Front porch reno, railing, fence, gates, arbor + Victorian screen door
We knew Rob was reliable when, after our first meeting, he went and found us a wooden Victorian screen door that we had been looking for everywhere. He went and bought it for us, because he knew exactly where to get the style we wanted, even knowing we may end up using someone else for the carpentry project. We hadn't signed a contract or given him any money. He just did it because he could help us. His quote for the rest of our project was very reasonable and he was able to do the project within our timelines (Spring 2010).
Rob helped us remodel our front porch and design and build an arbor around a wheelchair lift which we had donated to us (it is a bit rusty and not too pretty). The arbor really hides the lift nicely with safety gates at the top and bottom that match the wood work around our new fence and porch. The lattice work is just lovely. The old metal railings and bannisters on the porch were replaced with lovely wood which Rob helped design and plan. He designed a pretty front lawn picket fence that matched the rest of the project nicely. He had some great design ideas! Our little fence protects our property from doggie doo and the garbage that tends to blow onto our lawn as we are on a busy windy street. Little details were added to make the whole project "pretty".
As well, Rob understood our desire to make our porch safe for our beloved 17 year old cat to roam around. He made sure that there was no way she could fit through the balusters or under the railings or gates. He genuinely cared enough about this part of the project because he knew it was important to us. Rob is very nice guy.
He was very helpful in terms of recommending the type of wood we needed for each part of the project. We had more economical options but Rob always explained the benefits to using better wood. He never pressured us to spend more than we wanted to. In fact he outlines exactly how much more it would be to make upgrades. He also told us places we could save money. We wanted the look of the woodwork to have a traditional beach house feel to it, knowing we would be painting it white eventually. Rob was great at giving advice about painting. He said we can save money by doing the painting ourselves (he told us exactly what to use for paint) and made sure to tell us not to paint until next summer after the wood has cured.
Rob was also very patient as we mulled over certain design options and looked at our budget. His assistant was very nice and obviously skilled. Rob knows we have more that we want to do with the house when we have it in our budget. He helped us plan what part of the project might come next.
Rob is a very skilled and down to earth carpenter. He'll show you pictures of his work and you won't have a problem finding happy customers in his resume.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $6,000.00
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Rob knows how to plan for projects that aren't "typical", such as our porch-lift. He's got the experience.