Having a place to truly relax at home is more important than ever now - whether it’s to gather together or to spend some time apart reading by the fire - having spaces we truly cherish are a necessity.
This three-season room addition is so close to finished and it’s already looking gorgeous. We even ran heat into it, so it’s still going to be a great room to spend time in this winter with the fire going. All that’s left is to replace the two flat exterior doors with glass doors and it’s done.
Hiring a professional can be more expensive up front, but hiring someone who isn’t is usually more expensive over time.
This shed project was started by somebody who is not a professional contractor. They cut corners on materials to maximize their profits, while charging less than a pro service would.
They used a single joist and spaced out the boards on the deck to save themselves money. Those cut corners though will cost a customer more money over time. When the unsupported floor sags beneath the shed and causes the weight of the things inside it to crack the shed’s floor, the shed and the deck beneath will both have to be replaced. Basically - the customer will pay twice for their project! This is a bad investment.
When done correctly, the deck will properly support the shed and it will serve the homeowner for years, possibly long after they’ve left the home. That’s a smart investment.
Luckily this homeowner spotted what was happening early enough and switched to a real contractor.
Whenever you catch yourself debating whether to hire a professional contractor or a handyman, ask yourself “Do I want to pay for this once or twice?” You will find it’s always best to hire a professional.
Tired of the kids tracking mud into the house? There’s already a place for muddy shoes, those jackets that end up draped over chairs or on the floor - that place is the entryway. A custom built in storage cubby like these is affordable and creates a space to store all those jackets and shoes. The bench also makes getting our kids ready to go play in the snow much easier. Custom work like this is our specialty, so give us a call and get organized.
A lovely pair of bathroom remodels for an upstairs bath and downstairs half bath. A leak upstairs resulted in a water loss for both bathrooms. We were able to come in and work with the homeowner’s insurance budget to remodel both bathrooms and not only restore, but improve both rooms!
Remodeling projects can seem scary when you think of your living spaces as “a construction zone.” It can be stressful, but one thing that saves our clients stress is our practice of cleaning up our work areas every day. Our work area is your home and we respect that you want to relax when the hammers stop falling. Rest easy that we will treat your home with care and respect.
We installed this this countertop, the backsplash and refaced cabinets for a customer and earned a great review in the process. I tell the people I work with that communication is key and customer service is everyone’s job. I’m glad our homeowner loves her kitchen remodel!
This beautiful staircase is finished and stained. In this home and in many others, the staircase and balustrade (the rail and balusters) are the first features guests see as they walk in.
A handsome balustrade like this can set the tone for the entire home, which is why I love working on them. This balustrade includes hundreds of individual pieces which were planned out and cut for exactly their part of the finished product. The bends and joints cut and refined until they fit perfectly and the Newell posts expertly placed and secured to hold it all together for decades to come.
I’m proud of this work and wish I could see it when the tape is taken up and the homeowner moves in. Thanks to Bryan Janes Construction for bringing me in on this project.
Imagine a tree falling through your roof while you’re in your home! It’s a nightmare most of us hope never happens. Unfortunately, it does happen, but my team was able to intervene and turn this nightmare into a dream come true.
My project manager on this job was Dave Wilson, an experienced home builder. I knew he could save the home and help navigate this to a win for the homeowners.
The house itself was older and a hodgepodge of additions that were made over time. The homeowners wanted to unify it and make the inside feel like one, original home.
Before we could do that, we had to get the roof right. Some other roofers in the past had made interesting choices ( to say the least). There were five layers of old roofing. That’s no problem though.
With the roof fixed, we were able to give the outside of the home a makeover, making it a handsome blue with more modern shapes and features.
On the inside, we had the freedom to create a new, open layout for the homeowner - again making it more modern, but most importantly - comfortable!
I’m proud of Dave and the team and happy for the homeowners, who now have Dream house of their own!
We just resurfaced this deck to give it durability and a modern look. We used tough, weather resistant, composite decking, a white pvc band, and white vinyl railing with black iron balusters to play off the white and the grey elements.
I love decks because they are a great family gathering place - away from the TV and the distractions where you can grill, play games, catch a nap in a hammock or maybe even relax in a hot tub - What do you think of this deck?
Custom trim is great, but what do you do when you need some of it replaced? On this job, I was asked to match older custom trim. The old stuff looked great, but matching it is like taking a walk in the previous carpenter’s head. These are the problems I love to solve. I used two decades of finish carpentry experience to figure out how to recreate the old trim using stock materials. I saved the homeowner some money and time along the way. Check out the photos and tell me what you think!
A happy homeowner is always our goal. It takes trust to bring strangers into your home and to pay them for services you chose based on their reputation. I will always value that trust as much as I value the reputation our work has gained. Thanks for the review, Craig, and thank you, GT, for another job well done.
These homeowners finally have their dream home. We installed new wood floors, cabinets, counters, a backsplash, open shelving, lights and appliances - basically everything!
There’s a touch faucet with an LED light to let you know the temperature of the water before you put your hands in it. The kitchen island also features a push-button garbage disposal.
The kitchen got a huge upgrade, featuring custom cabinets, new appliances and a stove where a true chef would be proud to cook (especially with that backsplash).
The tall cabinets and open shelving by the dining room table are both beautiful and functional. Every wall in the kitchen has something to admire.
Finally, the wood floors tie this room to the rest of the downstairs.
Our project manager, GT Nickerson, worked his tail off here to make this dream home come to reality. I’d also like to give a shout out to Nate at Grant DesignYard for the work he put in here as well.
Follow us here for before and after pictures of this kitchen and many more homes we are working on!
The shingles blew off this home in a storm. We first did an emergency tarp off to prevent water from getting in the house and causing further damage. Then we got into replacing the roof! Check out the photo story I made to go along with it!
When the guys were tearing the roof off they found that there were FOUR layers of shingles. You’re only allowed two by code. They also found five sheets worth of rotten roof decking and 24’ of rotten soffit framing. Even with all these problems, the guys were able to execute this roof to completion as well as the garage in JUST ONE DAY!
This basement was ruined when it flooded, but nothing is beyond saving. First, the team at Servicemaster Absolute Home & Restoration Services came in and mitigated the water damage - they made sure mold and moisture were gone forever. Then my team came in and restored this basement while making some upgrades the homeowners have always wanted.
Take a look at the before and after photos. One of the reasons I do restoration work is because it feels good to bring order back to a home after a disaster. One reason in particular that this home is special to me is because it’s the first major job we have finished since coming back to work after the initial COVID-19 shut downs. I’m glad to be able to get my team back to work helping people out of tough situations!
Today I want to show you a home we were working on before the shutdowns that we recently finished.
We worked with Nate from Grant DesignYard on this very modern home. The doors, floors, rails, light fixtures and paint come together to create a home that looks sophisticated and suits the homeowners’ tastes perfectly. Don’t forget the couples shower!
This home was was a lot of fun for myself, GT and the team as we really got to be creative in ways you don’t always see on the day to day job!
This is the hardest part of a staircase like this - positioning the second newel post to match the height of the first one so both handrails are the same height. This is especially tricky because of the odd angle this side takes, which is 32.5 degrees vs a standard 45 degree angle.
We did the right thing and tackled most of the potential issues when we set the post at the bottom where the two meet. Honestly, even I was shocked when we put it together and it fit perfectly. This is the type of job that’s difficult for finish carpentry specialists and nearly impossible for anybody else.
I’m looking forward to the next stage as these stairs come together.
You can watch HGTV for days and they’ll never show a close up of their finish work. I’m not scared! Look at these joints!
We’ve finished the top portion of the over-the-Post rail for now. For this section, we will just drill holes and, after painting and staining, we will add the iron balusters.
This section is an example of why finish work is sought after: it’s both beautiful and difficult to get right. There’s so much that can go wrong. You have to figure out the correct newel height (I have a system that worked perfectly each time) and then you have to cut the curved peices to fit perfectly to the straight part - then make sure it fits perfectly on the top and the bottom.
This is why I love being a finish guy! At the end of the day, this is functional art!
Tomorrow, GT and I will show you the downstairs rails, so stay tuned. Thanks again to Bryan Janes Construction for bringing my team in on such a beautiful staircase.
I’d like to thank Tyler for the review and Mike Connor and his crew for the great job! Clients always love Mike because he is the type of guy that shows up and gets the job done with care and precision. I’ve worked with Mike and his crew for a long time, trimming and I look forward to working with him more in the future.
This beautiful remodel is a house that we worked on a year ago. It was a classic, older home with small rooms, which the homeowner wanted to open up and make more modern. These jobs always have issues and considerations that come with the age of the home - this is why you need an expert for this type of remodel.
In this project for instance, we worked very closely with some of our partners and craftsmen. I designed the kitchen on my computer with advise from the homeowner and the custom cabinet expertise of Nate Shaver at Grant DesignYard . We had the kitchen planned, but then we discovered there were sagging joists in the floor. Fixing joists individually is something I’m used to because I have a background in water and fire damage.
Once that was fixed, we had ServiceMaster Restore come and soda blast the bricks while we built the cabinets. We had a custom bench made, which was cushioned by Stitches Fabrics.
There was a delay in the quartz counters, so we temporarily installed an alternative counter so the homeowner could celebrate the holidays.
The bottom line is that a major project involves a ton of people and the contractors you meet with should have the experts on hand, or the connections to experts, to make your dream projects come true. I’m proud of this kitchen and all the work we do and I’m glad to work so closely with so many incredible craftsmen and small businesses around Mid Michigan!
