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Arbor Valley Custom Cabinetry
18 Questions

Components

Adjustable Shelf Pins

Interior Hardware

What hardware holds the adjustable shelves? +
We use 5mm or 1/4" metal shelf pins with a "spoon" or "locking" profile. In luxury builds, we use solid brass or nickel sleeves pressed into the cabinet holes to prevent the wood from stripping over time.

5mm or 1/4" metal hardware (brass/nickel) for securing adjustable interior shelving.

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Architectural Plinth Blocks

Baseboard Transitions

What are Plinth Blocks in millwork? +
Decorative blocks placed at the base of fluted pilasters or door casings where the vertical trim meets the baseboard. They provide a sturdy visual transition and allow for more intricate base moulding profiles.

Decorative blocks providing a visual transition between fluted pilasters and baseboards.

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Baseboard Returns & Wraps

Floor-to-Cabinet Trim

How do you transition cabinetry to house baseboards? +
A "Return" is a small piece of moulding mitered at 90 degrees to terminate a run of baseboard or crown against a cabinet gable, ensuring no raw "end grain" is visible.

A precision joinery detail where the baseboard wraps around the cabinet toe-kick for a built-in appearance.

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Cabinet Filler Strips

Scribing & Gapping

What is a Filler Strip and why is it needed? +
Fillers are finished wood strips used between a cabinet and a wall to account for out-of-plumb surfaces, ensuring that doors and drawers have the necessary clearance to open 90 degrees without hitting casing.

Finished wood strips used to scribe cabinets to out-of-plumb walls for door clearance.

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Cabinet Finish Skins

Refacing & End-Cap Detail

What is a cabinet 'Skin'? +
A 1/8" or 1/4" thick sheet of finished veneer or laminate applied to the exposed side of a cabinet box (carcass) to match the door color without the bulk of a full 3/4" gable panel.

1/4" matching wood panels used to cover exposed cabinet sides for a seamless, finished look.

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Custom Appliance Panels

Integrated Fronts

What is a 'Panel-Ready' cover? +
Custom-sized wood fronts engineered to mount onto integrated refrigerators or dishwashers. These must be built to the appliance manufacturer's exact weight and thickness specifications to ensure proper hinge operation.

Precision-built wood fronts engineered to match appliance manufacturer weight specs.

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Decorative Furniture Feet

Base Detail Customization

Can I add decorative legs to a vanity? +
Yes. We use "Bun Feet" or "Tapered Shaker Legs" to elevate vanities or island ends, creating a freestanding furniture aesthetic. These often require internal structural blocking for weight distribution.

Tapered or bun feet used to create a freestanding furniture aesthetic for vanities.

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Decorative Valance Boards

Window & Sink Header

What is a decorative valance? +
A horizontal trim piece installed across the top of a window or sink opening, or at the bottom of a base cabinet (toe-kick valance) to hide mechanical components or add architectural detail.

Horizontal trim used to hide mechanicals or add detail above windows and sinks.

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False Front Panels

Aesthetic Symmetry

Why is there a fixed drawer under my sink? +
A "false front" is a non-functional drawer or door used to maintain visual symmetry in areas where plumbing or appliance guts (like a cooktop) prevent a functional box from being installed.

Fixed, non-functional panels used to maintain symmetry over plumbing or appliances.

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Glass-Ready Mullion Frames

Decorative Glazing

What is a mullion door? +
A cabinet door frame with horizontal and vertical wood dividers (grids) that hold individual panes of glass. This replicates the look of traditional divided-lite windows.

Decorative wood grids (lites) within a glass door frame, mimicking traditional window panes.

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Häfele AXILO Leveling System

Plinth Adjustment Tech

How are cabinets leveled on uneven Alberta subfloors? +
A specialized plinth leveling system that allows the installer to adjust the height of the cabinet from the front using a dedicated tool, ensuring the boxes are perfectly plumb and level before the toe-kick is snapped on.

Professional plinth leveling tech allowing height adjustment from the cabinet front.

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Häfele Loox LED Channels

Integrated Lighting Tracks

How are LED strips mounted professionally? +
We CNC-route 5/8" deep channels into the underside of cabinets to house aluminum extrusions (like Hafele Loox). This keeps the lighting flush and provides a heat sink for the LEDs to extend their lifespan.

CNC-routed aluminum tracks for flush-mounted LEDs and integrated heat dissipation.

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Integrated Toe-Kick Vents

HVAC Integration

How do you handle floor registers under cabinets? +
Metal or wood grilles integrated into the cabinet's toe-kick. For hydronic systems, we use a "kickspace heater" housing; for standard forced air, we use a "toe-kick duct kit" to bridge the gap from the floor to the grille.

HVAC grilles built into the plinth to bridge the gap from floor registers to the room.

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Integrated Wainscot Paneling

Wall-to-Cabinet Transition

Can you match the wall paneling to the cabinets? +
Yes. We create coordinated wainscoting or "beadboard" panels that install directly onto the walls or island backs to provide a continuous, high-end millwork wrap throughout the room.

Coordinated millwork wraps that match cabinetry to provide a continuous wall finish.

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Scribe Moulding Application

Finish Trimming

How do you finish a cabinet gap against an uneven wall? +
A thin, flexible wood strip (typically 1/4" x 3/4") used to cover the gap where a cabinet meets an irregular wall or ceiling. It provides a finished look without the need for complex hand-scribing of the cabinet carcass.

Thin, flexible wood strips used to cover gaps between cabinetry and irregular surfaces.

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Silencer Bumpons

Soft-Close Dampening

How do you stop doors from clicking? +
Clear or color-matched silicone "bumpons" (5mm - 10mm) applied to the inside corners of doors and drawers. They provide a soft landing and prevent the finish from sticking to the face frame.

Small clear or felt dampers that prevent wood-on-wood contact, ensuring silent door and drawer closure.

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Structural Corner Blocks

Reinforced Assembly

What are internal corner blocks? +
High-density plastic or wood triangles installed in the top corners of base cabinets. They provide the primary mounting point for screws when securing heavy quartz or granite countertops.

Structural mounting points used to secure heavy quartz and granite countertops.

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Under-Cabinet Light Rail

Task Lighting Trim

How do you hide under-cabinet LED tape? +
A small trim piece attached to the bottom front edge of wall cabinets. It acts as a visual shield to conceal LED channels and wiring while reflecting light back onto the work surface.

Decorative shielding attached to wall cabinets to hide LED channels and wiring.

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