La'i Loa, Wailea: Cabinetry & Finish Carpentry Install
Armstrong Builders, the general contractor on La'i Loa, a new luxury condominium community in Wailea, brought us in to install the finish carpentry in three of its buildings: fifteen units across first-floor, second-floor and penthouse layouts. We installed all the cabinetry, the interior doors, and the baseboard and casing. Each unit had its own cabinet package in one of several color and finish schemes: oak and walnut veneers, painted fronts in a catalyzed finish, and high-gloss laminate in the laundry rooms.
What we installed:
- Cabinetry and hardware: kitchens with islands and panel-front tall cabinets, floating bathroom vanities, built-in wardrobes, storage walls and laundry rooms.
- Interior doors and hardware.
- Baseboard and casing.
What made it demanding:
- Tight reveals in imperfect openings. These are modern cabinets with demanding reveals, and the openings were not consistent from unit to unit.
- An imported cabinet package. Fillers, side panels and toe kicks arrived oversize and finished on all sides, so for every piece we chose the visible faces and edges, then cut and fit it to the opening.
- Prefabricated countertops. Every stone top, in the kitchens, the bathrooms and everywhere else, arrived pre-cut, including the waterfall ends, so every cabinet run had to hit its dimensions exactly. Otherwise a top would come up long or short, or a waterfall leg would stop short of the floor or stand too tall. The islands also had to be set perfectly square for the mitered waterfall edges to line up.
- Sorting the hardware. Hardware had been consolidated and moved around, in poorly labeled boxes, so we tracked down, counted and matched it to the right units.
- Generic plans. Which finish went with which box had to be worked out from the drawings.
- Speed and precision together. The schedule called for both, and we delivered both.
La'i Loa was built as a speculative development. Today the buildings are finished, sold and occupied.
We provided the installation labor and some of the consumable materials. The work ran over about four months, though not continuously: we moved in and out of the buildings as units became ready and available for install.
Kitchen cabinets set, countertops to come
White slab-front kitchen cabinets set and leveled, ready for countertops.
Kitchen and island installed
Kitchen and island cabinets installed, with the countertops in and the floor still protected.
Kitchen installed, countertop still protected
Kitchen cabinets installed, with protection still on the countertop.
Kitchen in a different finish scheme
Kitchen wall, base and tall appliance cabinets installed in a different finish scheme.
Tall pantry cabinets in place
Tall pantry cabinets installed beside the kitchen.
Wood-veneer island end panel
Slab-front vanity installed, top to come
A white slab-front vanity with a wood-edge frame, installed and ready for its top.
Vanity installed, ready for its top
A white slab-front vanity with a wood-edge frame, installed and ready for its top.
Vanity with stone top set, before fixtures
A white slab-front vanity with a wood-edge frame and stone top, set and leveled before the fixtures.
Vanity with stone top protected
A vanity installed with its stone top, protected for the other trades.
Floating wood-veneer vanity hung and leveled
Floating vanity, mirrors still wrapped
A floating wood-veneer vanity installed, with the mirrors still wrapped.
Wardrobe boxes going in
Wood-veneer wardrobe boxes installed in a closet, before shelves and doors.
Wood-veneer wardrobe and built-in drawers
A wood-veneer wardrobe and built-in drawer unit installed in a bedroom.
Wardrobe and drawer unit, second view
The wood-veneer wardrobe and drawer unit from another angle.
Floating console and tall wood-veneer cabinet
A floating wood-veneer console and a tall wood-veneer cabinet installed in one of the units.
Floating console with tall cabinet beyond
The floating wood-veneer console, with the tall cabinet beyond.
Floating console and full-height panel
A floating wood-veneer console beside a full-height wood-veneer panel.
Flush interior door installed
A flush interior door installed, with the floor still protected.
Flush reveal detail between trim and fronts
Detail of the flush reveals between the wood trim and the door and drawer fronts. Holding these tight, even reveals in openings that were not consistent was one of the most demanding parts of the install.
Laundry room cabinets in high-gloss laminate
Laundry room upper and tall cabinets. The laundry rooms used a high-gloss laminate rather than the painted finish.
Finished kitchen, island and pendants
Another finished unit: the wood-veneer island, with the white slab-front kitchen beyond.
Finished kitchen with waterfall island
A finished kitchen: white slab-front cabinets with wood-edge framing, a wood-veneer island with a waterfall stone top, and panel-front tall cabinets. The island was set perfectly square so the pre-cut, mitered waterfall top would line up and meet the floor.
Tall pantry and oven cabinets
Tall pantry cabinets beside the built-in ovens, with wood-edge framing.
Panel-front refrigerator and tall cabinets
The panel-front refrigerator and tall cabinets, with the range wall beyond.
Finished bathroom with floating double vanity
A finished bathroom: floating wood-veneer double vanity with a stone top.
Wood-veneer wardrobe wall
A finished wood-veneer wardrobe wall with full-height doors.
Kitchen and island installed, second view
The kitchen and island from a slightly different angle.