One of our customers just moved to Asheville and bought a beautiful new luxury home on the banks of the French Broad river. But luxury is in the details, and in this case one or two details were missing. For example, the cabinets were very stylish, but when you opened them up, they just had a shelf inside. Things kept getting lost in the back, and you had to dig around for them. She had me replace the shelves with pull-out drawers. Now it's easy to see what's in the back. Something like this would be a really nice Mother's Day gift for your mom or spouse. No need for them to get down on their hands and knees on the hard tile floor every time they're looking for the dish soap. They can just pull the drawer out and it's right there in front of them. Plus, these are soft-close drawers, so the kids can't slam them shut, and nothing gets knocked over or jarred around. While I was there, I added another great little improvement: an extra cabinet and a valet rod in the laundry room. The rod is over the sink, so the homeowner can hang her handwashables here to dry and the excess water will just drip right down into the drain. If your laundry room is inefficient and hard to work in, give us a call. We can add counters, cabinets and drawer pull-outs to make washing clothes easy and maybe even fun. Like this pretty walnut counter which we installed over a customer's washer and dryer, so no more socks will get lost behind the machines. Plus, a good-looking laundry room adds a lot to your home value for a very modest investment. So give us a ring.
The other day I had an epiphany: it's not worth your time or money to try to fix a faucet. It all started because my bathroom faucet was acting up. First it clogged up so that less water came out when I turned it on. Of course I removed the aerator and cleaned out the grit that had accumulated there. But when I put it back together, I noticed water dripping behind the sink. Naturally as a handyman I messed with it for half an hour or more, shining flashlights into corners, tightening things, and bumping my head against the sink. (Ouch!) I never did find the source of the leak. My guess is that the back pressure caused by the clogged aerator ruptured a hidden seal. Or maybe the same grit that caused the clog caused a problem somewhere else. So I stopped by Lowe's and bought a replacement. The old faucet cost $25, but this time I splurged and spent $29 for something with style. It only took 15 minutes to swap out the new faucet for the old, and I have peace of mind because I doubt it will leak any time soon. I've tried to fix faucets for customers in the past and not had much luck. Sometimes I'm able to tighten them and stop the drip, but it usually starts dripping again later. I've known plumbers who had the same experience. Long story short: if your faucet drips, replace it. It's another example of spending money now to save money later. Because a second visit from a plumber is expensive, especially if the new leak has damaged your cabinets and floors. And if you need a handyman who pays attention to the bottom line, give us a call. Here's a problem that comes up around this time of year. Make sure you take your garden hose off of the hose bib... even if you have a "frost free" spigot. The freezing temperatures can still cause them to leak. Frost-free valves have a built-in siphon which draws the water back up the pipe a few feet into the relative warmth of your home. It seems that if there's a full hose attached, the siphon doesn't make a difference because it's just sucking up more water. And these spigots are tricky to replace. Depending on the kind of pipe you have, you may even need a plumber. If you haven't done this yet, it may be too late here in Asheville. If you think your spigot was damaged by the cold, look for a cutoff valve so that you can turn the water off behind the spigot. Here's where I usually tell you to call me to get this fixed. But you're gonna need a plumber for this one. Fortunately, my wife keeps a "little black book" of good local service providers, including a great plumber. So call us anyway. As a trim carpenter, I'm always looking for new ways to do a better job. One of the problems I regularly run into is breaking caulk lines, and I think I've finally found a solution. When I install trim, I caulk it where it meets the wall so that it looks continuous with the wall. If the caulk breaks, as it often does due to the natural movement of the wooden trim, it leaves a dark gap. Here's an example via Allan Bailey, one of the craftsmen in our network. On the left you can see trim which was installed a long time ago, where the caulk lines have all broken. In this example, the problem was caused by moisture from a poorly sealed shower door, but it can also happen when new trim is installed and dries out as it adjusts to the local humidity. On the right, you can see where Allan has re-caulked and painted the trim. It looks much better, doesn't it? Caulk lines have such a high tendency to break that we don't warranty them on handyman work. But I do like to do things right, warranty or not, and that's where Big Stretch comes in. It's a new product by Sashco which supposedly resists moving and cracking. Here's a video to show the difference. (Warning: it's a little bit corny.) I've been putting Big Stretch to the test on some of the built-in furniture projects I've finished lately. On most of these projects, my goal is to install a piece that looks like it's part of the home, like these two benches which I installed on either side of an existing fireplace. So far Big Stretch has held up well. The only drawback I noticed is that although Sashco says Big Stretch is "easy to install, even for a novice," I find it to be a little trickier to work with than regular caulk. I usually like to go over my caulk lines with my fingertip to smooth them out. You can do that with Big Stretch, but you only have a few chances to get it right before it starts boogering up. But overall I'd give this a "thumbs up" rating. The superior performance outweighs the slight difficulty of installation. If you're looking for a handyman who loves to do things right, give us a call. We've got a whole network of craftsmen who are at least as picky as me. I was not compensated for this review.
Today I thought I'd show off a project from our sister page, Artisan Built-ins. This is a set of bookshelves in an offset modern pattern, with integrated brass lights to showcase the books. To the right is a built-in windowseat with a flip-top lid to allow for storage. It really transformed the room, which started as a blank canvas. We designed these for the homeowner based on a previous design which we did for another customer. The uprights on both bookcases are staggered to avoid the "tic tac toe" look which you see in traditional shelving. We actually finished these a few months ago, but this is the first time we've seen photos of it with the books, and the custom cushions on the windowseat. It looks like a great place to relax with a good novel. If you've always wanted a library of your own, give us a call. We'll help you take your room from "Blah" to "Beautiful."
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April 2022
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