what we do

It all starts with design ideas, whether you find them with an internet search, see them on HGTV or they result from sketches on a napkin with your friend at lunch. Or, it may be you already have an interior designer or architect and are looking for products to fulfil her designs. At Ellis Creek Kitchens all projects go through the same process and milestones.

Here are the steps to getting your project underway and seeing it through to completion.

• Collect your ideas – Gather together whatever has inspired you – photos, sketches, or magazine clippings. One of the best ways to collect ideas is to save photos online to an app like Pinterest or even set up your own “IdeaBook” on houzz.com that you can share with us. Take a look through our Gallery of projects too. Pictures speak a thousand words when it comes to conveying what you like and the look that you want in your space. Or, if you’re just drawing a blank, come in to see us – we can show you around our showroom and photo albums.  We’re experts on helping you see your vision clearly.
• Measure what you have – If you’re renovating, take the measurements of the space you want to transform and take some photos as well. If you don’t feel up to that, let us know – we are able to come out to help, although there are some distance limitations to this service.  If it’s a brand new house you are having built or a major renovation, we can work from your designer’s or architect’s plans. You can bring your plans to us to photocopy or, even better; email them to us in a PDF format. We use an awesome computer program to measure your future rooms right off the PDF drawings.
• First design meeting – The first time we meet, we’ll discuss your ideas and review your measurements to get a sense of what you are looking for. For a small project we may be able to sit down with you and create a design right away, but typically we’ll collect all your information and make an appointment for a design review meeting.  If we can, we will give you a ballpark estimate on what the budget might be for your project. If you are working with an interior designer already, she should be part of this meeting as well.
• Design review meeting – Your Ellis Creek Kitchens designer will schedule a design review meeting to present our design work to you, based on the information you’ve given us. We make it easy to visualize using our 3D design program on wide screen monitors. Our design presentation stations are large and have extra seating so you can bring family or friends to help with the design decisions if you like. Depending on the size and scope of the project we may be able to present a quote at the same time and if it’s acceptable to you, we can create our contract and get your project scheduled right away.
• Next meeting – And the next one after that! We’ll meet with you as many times as it takes until we reach the design solution and budget that fits your project. Of course, there are some limitations to that – typically we’ll do two revision meetings and then ask you to make a commitment. Once that’s done, we continue meeting until every detail of your project is decided and you sign off on the order.
• No charge design and quote – There is never a charge for design or quotations at Ellis Creek Kitchens but we cannot release printed copies of our design to take away with you until you have committed to the project with us. This is a standard policy in the cabinet industry as design work is an integral part of any project and each company’s designers have unique design abilities. Part of your choice of cabinet supplier should always include the quality of the design presented and the service the company offers.
• Contracts – Once you decide to go ahead with your project, we prepare our sales contract for you. Terms are typically 50% deposit on acceptance, with 40% due prior to our delivery and the final 10% once we reach substantial completion.
• Setting the schedule – On acceptance of our proposal, we also make an estimate of our week for installation. Choosing the projected install week is important – we keep the current earliest available install week posted in our showroom and update it as orders are booked. You may want that week or you may need a later one to suit your own or your builder’s schedule. To avoid disappointment it’s very important to be as accurate as possible in choosing a week – if your project can’t be installed during the projected week, we will need to re-schedule among other projects.
• Countertop schedules – The final measuring and templating for any type of countertop always takes place after the cabinets are installed to ensure an accurate and proper fit. This is applicable for all types of countertops – stone, marble or quartz from a stone supplier, or Ellis Creek’s own Acrylic Solid Surface or Laminate. Please be sure you allow for this time when setting your construction schedule. Depending on the material, fabrication may take 1 to 2 weeks to complete and up to 3 weeks for stone.
• Confirming your order – Your designer will submit the contract and your initial deposit to our production office and your project will be entered onto our schedule. You’ll get an email confirming the projected install week with a deadline date for you to make any final design choices and submit information such as appliance and sink model numbers.
• What We Don’t Do – It’s just as important to understand what Ellis Creek Kitchens does NOT do. We are not General Contractors so we don’t subcontract any work such as electrical, plumbing, drywall, flooring, or painting. If you have these needs in your project, you can hire a General Contractor to schedule and supervise those trades or you can fulfil this function yourself. Depending on your location, we can make some recommendations of GC’s who we have worked with in the past, but we can’t guarantee their availability. Whichever route you choose, of course we co-ordinate our work with you and/or your GC to ensure a successful project.
• Final design & production – Every detail is finalized and the schedule is set, so our team goes to work on preparing technical design drawings, ordering materials and getting your product built. At any time in this process we may contact you to confirm a design detail or discuss a technical design issue that may come up. At this time your design and choices are set and final, but if you decide you want to change something we may be able to accommodate you providing the fabrication data is not yet issued. In that case we would not be able to guarantee the install week that we had originally set and we would need to review any changes that incur additional costs.
• Ready for installation – Our Production Manager keeps a close eye on the schedule in our shop and on our installation sites. You’ll be contacted prior to your projected installation week to confirm that the space for your project will be ready for cabinets. Ready for cabinets means that all electrical and plumbing rough-ins are done, drywall installation and mudding is completed and preferably at least a primer coat of paint has been applied. If flooring is going to be installed before the cabinets, that would need to be completed as well.
• Adjusting for delays? – If your project is ready, our Production Manager will set a definite delivery and installation date within your installation week and call you to confirm this. If your project is not ready, it will be moved to a later install week. Since we have other projects underway as well as yours, we would have less flexibility in determining a new week for you but will always do our best to accommodate.
• Installation starts – Cabinets will be delivered and our installers will get to work putting them into your space, followed by your countertop installation. The duration of the install is completely dependent on the size and scope of your project. Projects with complex details or multiple rooms take more days to install.
• Ongoing communication – We keep in touch! Our Production Manager meets every morning with our Designers to update them on progress of each and every project. In turn, our Designers will be calling you to keep you updated and to check on how things are going. Please call if there is anything at all that concerns you or just to say “Hello it’s all going great!”
• Completion – Yay! We’re done and you have your space back, or your new house ready to move into. If you like our work, let us know, or even better let everyone know!
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