If you need someone to fix your screen porch, and you're near Asheville, I may have the perfect person for you. I went out to look at a job a few months ago and it turned out that the homeowners had a whole screened-in porch under their deck which was desperately in need of some TLC. For starters, the wind had gotten to the screen panels and they were belling out. You can really see it on the right-hand side of this picture. Even worse, the contractor who built the home had used untreated lumber for the screen frames, and they were starting to dry rot. The outside also needed some attention. The homeowner wanted to fill in under the porch with Hardiplank ... ... and part of the porch support was bowing out and needed to be fixed. To make this job even more complicated, the access to the screen was blocked by a gutter, so it would be a quite trick to remove it without marring the gutter. Whoever put this porch up just wasn't thinking about long-term maintenance. My schedule was chock-full at the time, and I couldn't fit in such a large job. So after checking with the homeowners, I called Jesse Scott, one of the handymen in our network, and asked him if he could take it on. (Here's a picture of him with his lovely wife Treva and their daughter Nora.) Jesse hails from Florida, so he spent a large part of his career working on screened-in porches. In fact, he might be the best screen-stretcher in Asheville. (Is that a category in Mountain Express's "Best Of" issue? Somehow I doubt it. But if it were, I think Jesse would have the title.) Anyway, he did a great job on this porch, and he even sent us pictures when he was done. Here's the porch from the same angle as my first photo. That screen is as tight as a drum! At the base of the porch, he added a low knee-wall at the homeowner's request. This was to keep their dogs from dashing straight through the screen in pursuit of a squirrel. He also re-built the screen system so that the gutters won't get in the way if the mesh ever needs to be replaced again. And on the exterior, he filled in the bottom of the deck with long-lasting Hardiplank, repaired the bowed-out support, and repainted everything for a fresh look. The end result is much more maintenance-friendly and looks really beautiful. If your screen porch is looking a little tired and needs to be repaired, give us a call. We've got some seriously skilled screen stretchers standing by.
For example, a nice couple in south Asheville called me recently and wanted some drawers installed in these cupboards: Since my schedule was full, I referred them to Allan. After talking with the customers, Allan did some research to find high-quality drawers, but in his words, "After looking at what was out there, I knew I could do a better job for the same price." So he built the drawers himself, and they're amazing! You can't get quality like this from a big-box store. Take a look: You could load these things up with stuff and they would still work like a charm. And they're really beautiful, too. Another customer requested a new stair railing to replace a rusting metal one that made their brick stairs into a hazard. I sent them to Allan because I knew he was the right man for the job. Look at this new railing! It's a showpiece. He's also got a sharp eye for detail... ...and a knack for making old trim look new again. When you call us, you're not just calling me... you're getting access to a whole group of talented local handymen with positive attitudes and incredible skills. Whether you need a solid new railing, a hand-crafted storage solution, or the right trim for your room, we're here to help.
Call today to get connected to the right guy for the job.
I had a tricky railing repair recently. This is what it looked like...
...but this is what it felt like:
My customer called me because she was remodeling a house and had an interior stair railing that was installed with very little support. It had just one bracket holding it up, and every time she grabbed it, it threatened to give way.
The trick on this job was to secure the railing while still making the repair attractive. I decided to surround it on all sides with steel brackets, then cover the brackets with trim.
That wasn't the only problem with this railing. The lower posts were also held up with cheesy and ineffective brackets. It had already given way on one side!
I attached the posts much more firmly and notched them to add strength.
If you've got a scary stair railing, give us a call. We'll fix it for you!
Last week I showed off a new deck which I recently built near Asheville, but there's one aspect which deserves its own post: the "see through" deck railing made from livestock fence panels. The problem with building new porch and deck railings is that Asheville's building code restricts openings in the railing to a 4-inch maximum for safety reasons. Traditional pickets get in the way of the view when they're spaced so close together. Some people use glass railings, but they can be expensive and hard to keep clean. You can also choose steel cable railings, but they can be expensive, too, and in this case they were a little too modern for this rustic home. Fortunately, we found a solution that fits the bill: livestock panels. I got the wire panels at Tractor Supply, where they said that livestock fence panels are very popular for deck railings. There are several kinds, made with different-sized openings between the wire, in order to keep in different kinds of animals. "Goat Panels" have the right-size openings to meet building code standards. The materials for this railing cost about the same as a traditional railing, but the installation was much faster than it would have been if I were installing pickets. Zooming in closer, you can see how it was all put together. The posts have holes drilled into them to accept the wire ends of the panels. The tops and bottoms of the panels are held in place by wooden batten strips. Once it's all screwed together, it's very firm and sturdy. You can sit in the deck chairs and look right down into the yard, which is really nice for keeping an eye on kids or pets. The panels wrap around the corner and follow the railing down the stairs. As you can see, they're totally unobtrusive.
We don't just do deck railing installation... we also repair railings, porches, decks and stairs in the Asheville area. If your deck or porch needs a little TLC, give us a call. We'll be glad to help! If you're trying to find a good local Asheville carpenter, you have definitely come to the right place. Mark Anderson, one of the craftsmen in our network, showed off some projects recently on Facebook. I thought I'd share them with you to demonstrate the high level of craftsmanship which he brings to his work. Take a look. Let's start with an updated photo of Mark's Goat Shed which he built a few weeks ago for this fella: Shelter and dry hay! Phase one complete: However, I didn't know that Mark planned to add a few grace notes: Check out this sculptural metal molding which decorates the edges of the shed! The top picture is really an optical illusion that makes the metal look huge... it's more like trim to keep the goats from jumping out. Here's another view, which also shows off those curved rafter tails. Mark really has an eye for the grace notes: He also does finer carpentry, like this scrap lumber "quilt..." ...and this new porch gate and railing: If you need a carpenter in Asheville, whether for fine work like custom cabinetry or larger projects like a garden shed, we can make it happen. Get in touch today!
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April 2022
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