When a sideboard, a run of cabinets, or a dining table has the right bones and the wrong life, remodeling is the kinder path. We strip only what has failed, keep the timber that is still sound, and rebuild the parts that no longer fit the room. Clients often come to us after a move, when a piece that worked in the last house blocks a door in this one.
The visit starts with a condition note. Joints, veneer, finish, and hardware are listed separately so you can choose a light repair or a full remodel. Drawings show the new height, the new hardware, and the finish sample we will match in daylight. Nothing is cut until you confirm that sheet.
On the bench we use traditional joints where they carry weight, and discreet reinforcements where an old piece was never strong enough. New doors can sit on an old carcass. A table can be reduced, extended, or given a harder top for a family that actually eats there. The aim is that a guest cannot point at the repair.
You get the piece back with a short care card: what to use, what to avoid, and when a refresh coat would help. If you would rather we look after it on a plan, the pricing section below is the place to start a conversation. The buttons do not take payment.
Price & plan
Basic
$49 / visit
A focused repair visit for one piece or one small fixing list.
Designers and makers sit in the same studio. The person who suggests a lower cabinet height is the person who will scribe it to your floor.
Every quote lists inclusions, exclusions, and the order of work. If the wall is worse than it looked, we stop and talk before the cost moves.
You receive product names and a simple cleaning method. Seasonal plans can pick up the same pieces later in the year.
General Carpentry
General carpentry covers the bones of a room: doors that close, skirtings that follow a wavy wall, studs that are sound, and built-ins that use the awkward corner instead of ignoring it. We work in occupied houses, so cutting happens with extraction on and floors protected.
A typical scope might be a new doorway, a window board, a run of shelves, and the making-good afterwards. We coordinate with your painter if you already have one, or we bring our own so the edges are the same colour. Outdoor work includes gates, screens, and small timber repairs that keep water out.
You receive a cutting list and a drawing simple enough to keep. If you later add a care plan, the same notes tell the next maker what species and finish were used.
Interior Painting
Paint fails when the surface underneath was never made ready. We fill, sand, spot-prime stains, and caulk the joints that move. Then we hang colour in daylight, not under a single bulb, so you can reject a sample before the whole room is committed.
Trim, doors, and ceilings are priced separately from walls because they take different time. If you want pictures hung as part of the same visit, we set the fixings into studs or proper anchors and leave a sketch of what is holding them.
Low-odour systems are available for bedrooms and nurseries. We will say how long to keep the windows open and when furniture can return.
Furniture Repair
Repair is not remodeling. The shape stays. We open a loose mortise, clean old glue, and clamp the joint square again. Veneer blisters are laid back. A broken chair spindle is copied, not replaced with a close-enough dowel from a bin.
Finish repairs are feathered so a patch does not read as a square of new shine. If the whole surface is tired, we will say so and offer a full refinish instead of pretending a spot repair will last.
Pieces with sentimental value are photographed before we begin. You see the same photographs when the work comes home.
Wood Cutting & Millwork
Cutting is a service of its own when you need accurate parts: stair treads, window linings, shelf carcasses, or a batch of boards brought to thickness. We mill from stock we can name, and we label every piece so a later fitter is not guessing.
On site, scribing is the skill that hides the difference between a straight cabinet and an old wall. We cut to the line the building actually has. Offcuts you might reuse are stacked, not thrown, until you say otherwise.
Varnish & Polish
A varnish is a film finish. It resists water rings better than wax and can be repaired in patches if it is not a mystery product from a supermarket. Polish, in the traditional sense, is built in thin layers and feels warmer to the hand. We help you choose by putting samples on the actual timber.
Colour matching for a repair uses daylight and a second check under your evening lamps. Sheen is agreed in words you can repeat: matt, satin, or gloss. The job sheet records the system so a future coat does not fight this one.
You can book a visit for carpentry, painting, repairs, or any other home improvement service
