Custom Wood Projects
If you have a specific outdoor wood product in mind, send us the idea and the dimensions. We will tell you honestly whether it is something we can build well.
Projects We May Consider
- Non-standard raised bed layouts, including L-shaped and tiered beds
- Planter and screen combinations
- Custom-length benches and built-in seating
- Potting benches and garden work tables
- Deck boxes and outdoor storage benches
- Trellises, obelisks, and vertical growing frames
- Simple outdoor tables
- Custom shelving for covered outdoor spaces
- Repeat units for commercial spaces
What We Are Not Taking On Right Now
We are a new company with a defined shop capacity. To keep quality and lead times honest, we are not currently quoting structural or permitted work such as decks, pergolas, fencing, or anything that attaches to or supports a building. We are also not taking on indoor cabinetry.
How We Evaluate a Custom Request
- Is it something we can build to a standard we would put our name on?
- Do we have the tooling and shop space for it?
- Are the dimensions and materials realistic for the budget?
- Can it be delivered and placed safely?
- Is the timeline achievable?
Not every request will be accepted. If a project is not a good fit, we will say so rather than take the job and do it badly.
What to Include in Your Request
- Rough dimensions, even approximate
- Where the piece will live and what it will sit on
- Any photos or reference images
- Your target timeframe
- Your approximate budget range
What Makes a Request Easy to Answer
The requests we can respond to quickly all have the same three things in them: a dimension, a location, and a purpose. “A planter about six feet long, for a north facing balcony, for herbs” is answerable. “Something nice for the garden” is not, and it takes a conversation to get there.
Photographs help more than descriptions. A picture of the space, with something ordinary in it for scale, tells us more than a paragraph does. Approximate is fine at this stage. We would rather have a rough measurement now than an exact one later.
Weight and the Surface a Piece Will Sit On
Large outdoor pieces and filled planters can become very heavy. If a project will sit on an elevated or load sensitive surface, such as a balcony, a raised deck or a rooftop terrace, confirming that the surface is suitable is the customer’s responsibility. We do not assess or calculate structural capacity, and we will say so rather than guess.
It is worth settling before the build rather than after delivery, because it can change the size, the material or whether the piece is the right answer at all.
Where Custom Requests Usually Come Unstuck
Two things account for most of it. The first is a measurement taken to the wrong thing, such as the inside of an opening when the piece has to fit the outside of it, or a width measured without allowing for how the piece will be carried in. The second is access: a finished piece that cannot get through a gate, up a set of steps, or round a corner is a problem that shows up on delivery day.
Both are worth catching early, which is why we ask where the piece will live and what it will sit on before quoting rather than afterwards.
How a Custom Project Is Quoted
A custom quote is built from the design once the design is settled, rather than from a category. That is why the conversation comes first and the number comes second. If the design changes, the quote is revisited with it.
Pricing across the whole range is still being finalized, so custom work is quote based like everything else here, and the quote will set out what it covers.
If a Standard Product Fits Better
Some requests that arrive as custom projects are already close to something we build. If that is the case we will say which one and why it might serve you better, because a standard product is usually quicker and easier to get right than a one-off version of the same thing.
The three closest are raised garden beds, planters and planter boxes and outdoor benches. Multi-unit orders for restaurants, apartment communities, offices and retail are handled on the commercial planters page.
If the Answer Is No
Sometimes the honest answer is that a project sits outside what we build well, or that it is structural or permitted work rather than outdoor wood product work. Saying so early costs you nothing and saves you time. The list above of what we are not taking on right now is there for the same reason.