I'm resurrecting this topic as I'm in Elk Grove (south of Sacramento) and we are in the beginning stages of doing an owner/builder pool. We are having some plans drawn to incorporate a nicely finished yards with the pool. We are going to do the pool first and then the landscaping. Our yard is very small, so we wanted a professional to design it all to make the best use of space. Anyway, all the info in this forum has kept me busy reading/researching most of the day! I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from those of you who are in the Sacramento area that have a good list of subs with approximate costs and things you did that you liked. Also, would anyone be willing to let me come over and check out your finished pool? I'll probably try to contact a few of you privately to get some additional info, but if you can post it here, that would be very helpful. Looking forward to this new project!! -Anne in Elk Grove

Thanks everyone for your recs - keep them coming! Doc - isn't it true that so many of central Ohioans who buy Amish cabinets have more money than sense. The in-laws live in Cincy. Perhaps we will stop by David Smith's show room on the way to check him out. I have a feeling he will be painfully expensive. We will see what the future budget is...oh how I hate the B word... Who did you use for your counters? Were you happy with the material and the installer? Self installing isn't a deal breaker, but it is something I'm confident we could do. We bough a fixer upper %30 below market value to make it our own. We are the GC, plumber, electrician, etc. andreak100 - I can understand not wanting to put the cabinet maker in an awkward situation. Could you email me the New Wilmington gentleman's information? Just click on my username. We have family in the Youngstown area so we could pop on over to PA to see some of his work and meet face to face. estercita - they are a bit far but so is dutchwood and upstate new york. I may give them a call and see if they allow pick up and self install as I'm sure they wouldn't treck to Ohio. Can you post pictures of your installed cabinets please? I bet you waiting for your cabinets is like a kid waiting for Christmas! aokat15 - wow talk about kitchen envy. I couldn't help but notice the Pro48 and Wolf range. I will admit those our WAY out of our reach and even if we could afford it, it would be overimproving for our $225k neighborhood. Our kitchen is currently an L shaped 6.5 foot x 10 foot. We will add a peninsula to make it a U so we won't need as many cabinets as you. A few questions - are your pendant lights Hudson Valley? If not, what are they? What stone yard/fabricator did you use for your counters? Were you please with your experience? I would like the super white, but sometimes it can be hard to find that "perfect slab" and am willing to go to Cincy for that if they can deliver up to Columbus. I notice you have a toe kick. Does Mark Miller offer a non toe kick option? I haven't decided either way, I was just wondering. Does he have a showroom? And lastly, price. If you are not comfortable emailing me the ball park of what your cabinets cost (and I totally understand) could you give me an idea on where Mark Miller came in relative to your other bids? Hopefully we can swing him if we like his work since our kitchen is TINY!

I am in SD. Cabinetry Design built gorgeous custom cherry cabinets with raised panels for our last house in 2004. They were better priced than a lot of the semi-custom lines we priced at kitchen showrooms and big box stores. I am currently waiting for them to build slab walnut cabinets for our new house. Light colored quartzite is hard to find in SD. In the Miramar area, check Amazon, Tutto Marmo, AZ Tile, Brazilian Exotic Granite, and Marmol, as they regularly carry White Macauba and some other light quartzites. In San Marcos, Granix and Brazilian Exotic Granite have quartzite. I visited those yards multiple times over the year and a half that I was planning the remodel to see what new shipments arrived. There were a few slabs early in the process that I wish I had bought, because it took a while to wait for new shipments that had large enough slabs with a pattern I like. I finally bought my slabs of WM at Amazon last week. Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinetry Design

Hi- I'm the guy amberm145 referred to. I've done all of the work on my house except concrete work and drywall. And it has taken me years, working full time at it. Still, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything! I spent about 5 years on research- design, codes, etc. I'm a very quick study, and have been building things my whole life, so I'm well suited to the task. Thanks to my incredibly patient wife, I have been able to do this while she brings home the bacon. I'm just about done, in about 3 years. I can account for about 9 months of lost time, what with travel, delays, and preparing our old house to sell it and move. I could have sped up the process considerably had I used a helper. For example, it took me all week to drag the sheathing up on the roof, one sheet at a time. A young, strong helper could have gotten all the sheets up there while I nailed them off. We probably could have knocked it out in a day. Building a house takes teamwork; hard to come by working alone. Before you even consider this, you need to find out what the rules and codes are for your area. Many areas don't allow you to do your own electric, for example. A trip to your local building authority should answer those kind of questions. Next, you need to consider time and money. My build cost about what a cheaply built, code minimum house would have cost, but I have a strong, efficient house with custom finishes throughout. It would have easily cost twice as much to have a contractor build it turn-key. We didn't finance any of it. I doubt you could get a bank to fund a DIY build, as there is a high failure rate as people get in over their heads. In our case, we were incredibly fortunate to find a contractor who lives right around the corner, and specializes in ICF, which is the method we chose. Although I offered to pay him for his advice, he didn't charge me for any of the guidance he offered. By having a contractor, that gave me access to his subs. Since he referred them, I got good service. Subs don't really want to work with a one-off DIY or owner-builder. When I did use a sub, I stayed completely out of their way, letting them do their thing. I would never ask a sub to share the job with them. It's their reputation and license on the line of I screw up the job. I tried to hire a plumber as a consultant, and got nowhere. They either wanted to do the whole job or nothing. I was able to work with an HVAC contractor, with me doing most of the work, and them doing the actual connection and commissioning. Since they didn't provide the equipment, they are not liable at all for warranty claims. I pay subs in cash the minute they finish (to my satisfaction). I started out that way with my contractor, so that when he referred a sub, they knew I was good for the money. One more thing- building a house is hard, physical work. I've lost about 40 lbs. during the process. You can be sure that during your build, you will experience the hottest, coldest, snowiest, windiest weather your area has ever seen. No fooling- we hit an all-time record high of 107 degrees while I was building the shell. The following year was one of the rainiest on record here. I'm in my 60's, and pretty strong and capable. If I could change one thing, it would have been to do this when I was 20 years (or more) younger. Building a house is also dangerous. My one story house on a walk-out basement is 27' high at the peak of the gables. People have DIED falling off of roofs and ladders. Workmen's Comp insurance is one of the reasons that building trades cost so much. I didn't write all of this to discourage you; just to let you know what you are in for. If you're able, and willing to put in the research, time, and effort, it is a rewarding journey. Just make sure that you are honest with yourself about the time, money, and work involved.