Just stopped using pocket screws for face frames after 12 years

Switched to domino joinery last month when a client called me out for visible filler on a $4,200 job and now I'm kicking myself for not making the change sooner - anyone else deal with that callout?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.victor1mo ago

paul117 makes a good point about the 9 out of 10 jobs thing but that 1 out of 10 is the one that ends up on social media or in a phone review. I had a buddy who did kitchens for 8 years with pocket screws and no problems until one homeowner who worked from home and stared at his cabinet faces all day. He noticed every single plug and took pics from like 6 inches away. The guy left a 2 star review with close up shots and cost my buddy three potential jobs from that one bad review. That's the reality - you can do 99 perfect cabinets but that 100th one where someone gets a weird angle and the light hits the filler just right is what gets remembered.

paul1171mo ago

Man that's rough but I think you're overreacting a bit here. Pocket screws work fine for 9 out of 10 jobs and nobody is looking that close at face frames. Your client probably only noticed because they were staring at it after paying that much. Domino joinery is nice and all but it adds a ton of setup time and you can't adjust anything once the glue dries. Plus the dominos themselves are expensive and you need a whole new tool. Most customers just want their cabinets to look good from a normal distance and hold up for years. A little filler on a pocket hole that got sanded smooth is not the end of the world.

faithb781mo ago

You said "pocket screws work fine for 9 out of 10 jobs" - but how do you know which job is the one that's gonna get called out until it happens? I mean, that $4,200 job could have been your 9th job just as easy as your 10th, right? Maybe the risk is higher than we want to admit when a client is paying real money and actually inspecting the work.