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Smooth Drywall and Tray Ceilings

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I enjoy doing drywall and plaster. Using a lift turns the heavy work of installing ceilings into a job that one person can do alone. Double skim coating and sanding is extra work, but the result is far superior.

On this ceiling we placed a layer of ¼-inch drywall over the entire room to hide a heavily swirled and cracked textured pattern. An additional beveled border of drywall produced the tray ceiling. A Level 5 finish and fresh paint made this well-worn 1950s ranch living room new again.

Ceilings are the most underused and misused surfaces in most homes. Eliminating the “popcorn” and repainting is an easy way to brighten a room and raise the ceiling. If you don’t have enough height for a coffered ceiling, you can use thin battens to produce a frame and panel effect.

Kitchen & Bath Updates

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If you need a new kitchen or bath, or just have clogged drains, broken drawers or doors, need a new backsplash or tub surround, or need to replace your faucets, built-in microwave or cabinets — I can help.

 

Beginning Kitchen Demo

 

Down to the Wall Studs

 

New Wiring, Plumbing, Insulation, Sub-floor,
and Drywall

 

New Kitchen

Basement Improvements

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Before

After

 

This basement was dark, old, and had flooded several times with rainwater and/or sewage. We hauled away many loads of ruined possessions, wood paneling and drywall.

We then fixed the 8-foot crack in the basement wall using the Simpson Strong-Tie CRACK-PAC Epoxy Injection Kit. (That’s a separate story involving excavation of the front yard.)

We removed all the floor tiles, cleaned the concrete walls and floor, sub-contracted the services of a plumber and an electrician, strapped the water heater to the walls, replaced the clothes dryer vent, and added new pilasters, a lighting soffit, Cat6 ethernet wiring and coaxial cable, and fresh paint.

The homeowner placed the renovated house on the market and received multiple offers the first day.

Cost Planning

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As General Contractors, we are often asked to come look at someone’s home improvement project and give them a cost estimate. That is seldom a simple or quick task. Since there is more than one way to do most things, the homeowner will likely get a different scope of work and a different cost estimate from each contractor they interview. The contractor makes a significant investment for maybe a 1-in-3 chance of getting the work. 

Often the homeowner hears the first round of price quotes and then, understandably, wants to change the scope of the project. This quickly leads to confusion, waste, heartache, maybe animosity, and sometimes future problems between the chosen contractor and the homeowner.

Cost Planning is a better way. For a reasonable fee the contractor works with the designer and the homeowner to specify the project details, the materials to be used, and then estimates the costs of materials and labor. 

Here is the materials cost part of a recent Cost Planning report for a homeowner who wanted to re-case several windows in a Craftsman style.

In the end the homeowner gets the design they want, a well thought-out cost estimate, a bill of materials, and experience working with their tentatively chosen contractor. The homeowner can then either confidently contract with that same builder or contact other contractors — knowing what a reasonable bid price should be for a well-defined scope of work.