Bell Bay Custom Woodworking

Mr. Meyer did not make the effort to find and use plywood for the cabinet doors that had a similar appearance to that in my existing cabinets, even after I told him I had seen such plywood at a local supplier (Windsor Plywood). I still don't know what wood he used, but it was unusually featureless. He did do a good job of reproducing the curved shape of the cabinet door pattern, but the finishing did not go well. I did approve his color selection, but only based on a sample in which he applied the stain to the middle of a piece of 1x4 so that the light-colored virgin wood border made it difficult to see whether it matched the existing cabinet door I had provided. Turns out that not only was the color wrong, the application of the stain was streaky and uneven, giving it a "countryish" look that was at odds with the factory finish on my existing cabinets. I ended up taking the cabinets to Barbo Furniture for stripping and refinishing. They matched the color pretty well but could not correct the featurelessness of the cabinet-door wood. Mr. Meyer's initial estimate was $375-400 per cabinet (total $750-800), but he charged me $950 when I came to pick up the cabinets. I wouldn't have minded if the work had been better.

Completed in a reasonable amount of time. Very good quality work.

I called Richard and asked him about refinishing my table and cabinets which were damaged in the move here. He said that he doesn't do that kind of work. Kind of confusing, because other reviews said he did refinish furniture. Not sure why there is this discrepancy. Maybe he used to do this kind of stuff but doesn't do it anymore. I would have preferred that just he said that instead of saying he didn't do that kind of work. I spent time on Angie's list researching vendors and would not have wasted my time with him if I knew he didn't do this kind of work.

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Found Richard on Angie's List. Was concerned that it was such a small job that I wouldn't be able to find someone to do it. Met Richard at his shop and he was happy to take care of the repair for me. Obvious to me that he was highly experienced and liked what he does. Picked up the repaired door a few days later and it was as close to as good as new as one could expect.

Richard came highly recommended for both price and quality of work which was quite evident with the finished cabinet. I am very pleased with his attention to detail of the shaker style vanity, that was built from maple, with dove-tailed, soft closing drawers. I only wish I knew of Bel Bay Custom Woodworking, two and a half years when I had a similar cabinet constructed locally. The difference in quality is night and day and for a better price too! I will be using Richard's craftsmanship again for a custom bar cabinet.

He picked up bureau, put in truck, kept it for one week only, and returned the bureau to me in perfect condition. Additionally, he re-finished a dining room table, plus 6 chairs and did a beautiful job for a minimal cost. He also refinished a side table and it is beter than new. Richard is easy to work with and gives ideas on how to make your piece of furniture look better than before.

Everything Richard has done for us has been first rate. The semi-built in closet shelving and drawers for the master closet were a challenge, owing to the tight space. But, Richard exceeded our expectation with the choice of wood (cherry) and design details. He was even able to add a drawer when we discovered extra space.

Absolutely phenomenal! I will be working with Bell Bay again in the future for them to work on another closet system. Superior job! Can't praise him high enough! Wish there were more service providers like Bell Bay.

We saw other cabinet work that Richard had done and were extremely impressed. When we set up an appointment for him to measure the space, Richard came over promptly and gave us an approximate start and finish date and price; all of which he adhered to. Not only is he a fine furniture/cabinet maker, Richard is an honest man.

The work that was done was very good. The chest was covered in a haring-bone type veneer, which had water stains and nicks and dings. The half-round trim around the bottom of the chest had a waterfall veneer that was missing in several places and cracked in others. Richard was able to refinish the haring-bone veneer, but could not get all the dings out, and replaced the waterfall veneer with a new veneer that had no real grain at all. The color was close, and the overall look of the chest was very nice when it was returned. The final cost was almost $200 more than what was originally quoted over the phone, which I didn't appreciate, but the quality of work was very good.

He is professional, timely and his craftsmanship is excellent.

Overall, my experience with Bell-Bay Custom Woodworking was exceptional. Since Richard repaired the antique chairs and desk, I have worked with him to design and build a custom linen cabinet, and two medicine cabinets. His work is incredible. He offers great suggestions and was willing to take my ideas and thoughts and figure out the best way to incorporate them into the final products. I look forward to working with Richard again in the future and highly recommend Bell-Bay Custom Woodworking. I think his prices are very reasonable for the outstanding work that he did. Thanks Richard!

From design consultation through to finish everything was smooth. The company expertise was exemplary. The work met or exceeded my expectations.

I feel so fortunate Richard Meyer, owner, stopped by my job site as we were breaking ground for our new home. We knew we would eventually be pricing cabinets throughout but didn't have a contractor in mind. As we approached the cabinet design phase, Richard was very helpful sharing examples of his previous work and providing suggestions. His careful craftsmanship produced first rate cabinets that are aging beautifully and are a show piece in my home. I attribute the high quality to Richard's keen attention to detail. He is meticulous at taking measurements and provided drawings to ensure the delivered products met our expectations. What surprised me a good deal was his competitive pricing. I had gotten bids for many of the usual cabinets- kitchen, bath, etc and found his pricing right in there but what convinced me was that his cabinets are hand made vs manufactured by a large cabinet maker. I realized looking back now how important of choice this was since I made several adjustments over time to the cabinets as I further considered what purpose they served in each room. I could not have made these adjustments as easily had I ordered from a big vendor. During the project we also discovered other opportunities to incorporate Richard's woodwork. As before, he drafted drawings to help me visualize the space. We built out our mud room with seating and laundry room with floor to ceiling cabinets. He also crafted our great room mantel and shelves that appear suspended off the wall. They are simply stunning. In summary, I highly recommend Bell-Bay Custom Woodworking. Richard's work is strongly worth considering and to top it off he is a delight to work with.

See above. Excellent from start to finish.