Malcolm Mcgrath Cabinets And Fine Carpentry

Malcolm (Skip) was one of several contractors whom we reached out to with our kitchen drawings to obtain his quote. Not only was his price the most competitive, but we were wholly impressed with his knowledge and commitment to delivering quality.

The scope of our renovation executed by Skip included a kitchen and 2 bathrooms in our old Victorian home in downtown Toronto. He brought with him some really top-notch and honest tradespeople to bring our vision to reality.

We're very happy with our kitchen and found that Skip was really wonderful in working with us to adjust and tailor just as we needed it. We welcomed his years of experience and measured practicality; on several occasions my partner and I considered enhancements or other scope items and Skip was able to vet the options and be very practical about whether or not it was worth it. On one occasion, Skip suggested that we purchase a big-box retailer's vanity, and that it be customized with the legs that we desired, based on the needs of our small bathroom.

Aside from his years of renovation and carpentry experience that is valuable to anyone pursuing a renovation - including my partner and I who had managed large renovations before - we were thoroughly impressed with the quality of his work. We had visited his shop, along with manufacturing facilities of other companies, and we found his work to be far superior and for a better price. His cabinet drawers have stunning dovetailed drawers, for example - his craftsmanship second to none.

In the end, our project was on budget and on time.

I would absolutely recommend him to my friends, and encourage you to as well.

Credit: Vincent Lions for Photos; Linnea Lions for Kitchen Design

Malcolm did a great job on our fireplace and built-in cabinets. He was professional, kind and easy to work with. He made suggestions and guided us through the process. We recommend him for his expertise and craftsmanship.

We initially approached Malcolm for a new kitchen with a different general contractor / project manager in mind. Their costs kept ballooning so we asked Malcolm if he would do the new kitchen and act as the site manager / general contractor / project manager for the kitchen, 2 bathrooms, electrical and various small projects throughout. He agreed to a management fee of $10k which was very reasonable.

He guided us through the entire project, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, some masonry, almost all new electrical and lots of smaller drywall, trim, framing, painting and flooring. We ended up taking 10 days longer than expected (which is amazing for a 3 month project). We ended up roughly on budget, again amazing for a 100 year old house full of surprises as soon as you open the walls.

One of the strongest value adds from Malcolm is his practical approach. He educated me a on how to build and buy products that are tested and are unlikely to fail. He made sure to inform us any time our design decisions might lead to a less durable product.

Malcolm was friendly, efficient with his time, good at communication, reachable and very reasonable with his time. I would definitely recommend him for any kitchen project or as a general contractor.

Malcolm McGrath did outstanding work for us! He manufactured a matching aquarium cabinet, a bar and an entertainment unit. The aquarium cabinet was very technical in nature with a long list of specifications. He thinks things through carefully and methodically and nothing was ever a problem. The quality of his work was excellent and it looks great in our home. Malcolm was a pleasure to work with and we highly recommend him.

I was looking for a cabinet maker who would fabricate custom doors for a wall of IKEA kitchen cabinets. There's a company in California that specializes in doing just this, but I reckoned that there must be someone in Toronto who could do the same. I found Malcolm McGrath on Homestars, and on the basis of good reviews, decided to proceed with him. After a year of searching for a general contractor for the kitchen renovation I re-connected with Malcolm who honoured his initial quotation. The cabinets were faced with rift sawn white oak doors and cover panels which contrast nicely with the other glossy white IKEA cabinets. I also had Malcolm make 12" wide floating shelves, supported by concealed steel brackets, the construction details of which we worked out together. Overall the workmanship was great, and the installation was faultless.

This is the third time we have used Malcolm (Skip) for work we needed at our office. As usual the job was done with amazing precision, on time and BELOW budget. Skip made a tired disorganized space bright, clean and clutter free. Thank you for another job well done.

Doug

Skip McGrath came back to our home to renovate a very tired, soot-coloured,
brick fireplace in our living room. It has been an eye-sore ever since the house
was purchased. A gas insert was installed to replace a faulty, wood-burning fireplace, but then a wooden cabinet had to be built around this to cover over the ugly brick. Skip came to the house to take measurements, drew a design based on some magazine clippings I had been saving for years, and provided realistic timelines as to when he could complete the job. Skip, once again, built beautiful cabinetry, along with a spectacular mantel, mouldings, and matched the profile of the already-existing baseboards in the
living room. Skip also did the marble tile work around the gas insert, including the hearth floor, so he does not just excel in millwork, but tilework as well. Skip takes enormous pride in his work. We are just thrilled with the end result.

I have long admired my neighbours cabinetry and built in shelves. So when I decided to have a built in bookcase made for my own apartment I immediately thought of Malcolm. I live in a historic apartment building, circa 1920, so it was important to me that the built in would be sympathetic to the existing architecture and fit in. When I met with Malcolm he had many good suggestions and together we planned the design of the shelves. When the actual installation took place I was very impressed by Malcolm’s systematic organization. The shelves, tools, and materials were all unpacked with a refined process which made everything run very smoothly. Malcolm quickly and meticulously installed the shelves. I am extremely pleased with the end product. The bookcase fits right in and enhances the room considerably. I have since received many complements from friends. It was a pleasure to work with Malcolm and would recommend him unreservedly.

Malcolm just finished refinishing our kitchen. He not only did a very nice job spraying the doors and painting the cabinet details, but also built and installed some new cabinets which were a perfect match with the existing ones. The price was reasonable and his crew was very fast and tidy. We would happily recommend him to others and use him again.

We just finished renovating our bungalow kitchen in East York, and selected Malcolm McGrath for the job. Of all the people who quoted, he was the only one who brought ideas to the table. The direction we gave him was "modern retro with a strong art deco influence”. His approach was thoughtful and collaborative. He knew exactly what to do with that space from the day he walked into our house. He first asked to see the other rooms, and then came up with the notion of integrating the look of the kitchen with the vintage wooden furniture in some of the other rooms. We loved this idea. Malcolm brought creativity and vision, skill and dedication to the project, creating custom moldings and sweating every detail of our kitchen. He and his crew showed up promptly and worked tenaciously every day. They also cleaned up and vacuumed daily, and meticulously protected the other rooms from construction dust. This is a photo album of images from our renovation. It’s called Kitchen Kung-Fu, because that’s what the job he did in our small and challenging space amounts to! I would not only recommend Malcolm, I wish we could hire him for the extra bathroom we want to put in. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostofhalloweenspast/sets/72157649907480242/