A Whole-House Painter Moves to Asheville, North Carolina

Today I'd like to showcase the work of Joshua Babbish, one of the craftsmen in our network.

Most of the people in our network are friends or people I've met through work. Joshua is an exception: he moved to Asheville last fall and called me to introduce himself.

I love it when people do that. (Sadly, it almost never happens.) To me it shows a hard-working spirit, and it reminds me of myself when I was younger... I got some of my first apprenticeships by calling local cabinet shops.

I met him for a cup of coffee and thought he'd be a great fit for Asheville... he's very low-key and easy to talk with. Naturally I called his references, and they were stellar. One guy talked about how Joshua went the extra mile on a long project, and was very patient when they ran into unexpected problems during a big wall repair..

Joshua is a third-generation contractor, and as time has gone by, it's become clear he knows his business well. You can see his work ethic in this before-and-after of a triple-decker porch which he painted in his hometown in Cape May, NJ.

I'll start with the "after." The photo looks like it's black-and-white but I think it was just a cloudy day.

Here's how it looked before he started painting. As you can see, he's already done the prep work by scraping away the loose paint so that the new coat of paint will adhere better.

Here's another "before" of a garage apartment that really needed some TLC.

And here's the "after." He's gone all the way up to the roofline, and the building looks brand new.

That's just a small part of the entire project. He did the whole house. Exterior painting at this height has always given me the heebie-jeebies but it seems that Joshua is fearless. He must have a steady hand even when he's on a tall ladder, because every line is neatly cut in.

He also does cabinet painting using a spray rig. Here are a few doors painted and hanging to dry. I like his set-up with the ladders and hangers. It's a great way to paint all sides of the wood without having to touch it.

Here's the finished kitchen... very fresh and clean. The finishes are very smooth, and he's clearly kept track of the doors and reinstalled them correctly.

All in all, I think he's been a great addition to our network. Our customers seem very happy with him, and I like him too. He's competent and calm, and he returns phone calls and emails in a timely manner... which is a "must" in my book.

If you'd like to work with Joshua, give us a call and we'll put you in touch.

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