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I've been doing a small remodeling job on a nice cottage in Montford, one piece at a time. I showed off the downstairs a few months ago, but since it's been awhile, why don't I show it off again before we go upstairs and look at the bathroom? I repainted the whole house and put in new kitchen flooring, and it looks great. I like the old woodwork. (Click a picture to enlarge.) Here's the sunny master bedroom upstairs. The fresh paint really brightened up the space. The upstairs bathroom was the last item on the renovation list. I had already painted the walls, but the fixtures had a few issues. The floor was worn out, the classic old tub was stained, the sink was too small, and there was no storage. Here's the "before" picture:  Luckily the floor around the toilet only looks bad; it was just a cosmetic issue. I was scratching my head about the tub, though. It was too big to carry downstairs and dispose of it. I doubted whether I could fit it through the stairwell. Luckily I got a referral to Jeff Easley, who specializes in refinishing old tubs and showers. He was extremely professional, and he did a masterful job at refinishing the tub. I highly recommend his work. Look at that perfect enamel:  I put in new flooring and swapped out the sink, and now the room has real cottage charm. Check out those sloped ceilings. It reminds me of the country houses in Britain where they make use of every single space.  If you need a minor update done to freshen up your bathroom, why not give us a call? A small investment in an interior painter might make a big difference!
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This looks like a pretty flower, doesn't it?  But take a few steps back:  This "trumpet flower" vine has climbed the chimney and started creeping under the siding. I was working on a rental property for one of my clients when I noticed it. Here's the view around the corner:  It's creeping into the gutters! Luckily it appears that no serious harm was done, and I was able to recommend a good landscaper to eradicate the vine. But it's a timely reminder to pay attention to climbing vines and cut them down before they can cause damage. If you just can't resist the idea of a "vine covered cottage," keep these tips in mind:
 Imagine a climbing rose draped over this arbor! If you love the look of a home covered in vines, but you want to do it safely, give me a call! I can build an arbor or trellis to your specifications, so you can have all of the beauty of a climbing vine with none of the trouble.
Spring has come to Asheville, and so have the bugs! It's the time of year when I start installing a lot of screen doors. This is a great time to talk about how to choose the right screen door: should you go for the cheapest option, or shell out a little more money for an upgrade? A client of mine recently picked out this nice screen door from Home Depot. At around $30, it's hard to argue with the price.
 Fortunately I've worked with screens before, so I had the right tools in my van. I also had to trim the frame down to fit it to the opening. (Replacing a door is trickier than it looks.) It turned out well in the end, and it looks much better than the sagging and weathered door that was there before.
You can make inexpensive materials look good... it just takes a little more work.
If you need someone with the know-how to finish and hang a screen door correctly, why not call your trusty Asheville handyman? I'll be glad to help. If you're running out of storage space in your bedroom, this is a great project to consider: a platform storage bed. This one is small, because it's for a little girl, but I can build these to your specifications. Keep reading to see how it came together.  One of my clients has a young daughter who sleeps in a small bedroom. Since there wasn't much floor space, they didn't want to use up all the room which a standard "twin" bed would take up. I started by building a simple wooden frame. (Click any of these pictures to enlarge.) I had already built the drawers offsite in my workshop. After I put in the drawers, I added drawer faces and a sturdy wooden top. The neat thing about this arrangement is that when she grows out of it, she can put the bed elsewhere and use this as a window seat. I painted it white to match the trim and make it cleanable.  If you need a custom built-in bed or window seat with storage underneath, give me a call. I really enjoy projects like this, so I'll be glad to help.
"Cheap" paint is really expensive. The reason is simple: cheap paint doesn't cover as well, so you have to put down multiple coats. That means it takes multiple cans of cheap paint to do the same job as one can of higher quality paint... not to mention more work for the painter. (By the way, primer is a different story. Unlike wall paint, it's supposed to go on thin, and good primer is often translucent.) Brand matters, too. I once bought a rather expensive paint which turned out to be awful. I had to put on two full coats... even though I was just painting white over white! (The old white was slightly yellower and kept showing through.) It turned out well in the end... but only after a lot of patience.  So which paint should you buy? My two favorite brands are: 1) Benjamin Moore's Regal series 2) Sherwin Williams's Infinity series (available at Lowe's Home Improvement stores) #1 adheres so well that it's even hard to peel it off the metal ferrule of my brush! Wow!  Once you choose the right paint color... and the right paint... it's time to choose the right house painter for the job. If you live in Asheville, give us a call. We love this stuff!
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Welcome to my blog! This is a chronicle of the adventures of Arthur Teel, a handyman working in Asheville and Weaverville, NC. Need someone to fix your home?
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April 2022
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Our current turn-around time is 1 to 4 weeks for picture hanging and interior painting, and 6-8 weeks for most other projects.
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