I've seen "Smitty Built Ins" advertisements for years and have always wanted to employ Rich to do some work for us but wasn't able to fit it in our budget till now. The wait was worth it! He just completed installing 5 BEAUTIFUL window moldings for us and I couldn't be happier! Its important to point out that we had some major problems with 3 side by side windows that were not even. Rich worked long and hard to make the sizing problem invisible in his finish product. He even came to my house 4 times to make sure I was happy with the design insert that would hide the problem. I've included pictures of the windows mentioned above along with a close up of the design but the lightening is making the detail a bit hard to see. Take my word for it-its gorgeous! We have now employed Rich to do our baseboards for our entire downstairs so I will post another review once that is installed but I know they will look beautiful! read more

Smitty Built-Ins - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

Saw the van and grabbed the number. Met with "Rich" aka Smitty and off we went. Discussed my idea. He shared pros and cons plus considerations I hadn't even thought of. End result...WOW! Solid wood cabinets, great craftsmanship and attention to detail. Note: This is not an Ikea product (nothing wrong with Ikea just "you pay for what you get," ideology. It is built to last. Rich does what he says. I will be back. read more

I started looking for a company early September. Everyone was busy and didn't return a call. Those who did were booked until Feb 2022. I needed something done right and before Christmas. I asked for recommendations in a local FB group and Rich came highly recommended by two neighbors. So I called and left a voicemail and he called back the same day. He said he would need to visit me and see and design this with me. I was like okay, the other vendors just asked me for the dimension and quoted their price. So Rich came after a week - and he was an artist and a consultant. The man takes pride in his work. He has been doing this forever and he walked me through options ( he has a portfolio the size of yellow pages). Clearly I had no clue and he guided me through design, drawers, color - everything. He delivered on time. The guys came to install sharply at 7am and they're good at what they do. The finished product looks better than what I have seen on Pinterest. So if you're looking for builtins, go with this guy. He might be expensive. He might be busy. But you get what you pay for and you'd be so happy at the end of it. He takes care of the work like this was his own house. Looks at every minute detail that I wouldn't even have thought of checking. Oh one more thing... I had confirmed the color with him during the design. Rich drove 45 minutes one way to my place with a part of the cabinet painted with the color I had selected - just to make sure that the white matches with the rest of the white in the house. That's how much he cares. read more

Smitty is such a rare gem. He is honest and friendly and punctual and a real perfectionist. He takes such pride in his work, and it is easy to see why. We had an office nook that needed a desk and some cabinets. Really small job, and we figured going with a modular cabinet company would be the economical choice. The mock-up they showed us just looked cheap though, so we decided to get a bid from a real builder who uses real wood instead of mdf. Enter Smitty. He drew up what I wanted, and it was exactly what I wanted because he had no limitations on what he could build, unlike closet/cabinet companies. and the cost? almost exactly the same as the cheapo particle board company was going to charge us. When he came to install (right on time), it was done very slowly and deliberately. This is not a rush job. He makes sure that it looks like this has been part of the house since time immemorial. No gaps, no creaky bits, no rickety drawers or doors. Everything is perfect. Our tiny desk nook is now the fanciest part of our whole house. I want to hold a dinner party in there. I wish I had a fancier camera so you could really see how beautiful it is, but hopefully you'll get the idea. Everyone who has seen it has gushed over it. Highly recommend. read more

Smitty Built-Ins - office nook by Smitty Built-Ins - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

I contracted with Rich at Smitty Built-ins to build my home office. He is amazing! Start to finish, I couldn't be more pleased. He took care with the design phase helping me to stay within budget but get everything that I needed. He was on schedule (we had to wait until he was available to start the job, but it was worth waiting for - he was up front and told me exactly how long his backlog was and when he would be able to start my job). He told us when the job would start and how long it would take and was right on time. His quality of work is incredible! It is hard to find a true craftsman these days, and Rich is definitely a craftsman. He really cares and the quality of his work shows! He pays attention to the small details. He and his installation team were clean, polite, and on time. I highly recommend Smitty Built-In's! read more

See all

Not sure why Yelp didn't show my review from 2012- so I've added below and I've uploaded a photo of the awesome home office Smitty's built for us. We just moved and of course I had to call Smitty again- he just finished our large 14' x 9' bookcase for us. Again, his workmanship and attention to detail is excellent! My wall isn't perfectly straight so there was a small gap at the end - I thought caulk is fine but no, that just isn't acceptable for Smitty- he spent extra time and cut 2 small pieces of wood to fill in the gap and it's perfect! He really takes pride in his work and makes sure we are happy with the results. Again, we are so thankful we found him and would recommend him! Review from 2012: Smitty Built-Ins just finished installation of our home office, complete with 2 corner desks, lighted bookcase, and many drawers. Rich and his guys did an incredible job! We are so happy with the results that I am doing my first online review ever! We were impressed with Rich from our first meeting. He's a true craftsman who takes pride in his work, not just a salesman like most others I've met. He listened to what we envisioned and offered some additional ideas to make the room even better. His work is high quality but not high priced. He kept us posted throughout the project and was on schedule as promised. We are so glad we found Smitty and highly recommend him! read more

Smitty Built-Ins - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

When I first walked in to see the second installment of our new media and wine cabinet at Smitty Built-Ins, I was in awe. Both pieces were stunning! The detail is nothing short of perfection. Looking at the finished product made me tear up. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Although Smitty's work came highly recommended through our neighbors, somehow seeing his amazing work, and face to face meetings to his business and work ethic took our experience to a whole new level. His workmanship, honesty and creativity is hard to come by. He has an excellent eye for style. As it stands, we're trying to come up with new projects for him to build. There's so much more to say i.e, quality, on time delivery, the list goes on. Trust me, you won't be disapointed. read more

I work for a large commercial General Contracting company in San Diego and deal with contractors regularly. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to dealing with another contractor, especially in my home. On top of that, I'm working out of town so it made the decision to move forward even more difficult. My wife and I needed some custom built-ins for the media niches around our fireplace in our living room. Smitty had done some work in the neighborhood and had been highly recommended to us by our friends and neighbors. Even after all the fine things they had to say about the work they do, I was truly amazed at the attention to detail and high quality of the work they perform. He takes his time, truly crafts each piece and has pride in what he does. I could not have been more pleased with Richard Smith and his work. My highest recommendation! I only wish he also did commercial work so I could use him on all my projects. read more

So we wanted to get the best use out of our media space in our family room since our tv would have never fit in that insert and decided to finally go ahead and see about getting a bar and cabinet put in, we wanted something custom and nothing made out off cheap MDF or plywood, we wanted real wood and we wanted the natural design and lines real wood displays so we wanted it stained and not painted. We shopped around and decided to contact Smitty's, we emailed and texted back and forth with pictures and ideas of what we were looking for and to get some rough estimates, we new it wouldn't be cheap but we wanted something that was going to last and wanted quality material, we finally set up an in home visit and Rich was able to draw out what we envisioned, he is so passionate about his work and it shows, his attention to detail and putting what's on paper to reality is amazing, he kept us informed on the process and had us come down to his shop for the final approval and to make any changes to the design, needless to say the final product was everything we could have imagined, we love looking at our bar and making use of it, Thanks Rich for your hard work and expertise, we will definitely be thinking of you for any of our other custom built designs. read more

Smitty Built-Ins - we love to see the natural design of the wood - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

Not many people do quality work anymore. Most "craftsman" and construction-type people try to get things done quickly (and therefore not up to strong quality) in order to get on to the next paying job. Smitty's Built-Ins is NOT one of those companies. Smitty's takes so much pride in their work. They want their name to be associated with fantastic workmanship and in my opinion, that's what happens. I ordered an odd request, a custom job, and the detail was researched by this company, therefore my finished product was perfect for what I wanted. I'm now coming back for a second order for my home and I'm so excited to have more work done by Smitty's. I recommend them to everyone, I can't keep them a secret as much as I'd like to! Smitty does what he says he's going to do, and within the timeline he says he will. If he runs into a delay, he doesn't make up a story to try to make himself look better - he'll just be honest with you if he has to extend. He explains everything very well and provides lots of choices to make sure you are able to select something you'll love. I'm very happy! Thanks Smitty! *Custom woodworking - cabinetry of all types, bookcases, fireplace mantels, ceiling woodwork (beams and full wood ceilings), inserts into wall cubbyholes, crown molding and trim, finish carpentry, dog/cat ramps. See the website for a large selection of photos! read more

Smitty is a true craftsman! We needed a built in to fill an oddly sized entertainment center niche right next to our fireplace. Not only did Smitty draw up a beautiful cabinet to fit in the niche, he also designed an attached mantle, above and beyond what we were expecting! Smitty was professional, punctual, and communicated regularly to keep us up to date on the progress. This previously boring wall has become our favorite part of the house and we are actively looking for more projects to call Smitty about! read more

Smitty Built-Ins - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

Requested a quote for an entertainment center just across the bottom, nothing fancy and specifically asked for something simple. After a handful of messages back and forth the owner turned from nice and polite to very arrogant and rude. First quote was $5,800 and something to consider for anyone looking for something simple just know their work "requires a minimum of $2500 charge". read more

Cannot say enough good things about this contractor!! He is a true artist with anything wood. He has done many projects for us and is reliable, honest and produces amazing work! He has finished projects for us big and small and I have always been 100% impressed and happy with his work. read more

I echo all of the other reviewers here. Smitty just completed our built-in media cabinet. His craftsmanship is really excellent. I think it's rare to find these days a person who take such pride in their work. The quality really shows. Working with him was great from start to finish. He was really helpful and collaborative when it came to designing our built-in. And he was very transparent in the process of how everything works. I also appreciated how he showed us the cabinet before it was completed which gave us a chance to make changes if need be. He also went above and beyond by helping us get some stubborn permanent marker off our wood desk. It was really nice of him to fix the damage. Overall, a really great guy, great work and a fantastic experience. read more

Wow, if you are looking for a professional who knows built-ins, this guy definitely excels in the business. I had him build an entertainment center for my family room. Superb quality, workmanship, attention to detail, and delivers when promised. Very responsive. Don't expect a detailed computer drawing prior to viewing/delivery, but not to worry - he meets your specific needs by communicating with you and what you'd like in the piece. He is a true artisan. I really enjoyed doing business with him and highly recommend him and his team. And he's a local, with his workshop in Chula Vista. read more

They just finished my media built-in and it is beyond fabulous! These guys are truly artist! I wanted something a little different from the normal, and I got it! Thanks you!!! read more

See all

We wholeheartedly recommend Smitty! The built-ins and fireplace mantle he did for us completely transformed our living room. Absolutely gorgeous!!! His workmanship and attention to detail are impeccable. He clearly loves what he does and takes great care to get everything just right. Great service. Great product. You won't be disappointed. read more

Smitty Built-Ins - Fireplace mantle and liquor cabinet transformation. - Cabinetry Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I wholeheartedly agree with the other 5-star reviews here. Smitty just completed our built-in media cabinet and it looks great. He is a professional and it shows in his work. Also, working with him was easy. He's a very pleasant guy and he knows his craft. So I simply gave him the parameters of what we wanted in our built-in and then he came up with alternative designs. He explained the pros and cons of each design, and made excellent recommendations. Overall it was a great experience, and I'm delighted with both Smitty and his work product. He's now our go-to guy for any carpentry work we may need in the future. read more

Smitty installed a custom fireplace mantel and media center in our family room. I met with several vendors prior and knew that Smitty was the right vendor to go with. Talk about custom, personal service! Smitty was extremely detailed and met with us several times to make sure that every aspect of the job was exactly what we wanted. Our mantel and media center turned out beautifully! Smitty's work is very high quality. Each and every drawer, piece of moulding, panel and frame was literally custom designed by Smitty. I have received so many compliments on the beautiful design and I would definitely use Smitty Built-ins again for another project. Very professional! read more

Smitty Built-Ins did an amazing job on my 15 foot built in media center. Smitty is a craftsman who personally oversees all aspects of the job and takes a lot of pride in his work. He did everything I asked and made sure I was happy at each phase of the work including design, rough finish, paint, install. He offers a very good value - as I priced out built ins through Loews and Smitty was about the same price for better quality and definitely more customization. I would definitely use him again on my next project. read more

I'm a repeat customer of Smitty Built-ins and I cannot recommend him and his team highly enough. They're a professional team through and through, from a polite and informative initial meeting through the finished project. He listens to your design ideas and is honest and straightforward with his suggestions of how to make your project look its best. He has made my house look unique and beautiful! I couldn't be more pleased. read more