Latest / USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast / Alexandria Kitchen Cabinets: Permits, Old Town, Lead Times

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Alexandria Kitchen Cabinets: Permits, Old Town, Lead Times · USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast

• 0:04
  Welcome back to the USA cabinet store remodeling
• 0:07
  podcast. I'm Chris, and today we are in Alexandria,
• 0:11
  Virginia, which turns out to be one of the more
• 0:13
  interesting places in the region to buy kitchen
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  cabinets. Not because of the cabinets, because
• 0:18
  of the rules around them. Jessica, you work out
• 0:22
  of the Alexandria showroom. I do, and I love
• 0:25
  this one because Alexandria has a quirk that
• 0:27
  catches people out every single week. Buying
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  the cabinets is the easy half. The rules are
• 0:33
  the half nobody warns you about. Okay, start
• 0:35
  with the easy half. Can I actually get cabinets
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  this week? Yes. Our showroom is at 5731 General
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  Washington Drive with a warehouse behind it.
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  If the cabinets you want are in that warehouse
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  and ready to release, you can take them home
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  the same day. Ring ahead and we will confirm
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  the exact items. For kitchens coming out of warehouse
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  stock, our published turnaround is five to seven
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  business days and three to four for vanities.
• 0:59
  Those are estimates and the real date goes on
• 1:01
  your order. And you are open Saturdays, which
• 1:04
  for most people is the only day they can shop.
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  8 to 5 on Saturday, 8 to 6 Monday to Friday.
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  And homeowners can walk straight in. Some wholesale
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  suppliers are trade only. We are not. So what
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  is the quirk? Alexandria is an independent city.
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  It is not part of Fairfax County. It has its
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  own Department of Code Administration and its
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  own permit center. And here is the trap. Your
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  mailing address can say Alexandria when you are
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  not in the city at all. How does that work? If
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  your zip code is 22314 or 22301, you are almost
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  always in the city. But an Alexandria address
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  in 22312 can sit in Fairfax County. Our own showroom
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  is the perfect example. It says Alexandria on
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  the door, and the property is in Fairfax County.
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  I love that. So step one is what? One phone call
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  to the city permit center. to find out which
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  side of the line your house is on. That decides
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  which office you deal with. But are the rules
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  actually different on each side? The basic rulebook
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  is shared. The city and the county both enforce
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  the Virginia Statewide Building Code. What differs
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  is the office, the procedures, and the extra
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  layers the city adds on top, which are the historic
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  districts and the condo policy. We will get to
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  both. OK, the big question. Do I need a permit
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  to replace my kitchen cabinets? No. The Virginia
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  construction code section 108 .2 lists installation
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  or replacement of cabinetry or trim as exempt
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  from a permit. And notice it says installation,
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  not just replacement. So new cabinets in the
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  same layout or a new layout with nothing else
• 2:44
  changing need no permit. And the city agrees?
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  It does. The city has an older policy from 2012
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  that lists replacement cabinetry as exempt. But
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  that was written against an earlier edition of
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  the code. So the state regulation is the one
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  to rely on today. So where does it stop being
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  exempt? The moment you move something. Move the
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  sink to sit under the window. That is a plumbing
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  permit. Add a dishwasher that needs new plumbing
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  or wiring, plumbing and electrical permits. New
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  outlets on an island. Electrical. Take out a
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  wall. Building permit. Move a gas line for a
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  new range. Gas permit. What about just swapping
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  the sink itself? A new sink on the existing supply,
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  drain and vent, is exempt. The test is not whether
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  the sink sits in the same spot. It is whether
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  the pipes change. And two more limits. Exempt
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  work still has to meet the code. And if your
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  property is in a mapped flood zone, the building
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  official can require a permit even for exempt
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  items. So if you are near the water, ask first.
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  And if I do need a permit, what is the real cost?
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  Honestly, it is not the fee. It is the inspections.
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  You request them through the city's online system,
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  called Apex, but each one has to fit the city's
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  inspection schedule. So build them into your
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  timeline from day one. Let's talk about Old Town.
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  Everyone assumes a historic house means you need
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  approval for everything. This is the myth I most
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  enjoy killing. Alexandria has seven National
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  Register Historic Districts, but only two are
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  locally regulated by the Board of Architectural
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  Review. Old and historic Alexandria? and Parker
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  Gray, plus buildings the City Council has designated
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  as 100 -year -old buildings. And the city's own
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  page says it plainly. Interior work does not
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  require bar approval. So a new kitchen inside
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  an old townhouse is not the board's business.
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  Where the board does come in is the outside of
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  the building. Cut a new window over the sink,
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  add an exterior vent for a range hood, change
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  a rear door, and that is an exterior alteration
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  that needs approval. The board also has to approve
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  a permit to demolish for more than 25 square
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  feet of material on a structure, regardless of
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  whether anyone can see it from the street. Regardless
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  of visibility, so even the back of the house.
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  Exactly. If your kitchen project touches the
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  outside of the house at all or you are not sure,
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  call the city's preservation staff before you
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  book anyone. And one more thing. Taking out an
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  interior wall does not need the board, but it
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  can still need a building permit. Two different
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  processes. And condos, Alexandria has a lot of
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  them. Condos have two sets of rules. The city's
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  permit center has a condominium alterations policy.
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  You follow your association's documents, the
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  building code, and any city permits. If the work
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  changes the structure, the exit access paths,
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  or increases the fire hazard, the plans have
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  to be prepared by a Virginia registered design
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  professional. And upgrading an electrical panel
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  needs an engineer to analyze the whole building
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  system. Plus whatever the association wants.
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  Often yes. Working hours, elevator bookings,
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  protecting the corridors, insurance certificates
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  from every trade. Get those in writing before
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  you order, because the delivery route might decide
• 6:00
  whether you buy assembled or flat pack. Speaking
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  of delivery. We offer tailgate or in -house delivery
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  across Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and
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  D .C. Tailgate means the cartons come off at
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  the curb and in a condo with one elevator that
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  is not much help. So tell us the floor, the stairs,
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  and the elevator access when you order and we
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  will confirm what the delivery covers and whether
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  it costs extra. Okay, now I want to get to the
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  thing you told me about finishes because it surprised
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  me. So, ask any showroom if a cabinet is in stock
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  and you will hear yes. But in stock can mean
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  three things. It is in the warehouse you are
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  standing next to, it is in Fabuwood's own inventory,
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  or it does not exist yet and gets built after
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  you sign. And the display door looks the same
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  in all three. Identical. And here's the part
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  almost nobody knows. Fabuwood sorts its finishes
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  into tiers. Signature finishes are their stocked,
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  standard lead time finishes. Signature Select
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  and Designer are made to order, with longer lead
• 7:00
  times. But the tier belongs to the door and the
• 7:03
  finish together, not to the color. Give me an
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  example. Oyster. On the Fusion door, Oyster is
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  a signature finish, standard lead time. On the
• 7:13
  Nexus door, that same oyster is Signature Select,
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  made to order. Indigo runs the other way. Signature
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  on Galaxy, made to order on Nexus and Lux. So
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  if I walk in and just say I want Indigo? That
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  tells us nothing about your lead time. Name the
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  door and the finish together. And remember, those
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  tiers describe Fabuwood's stock, not necessarily
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  what is on our floor in Alexandria that week.
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  What about the series? People hear Fabuwood and
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  assume it is all built the same way. It is not.
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  In the Allure series, the box is plywood, with
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  a solid 1⁄2 -inch plywood back and 5⁄8 -inch
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  solid birch dovetail drawers. The Illum series
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  uses a furniture board box with a metal bloom
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  drawer, and the Tuscany door is a nice little
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  trap. Fabuwood offers it in Illum on furniture
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  board and in Avella on plywood. Two kitchens
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  can look identical and be built on different
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  materials, so ask which series the quote is for.
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  Can you modify cabinets and house? We do, which
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  helps in older houses where no wall is ever the
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  length you expect. But ask one question first.
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  Fabuwood's warranty excludes cabinets modified
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  from their original form. So before you approve
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  a change, ask which warranty, if any, covers
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  the modified cabinet and get the answer in writing.
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  That is a very honest thing to tell a customer.
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  It is what I would want to know. Eligible Fabuwood
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  cabinets carry a limited lifetime warranty for
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  the first residential purchaser. but it does
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  not transfer to the next owner of the house,
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  and it excludes rental use. Last thing, what
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  should people bring when they come in? Every
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  wall measured corner to corner in inches, floor
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  to ceiling height, every window and doorway,
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  and how far each one sits from the nearest corner,
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  where your gas, water, and waste come in, appliance
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  model numbers if you have them, and a few photos.
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  That is enough for us to draw the room and give
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  you a date that means something. And the one
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  rule? Do not take out the old kitchen until the
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  new cabinets are in your house and counted against
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  the order. Not ordered, not shipped, not on a
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  truck. In your hallway, correct in number. Jessica,
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  thank you. That was really useful. Anytime. And
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  make that call to the permit center first. Call
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  the permit center first. The full guide with
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  every source is at istycabinets .com. That is
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  the episode. Thanks for listening to the USA
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  Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast.