Custom veneer panels, perfectly cut reveals, completely wrong dimensions.
I once watched an entire set of interior wall panels get rebuilt because the owner couldn’t wait for approved drawings. Veneer sheets, cores, and edge details were all fabricated to the wrong specifications because production started before the architect signed off.
The owner was in a hurry. He handed me partial drawings from one section of the space and told me to match those details everywhere. I did exactly what he asked.
The problem? That section was the exception, not the rule. Different panel heights. Different reveal proportions. By the time we discovered the mismatch, the shop had already cut and sequenced every panel around the wrong dimensions.
Complete rebuild. Six-figure mistake.
The Real Cost of Drafting Errors
Most people assume drafting mistakes just waste material. But the real cost is much bigger.
Research shows that rework accounts for about 70% of construction errors tied back to engineering and design problems. In millwork, where everything is custom, measured, and detailed down to the millimeter, those errors multiply quickly.
That veneer disaster taught me something crucial about scaling millwork operations: quality doesn’t come from better drafters. It comes from better systems.
The Three-Approval Framework
After that experience, I put a simple rule in place: never build anything without three specific approvals.
- Approved shop drawings. Complete, architect-signed documentation. Not partial drawings or “close enough” sketches.
- Approved finishes. Laminates, veneers, metals, or stain samples as approved control samples. No assumptions about what the client wants.
- Final field measurements. Actual site conditions where the millwork will be installed. Reality almost always differs from plans.
Shop owners hate this system when cash flow gets tight. “We need to start cutting now or we’ll miss the deadline.” I understand the pressure.
But I also understand the cost of rebuilding custom millwork.
Smart Risk Management
The three-approval framework doesn’t mean everything stops until every detail is perfect. Smart shops learn what’s safe to start early.
- With approved finishes, you can order materials.
- With drawings and finishes approved, you can cut typical parts not affected by field dimensions.
- Open-ended elevations, freestanding pieces, and running trim profiles often work.
The key is systematic risk assessment. A project manager or shop foreman should review approvals, flag what can safely proceed, and think through architectural context, ADA requirements, and coordination with other trades.
Hidden Dependencies Kill Projects
The most common mistakes come from missing hidden dependencies.
- Plumbing fixtures that set cabinet dimensions.
- Electrical requirements that affect dimensions or clearances.
- Equipment specs that change interior layouts.
When these issues don’t show up on your millwork drawings for confirmation, they get missed.
The Peer Review System
Talent creates great individual results. Systems create consistent results at scale.
Every set of drawings should be peer reviewed before release to production. A solid checklist makes sure:
- Finishes match approved samples.
- Shop drawings reflect every approved revision.
- Field dimensions and trade coordination are confirmed.
- Equipment and fixtures match final specifications.
Fresh eyes catch assumptions and mistakes that familiarity misses. That’s where real protection against rework comes from.
Process Over Pressure
Millwork is professionalizing rapidly. The shops that grow are the ones building systems, not just relying on craftsmanship.
I set approval requirements up front with every client: delays in approvals mean delays in delivery. Internally, the rule is simple. No material orders without finish approvals, no production release without shop drawing and field measurement approvals.
The three-approval framework may feel rigid at first. But once you calculate the cost of a rebuild, it’s the most flexible system you can run.
Quality at scale requires systematic thinking. That veneer project taught me the lesson once.
I never forgot it.
Jacob Edmond
CEO