of moulding is provided to customers when consultation occurs during first appointment.

Call Florida Craftwood today at 813-833-8722 to set an appointment, receive a free sample, and estimate. Ask for Mark.

Sample moulding
© Florida Craftwood

Examples of Furniture Restoration

Furniture Restoration is often a worthy cause as many factory floor pieces use cheap labor and cheap ingredients to simulate what was once woodworking art. Here are two examples of recent restorations completed for customers.

The first is an old solid cherry wood hutch that was partially damaged in a fire where the finish had turned almost black in some areas. The piece was stripped of its original finish, sanded, stained to match the lattice work in the door, and sprayed with satin lacquer.

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

 Here is what the hutch looked like before finishing.

This second example was a painted piece which had gold highlights inside the grooves on the legs and the beads on the legs at the bottom. This was thought to be aspen on the drawer fronts and legs. The drawer fronts are milled with soft curves in the face while the legs have a groove milled and elaborate foot details.

Once stripped, it was discovered that the side panels were masonite, so panels were added to match using wood of birch. The top had a piece of Formica which was painted brown. The original hardware was removed and is being upgraded.

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

© Florida Craftwood

Stain colors are mixes of various stains to acquire the appropriate tint and shade. Prices are quite reasonable compared to on-site construction/installations. The average cost ranges from $350 to $500 to strip and finish one piece of furniture.

Ideas for Wooden Window Valances

The following are several ideas that have been created to dress up windows where casing is absent. This first example shows a valance that is approximately 10 inches tall with a fancy crown moulding and a bead moulding at the bottom edge that has two coves on each side. The top seems to be rather thin, maybe about 1/2 inch thick and has been rounded some on the edge. This is from hgtv.com.

© hgtv.com

The next example shows a standard crown moulding, a top that is a bit thicker, and a base cap moulding at the bottom edge. This also looks to be between 8-10 inches tall. The cornice is perfectly sized only extending just slightly more that the drapery as the first example. This one seems to carry a stronger distinction, and a bit more traditional, it is from Tedswoodworking.com.

© Tedswoodworking.com

The following example claims to be 9 inches tall but looks to be 12 inches upon sight. The moulding at the bottom edge is uncertain, and instead of crown moulding at the top, a chair rail type is used with a top extension. The extension from the wall also seems to be a bit excessive which may be to allow draperies that are not shown. This is from 3blindmiceusa.com.

© 3blindmiceusa.com

Here is an example of a valance without a top cover. One issue with dressing up a window is to take advantage of the idea of keeping dust off of the drapery. Why not add a top to protect any kind of window covering utilized? The bottom edge profile has been incorporated into the face of the valance providing a nice detail. This is also more difficult to mount to the wall, from alfa.com.

© alfa.com

This last example shows a window that has been cased and the drapery hides most of the window trim except the stool. This allows you to have a bit of perspective in how size and proportion affect the overall look. This valance also does not seem to show a top cover and may be a bit tight on the drapery. This is from WindowTreatmentDesigns.com.

© WindowTreatmentDesigns.com