Custom Stainless Steel Fabrication

When custom is the right call

Most kitchens are furnished straight out of the catalogue. A3 Equipment carries 2,680 products across 180 categories, and for the majority of rooms a standard size does the job. Buy the standard size when it fits. Custom work earns its place when the room refuses to cooperate.

That usually means one of a few things: a wall that is not square, a gap between two fixed pieces of equipment that no stock table lands in, a corner that wants an L-shaped run rather than two tables shoved together, a sink that has to sit over drains already in the floor, or a working height that has to match the line either side of it. In those cases a made-to-measure piece is not a luxury. It is the only thing that will close the gap without wasting floor.

The three jobs this shop is asked for most

Each one has its own page, written to be read before you ask for a quote — because the specification decisions are what set the price.

• Work tables and countersHow to specify a table so you only buy it once — gauge for the top, the shelf and the legs, 304 against 430, edge profile by side, backsplash height, base and feet, and the doorway measurement everybody forgets.
• Wall claddingStainless steel kitchen wall cladding — where cladding earns its money and where it is overspend, thickness and finish, and the trims and sealed joints that decide whether it passes inspection.
• Exhaust hoods and ventilationHoods, ductwork and make-up air — Type I against Type II, canopy shapes and what they cost to run, why make-up air decides whether the system works at all, and what the code points at.

What we fabricate

The bread and butter is the stainless that holds a kitchen together: prep and work tables at a set length and depth, undershelves and equipment stands, wall shelving, sinks with the bowls placed where the plumbing already is, and the infill and worktop pieces that bridge the units on a run. Alongside that, the division fabricates and installs stainless wall cladding and exhaust systems, working with makers including Fast Hood and CaptiveAire.

The measurements to have ready

For each piece, send us:

• Overall sizeLength, depth and working height — and say whether the height has to match something already installed.
• NeighboursWhat sits on either side, and how much clearance you need between them.
• For sinksHow many bowls, which side the drainboard goes, and where the existing drain and supply lines come up.
• For shelvingThe wall it mounts to, and roughly what it has to carry.
• The route inThe tightest doorway on the way to the room. A piece that will not turn a corner is no use in the room it was built for.
• A photo or sketchA phone photo of the space with a tape measure in it tells us more than a paragraph.

How a job starts

Send the measurements and photos to aabbas@a3trading.ca, or use the form at the bottom of this page. We quote the piece, you confirm the dimensions, and nothing is cut until the drawing and the quote are agreed. Every fabrication job is priced individually, so ask about the timeline for your piece at the same time you ask about the cost.

When it is finished you can collect it from the Surrey warehouse, or we can arrange delivery anywhere in Canada. Delivery is quoted and charged separately — it is never included in the price of the work. If the fabrication is part of a larger fit-out, equipment financing is available; ask us for the terms.

Fabrication as part of a fit-out

Custom stainless rarely arrives on its own. It usually turns up in the middle of a project where the cooking line, the refrigeration and the wash-up are all being specified together, and the fabricated pieces are what make the standard equipment fit the room. That is the work covered on our kitchen design and installation page, and you can see it done at scale in the Reflection Banquet Hall case study — a kitchen built to serve 1,200 guests at once.

If you are local, the Surrey page covers pickup and how the warehouse works day to day.