custom cabinets

Custom range hoods: The mantle of the kitchen

We just couldn’t wait for paint to show you this custom range hood. The hood over your stove serves a couple useful purposes in your home:

A good range hood vents outside, keeping cooking odors from invading the entire house. I know steaks can smell nice, but it’s no fun to smell broccoli you cooked yesterday when you walk in the door

The hood also serves as the centerpiece to your cabinet design and even your kitchen depending on the layout. A well crafted range hood can have the same effect a stylish mantle has around the fireplace in your living room.

We will make sure we get back to you with more photos of this kitchen centerpiece once it’s painted like the cabinets, which were also installed by our team.

From water damage to dream kitchen!

This kitchen was remodeled by us after taking some serious water damage. A “water loss” is what your insurance company calls it when water destroys a part of your home. It can come in through a leaky roof or from a busted pipe and if it isn’t caught, it can unfortunately ruin large areas of your home.

This is why homeowner’s insurance is so crucial. Your insurance company will send in a mitigation team to dry out the area that was effected and from there, you can work with an experienced builder to begin repairs.

In this home, we worked with the homeowners to to not just bring their kitchen back, but to help make it a kitchen they will love for years to come. Here, we started from the ground up - selecting flooring and trim with the homeowner, then counters and cabinets, like the gorgeous cabinet set around the refrigerator! Speaking of refrigerators, we then helped them with appliances and finally the sink, faucet and backsplash!

Working on the interior design with the homeowners is the best way to not just give back your space and quality of life, it’s the best way to improve it and turn a home nightmare into a dream kitchen!

Master bedroom cabinets offer solutions for small bedrooms

This custom, built-in shelf system for a master bedroom is a great example of what’s possible when a homeowner really wants to customize their home to meet their exact needs! The cabinets have roll-out shelves for ease of access and organization of all their non-hanging clothing, though hanging bars would also be possible in a similar design. The shelf is there for phones, alarms, drinks or jewelry. This opens up a smaller master bedroom because it eliminates the need for dressers. With this and a closet, there is more room to move around.

When we make built-ins like these, we take the measurements, create the parts at our warehouse, install the unit in a day or so, then schedule it to be painted. It’s easy, suits your unique needs and won’t turn your home into a construction zone.

A Cute Custom Kitchen Remodel

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This cozy kitchen remodel includes new, custom cabinets, brand new counters, a new sink and faucet - not to mention we matched a window sill trim for a beautiful garden window. The white and grey really pops with the rich reds and browns from the floor and overall, this is a kitchen that will put a smile on your face as you walk into it. Very proud of the work here!

One of my favorite remodels

This beautiful remodel is a house that we worked on a year ago. It was a classic, older home with small rooms, which the homeowner wanted to open up and make more modern. These jobs always have issues and considerations that come with the age of the home - this is why you need an expert for this type of remodel.

In this project for instance, we worked very closely with some of our partners and craftsmen. I designed the kitchen on my computer with advise from the homeowner and the custom cabinet expertise of Nate Shaver at Grant DesignYard . We had the kitchen planned, but then we discovered there were sagging joists in the floor. Fixing joists individually is something I’m used to because I have a background in water and fire damage.

Once that was fixed, we had ServiceMaster Restore come and soda blast the bricks while we built the cabinets. We had a custom bench made, which was cushioned by Stitches Fabrics.

There was a delay in the quartz counters, so we temporarily installed an alternative counter so the homeowner could celebrate the holidays.

The bottom line is that a major project involves a ton of people and the contractors you meet with should have the experts on hand, or the connections to experts, to make your dream projects come true. I’m proud of this kitchen and all the work we do and I’m glad to work so closely with so many incredible craftsmen and small businesses around Mid Michigan!

A Fantastic Home Remodeling Job! Kitchen, Dining, Floors and More!

Anyone that tells you a remodel will go flawless is lying. There are too many variables and unknowns in a large project that only get revealed during the remodel. The best we can do is expect the unexpected and be ready to switch gears at the drop of a hat. That’s why you want somebody like me with decades of experience who works with only the best professionals in the business.

We recently finished a huge kitchen/ dining room remodel. The homeowner had been wanting to remodel the space since they moved in during the 1980’s. I felt super proud and thankful that they chose to go with my company. They’d seen our work on Facebook and I think that is what set their heart on using us.

They wanted to go with a more modern style cabinet design that had to be pretty custom in order to accommodate filling the existing cubbies in the brick wall. Luckily, I have a close relationship with Nate the owner of Grant Designyard. We set up a meeting with the homeowner and together were able to come up with a design that fit their kitchen.

I was able to sketch a design on the computer based on what walls they wanted removed to open up the space and with their approval, we were off to the races.

The homeowners wanted to save a little money by doing their own demo work so we of course worked with them. They had had a pretty significant belly to their dining room floor so the first thing we had to do after demo was sister in floor joists next to the bowed ones. This resulted in such a quiet and sound floor that the homeowners decided to have us do it to every floor joist throughout the kitchen and living room as well. This was perfect for the ¾” hardwood to come into the living room and dining room and for the vinyl tiles going in the kitchen and entries.

From there, we moved to the insulation and drywall.

Next was the paint and priming followed by new, more modern trim to compliment the new kitchen.

We spent a lot of time with all the subs on site putting our heads together to make sure everything turned out smoothly. This would allow us to finish the project without after-thought trim pieces or any cover-ups. For example, the custom vent in the back of the cabinet. We had Servicemaster come in and soda blast decades of build up from the brick wall while we got to installing cabinets. Nate had to do some meticulous install with the cabinet pull installation. He fabricated a custom jig to router out the doors and drawer fronts so the handles would sit flush.

From there it was pretty much down hill getting the flooring installed, the final trim up and everything painted.

The Quartz counters got pushed back just before Thanksgiving and since the homeowner was having company, we had my countertop guy build an entire kitchen of laminate tops to temporarily go in. He also installed a sink and faucet for a week when the quartz showed up.

The tile backsplash came next with the appliances and range hood installation.

We got the place all cleaned up and the final touch was a custom made bench seat by In Stiches custom fabrics.

The transformation is absolutely stunning. As with any remodel, there were some hiccups, but experience allows us to come up with creative solutions and push through any hurdles to get to the desired outcome.

Anyone that tells you a remodel will go flawless is lying. There are too many variables and unknowns in a large project that only get revealed during the remodel. The best we can do is expect the unexpected and be ready to switch gears at the drop of a hat. That’s why you want somebody like me with decades of experience who works with only the best professionals in the business.

If you are interested in a project like this, call (517) 242-4353 or email zischkebuilders@gmail.com and I will get you a free estimate. Let’s get to work.

A Start to Another Custom Kitchen

It’s Friday and I have an update on a kitchen we’ve been working on. This kitchen is getting a beautiful remodel complete with custom cabinets and a quartz waterfall counter top.

We are also working on a tile backsplash that will go all the way to the ceiling. Once that’s finished, we will add some crown to make it come together perfectly.

This is why you want to hire builders who use expert craftsmen. In order to get that perfect look - that’s also functional - you need people who understand that things need to be installed in order, one after another, to achieve the cleanest look in a way that will last a lifetime. That comes from experience and an obsession with delivering quality results.

If you’d like to remodel your kitchen (or any other part of your home), give me a call at 517-819-0429 or message me on Facebook and I’ll give you a free estimate and explore what our craftsmen can do to make your home into your dream home.

Doing things the 'Hard Way'

My business has always been centered on the needs of the homeowner and working with the BEST professionals. These cabinets were built on the CNC machine you saw a video of last week. Note I said cabinets - NOT doors. This required us to reverse build the cabinets to match the original doors.

This allowed us to match the upper cabinets with those below the counter. This is important because we wouldn’t be able to replace the lower cabinets without breaking the granite counter top because whoever installed it wasn’t a professional. This would have also likely destroyed the backsplash.

I know this is the “hard way” to do things, but If it meets the needs of the customer and fits their budget, then it’s the right thing to do. It’s also a great example of what’s possible when you have serious professional craftsmen working in your home to solve problems others would have walked away from.

Custom kitchen in Michigan log home

Custom Kitchen in a Michigan log home! We had a great time making this dream a reality for our client.

Custom Kitchen in a Michigan log home! We had a great time making this dream a reality for our client.

The team really did an incredible job in a beautiful log cabin home last week! Custom counters, cabinets and very custom molding to make the cabinets appear to fit flush into the log walls (BTW, each log is a different size).

I've said it before, no corner is truly 45 degrees and no wall is 100% straight ... but in a log cabin, there are even more variables! Truth be told though, we love it. Just look at the end product!

With that said, we always offer custom counters (custom cut laminate counters can be done for less than big box store tops), custom cabinets and we work with our customers to take their ideas, add our expertise and craft something nobody else has.

If you like what you see and you're in the greater Lansing, MI area , call me for a free estimate for a custom kitchen or bathroom at (517) 819-0429 or you can e-mail me at zischkebuilders@gmail.com or you can follow me on Facebook!