Our Story
Originally from Germany and established in 1982 in South Africa, Detlev Skrzypczak has more than 45 years of experience in wood craftsmanship. With his European eye for quality, he will make your project a success. Creating furniture is his passion and he proudly does all main construction himself and personally comes to install the end result with his small team of helpers.
We look forward to working with you.
Our Work
We specialize in the construction of customized staircases, furniture, interiors, and balustrades. We use quality imported materials from Europe and all woodwork is done with hardwoods, veneer boards, superfoods, and chipboards. Measurements are taken on-site and advice on the choice of materials and the design can be provided. Customizations can be done based on sketches, drawings, or pictures that you provide.
Staircases
We build customized indoor and outdoor staircases. Indoor staircases are usually constructed with Meranti, Oak, Beech, Maple, or African Walnut and for outdoor staircases, we recommend using Meranti wood. Staircases are constructed offsite. A typical staircase takes about two to three weeks to manufacture off-site and three days to assemble on-site. Staircases are treated with a special floor sealer so no treatment is necessary after installation. Outdoor staircases need to be treated twice a year.
Furniture
Customized furniture can be constructed from all hardwoods that are available and veneer boards. For kitchen cupboards that need spraying in different colors, we use superfood. All butcher blocks will be carefully designed to match your kitchen or patio area. Construction materials such as handles, locks, and sliding gear are imported from Europe.
Interiors
Completely new interiors raging from offices, kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, lofts, and bar areas can be constructed. Existing interiors can be revamped. Contact us to discuss the possibilities.
Balustrades
We provide on-site advice on the style and color of the balustrades. Balustrades can be turned, fluted or straight and all the handrails can be custom-made. For outdoor balustrades, we recommend using Meranti wood. Indoor balustrades can be constructed from any hardwood type available.
Wood Types
The most common and reasonably priced is Indonesian Meranti. Suitable for indoors and outdoors use. Medium-cost woods are White and Red Oak, better suited to indoor use.
More expensive types are Beech, Butternut, and Maple. These are suitable for indoor use. Most hardwoods are imported and properly kiln-dried. Remember, wood is alive and can expand and contract depending on the weather conditions and the amount of moisture in the air. Because of this, it is very important to take these aspects of wood into consideration when deciding on the type of wood that you like to use for your project. Luckily at Custom Wood Craftsman, our advice is always free.