ABOUT US SECTION
HOW WE STARTED
August Oak Woodworks was started by me, (Nathan Rench) in response to the growing number of people asking for custom cabinetry in their homes here in Temecula, Ca.
I started woodworking when I was 15 years old and fell in love with it from the beginning. For years I learned furniture construction by refinishing old tables and cabinets and whatever else people would give me as well as reading anything I could get my hands on about woodworking. Eventually, after I had several building projects of my own under my belt, people that I knew well began hiring me to build things for them rather than just refinish their pieces. I was hooked. The work of building new was way better than the work of refinishing old in my opinion.
THE MOVE
After college, I moved back to Temecula with my wife and got a job fabricating and installing granite counters with Temecula Stoneworks. Working there gave me a lot of insight into how a kitchen or bathroom ought to be designed, both for the customer’s needs and for the tradesmen who would come after me. Often the cabinets I came across looked fine on the outside, but were cheaply made on the inside or just not well-thought-out beforehand. Too many times in order to fit a sink into the “sink cabinet” we would have to cut apart all the bracing on the inside and figure out how to re-support it all. This experience taught me to think of a project as a whole, not only my part of it. How is the electrical going to work with my cabinets? Where will the plumbing go? Is this the best layout, or can it be designed to be more functional? All of this means a better kitchen design for you.
THE GROWTH
All the while, working as the foreman at Temecula Stoneworks I was building cabinets on the side. Occasionally I would get a larger job that would pull me away from granite but mainly I was cabinetmaking only part-time. Eventually, the demand for cabinets exceeded the time I had to do both, so I got my cabinet contractor’s license, left working with stone, and turned all my attention to working with wood. Since then there has been no turning back. The business has been growing and customers have been happy.
WHY CALL ME?
Well, as a small company I offer you something that larger companies just can’t. I offer you a direct connection to the owner. You won’t be talking to a salesman or dealing with an installation crew who you’ve never met before, you’ll be dealing directly with me. Whether I’ve had a hand in every step of the job or had an employee work on part of it, I know that ultimately it’s my name that goes out on every piece and it needs to meet my high standards and expectations. This means that I won’t allow something to be built or installed into someone else’s home that I wouldn’t be happy within my own.