Universal Access typicaly includes widening the entry for wheelchair access, blocking for grab bars, custom cabinetry and fixtures.
Bathroom Remodeling
NEW DESIGNS we start with a plan then typically strip out to the framing studs for access to the rough in work. Bathroom remodels tend to stay within the existing footprint but when there is room for expansion we can frame for a new layout. I am on site and work with you through out the entire project.
Flooring
Notes Appliances and fixtures like sinks need to be selected for the design stage. Flooring can go in before cabs if wood and after cabs if tile. The counters when they are granite for example are measured after the cabs are in and can be 2 weeks out. Kitchen Remodel: The process Custom Cabinet Page
Door Installation/Replacement
Drywalls
Builder trims can have the tendancy to be under sized or remodels have the historic styles removed. Window casing can be omitted entirely and just have drywall returns. We can help you restore your trimwork to it's former glory and add back the classic window casings.
Framing
REPAIRS most baths end up with a leak at the shower or bathtub doors that can compromise the sheathing and sometimes gets into the framing. When that happens we need to demo to confirm the source and assess the extent of the repair. Typically that requires ply repairs that can get into the shower (or below the tub) which can need the entire tile replaced. So to estimate those we try to determine the repair from above but only the demo can reveal the true scope.
Tile Installation
Fireplaces
The fireplace insert or existing firebox determines a lot of the design. Then the mantel is scaled to how it fits in with the room, the type of mantel being used and if it will include side cabinets or overmantel with a panel or TV.
Staircases
Skylight Repair/Replacement
Cabinet Installation
Custom classic built-in cabinets from our woodworking shop. Craftsman era entertainment centers with hand made shaker style doors. Stock cabinet custom re-builds and cabinet installations.
Casa del Fabbro or House of the Craftsman is an example of a Roman house excavated in Pompeii that may be representative of a carpenters home and workshop. This house was found on the west side of the Casa del Menandro, which occupied over three-quarters of the Insula, and is a relatively small home 3500 sq ft. It has an average standard size garden plan but with rooms along the west side of the front hall only on the groud floor which was the only entrance to the street. The entertainment area of the house had been converted into a shop and the rooms off the hall mainly for storage of trade materials. A small four-wheeled cart was discovered in the central intercolumniation and a large number of bronze furniture fittings and iron tools to suggest the owners principal occupantion was a cabinetmaker, (Elia excavation 1933). Among the items excavated they found bronze furniture fittings, cabinet bosses, hinges and handles a bronze measuring rod, dividers and compass. Pieces of worked and partially worked bone, probably for furniture decoration, and one bone-decorated iron furniture foot. The specialized iron tools included a large quantity of chisels straight and curved, whetstones, saws one with a wide blade, axes, files, knives, pliers, hammers and mallets. There were also smithing and other carpentry tools suggesting the owner could have also did handyman type of work.
There are over 30 grades of redwood, the "architectural" Clear heart and Heart B grades are the finest grades but the cost limits our ability to use those for decking. These are used in trim and cabinetry work and come kiln dried which has the moisture content reduced for interior use or on siding for dimensional stability. Being kiln dried doesn't mean it's a higher grade though, decking for example is usually aired in place to conform to it's exterior use.
Porches
Like crown molding coffering a ceiling adds a timeless elegance to rooms. In formal spaces like dining or a panelled office the details have been applied for centuries. Tongue & groove is a classic look for porches or in rooms with a historic design.
Residential Roof Repair
Most Anglo-Saxon buildings were constructed of wood with wattle and daub walls similar to Viking longhouses. Even the halls of nobles were simple, with a central fire and a hole in the roof to let the smoke escape rarely more than one floor, and one room. Heavy post and beam framing set directly into the ground, supporting the roof. Packed earth floors, though planks were sometimes used over shallow pits for storage. Thatched stick roofing being the most common, though turf and wooden shingles were also used. If there were windows they would have been covered with thin animal skins or wood shutters for defense.The only buildings they tended to build in stone were small scale churches with Celtic influences and very few decorative elements, typically from re-used Roman stone and brick. More defensive they put a lot of energy into tower building to gain a high lookout point for the villages and often these are the earliest surviving part of English parish churches.
Carpenters in Europe had to rebuild from the choas, produce sanctuaries for the populace and retain the carpentry trade as much as possible for the time. In the wake of the demise of the Roman Empire, peasants, nobles and clergyman had to literally remake their lives. The lack of security on the roads prevented most commerce so each town had to be almost self-sufficient, producing the necessary iron, wood, wool and wheat, and without commerce there can be no large cities. As the urban life of Rome gave way to the countryside, people became more closely attached to the land, their very survival depended upon it. These people needed security and protection from the roving hordes. The majority of towns were often founded near the fortifications the carpenters built for feudal lords, monasteries or the ruins of antique cities where they could have found existing building materials. In return the development of serfdom and feudalism promised security and protection, however, feudalism contained the seeds of its own destruction. What began as an attempt to restore social, political, military and economic order, ended up producing nothing less than anarchy.
Insulation
Masonry
Combustible fireplace mantel materials like wood need to be held back from the firebox opening. Wood burning masonry fireplaces can throw hot embers even through the screen so the Hearth is a min. 16" out from the face and 8" each side. Code defers sealed gas inserts and wood burning zero clearance contained units to the safe fire clearances in their instruction pamphlet. Typically gas zero clearance units don't require a hearth if not above the inserts base.
Caulking
Estimating & Installation: Paint grade custom cabinets can usually be estimated during a site visit. The location is measured onsite then the layout is calculated and the units are built in the shop. They are sanded and prepared for paint and can have a brushed on primer applied. Once installed the crown and scribes are put on then any caulking if needed is done. After the installation they are ready for the final color coat by your painter.