Home Carpentry Tips
Carpentry Ideas for Your Home
Are you looking to hire a carpenter, but are unsure of what projects they can do? Find out what a carpenter can do for your home or business by reading our article below. If you are still unsure if a carpenter can help you with your project, contact us today for more information!
How to Hire a Carpenter
If you want to remodel your basement, for instance, a carpenter can help you plan your project. A carpenter can make recommendations about the scope of your project by discussing how you want your space to be transformed. A carpenter can suggest the types of materials that should be used in your project based on the environment, your existing home, local building code requirements and what you’ll use your basement for.
A carpenter can determine the quantities of the materials that are necessary to renovate your basement, order them and make arrangements for them to be delivered to your home. A carpenter can get the permits necessary to perform the work you want to have done, too. He can also oversee the work done in your basement and ensure the finished product meets your standards. A carpenter will make sure your finished basement is structurally sound enough to satisfy the building requirements of the municipality in which you live as well.
Since a carpenter typically fills many roles such as consultant and crew foreman over the course of a project, especially larger ones, it’s critical for you to hire the right residential carpenter for your home project. When you take on a project such as the renovation of your basement, your project actually starts weeks, if not months before demo begins or the first screw is drilled. That’s because it can take time to find a carpenter you trust and feel comfortable letting in your home — sometimes for weeks at a time or even longer depending on the scope of your project.
Following a series of steps will help you to hire the right person for the work you want to have done in or around your home. These steps include the following:
- Do Some Research: Ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers about the carpenters they’ve recently used to complete projects in their homes. If possible, ask if you can take a look at the work they had done to make sure it’s of the quality you’re looking for. Ask your contacts about the overall experience and satisfaction they had with the carpenter they hired. More specifically, you should ask questions such as the following:
- Was the jobsite well maintained while work was ongoing?
- Did the carpenter communicate with you often and provide updates regularly?
- Did the carpenter have a business license and sufficient insurance?
- Was the project completed on time and within budget?
You can continue your research by looking for reviews about the carpenters who were recommended by your personal contacts and others operating in your locale on trusted websites like Angie’s List. Read through the most recent reviews to see if there is a trend of positive or negative comments. When you narrow your list of prospects down to a few based on their online reviews, investigate the online reputations of the ones who remain on your list. To do this, type the name of a carpentry company on your list in your browser along with words that have negative connotations such as “scam” or “con.”
- Conduct Phone Interviews: Once you’ve identified some reputable carpenters, give them a call and ask them some quick questions to see if you want to meet with them face-to-face. Ask if they would be willing to take on your project and if they’ve done similar work in the past. Ask for financial references so you can make sure the company is fiscally sound and a list of current or former clients you can contact to ask about their experiences with the carpenter. Inquire about the number of projects the carpenter is currently working on to make sure yours will be a priority as well.
One of the most important questions you should ask involves the carpenter’s crew. Ask whether or not the company will use its own vetted employees who are covered under the company’s insurance policies to work in your home or if your project with be completed by sub-contractors.
- Meet Face-to-Face: Based on your phone interviews, whittle your list down to three to five carpenters you want to meet in person to discuss your project in further detail. During your meeting with a candidate, ask for a copy of the carpenter’s insurance certificates so you can call the company’s insurance carriers to make sure the company’s policies are current and have sufficient face values before work begins in your home.
At a minimum, your carpenter should have coverage in the following key areas: personal liability, worker’s compensation and property damage. If a carpentry business is insufficiently insured or its policies have lapsed, you may be held liable financially for any injuries or damages that occur while the company works on your project.
During every face-to-face meeting, make sure you can talk freely with the carpenter you’re interviewing and that you feel comfortable with the person. You should also see how often you will meet in person with the carpenter while your project is ongoing and how accessible the company will be if there’s a problem or you have a question before your project is completed. You should also ask how long your project will take to finish as well.
- Solicit Bids: Once you identify three carpentry companies you think you’ll be comfortable having in and around your home, contact your state’s consumer protection agency as well as your local Better Business Bureau to see if they have a history of disputes with clients, contractors or suppliers. Once you’re confident that the businesses you feel comfortable with have worked well with others in the past, ask them to provide you with a detailed estimate for your project. Keep in mind that it’s not always wise to go with the lowest bid.
If a carpenter promises to get an estimate to you by Friday but doesn’t do so until the following Wednesday, you should consider this as you make your final selection because this instance of tardiness may be an indication of how the company will perform on the job site. Look over each estimate and make sure each carpenter included everything you discussed in their respective bids. If a company failed to include something, it may also be an indicator of future problems since the business failed to pay attention to all of the details that should have been included in its bid.
- Get a Contract in Writing: Once you have chosen the carpentry business you want to handle your project, request a written contract for the job. Even if your state doesn’t require you to have a contract in writing, it’s advisable to get one anyway. Having a written contract protects your interests as well as the interests of the carpentry company because it outlines everything the two of you have agreed upon and the terms that will dictate how your project will be completed.
A typical written contract includes details such as the following:
- Your carpenter’s name, address, phone number and license number
- A start date and approximate end date for your project
- The name of the person responsible for getting required permits
- A description of how cost overruns or change orders will be handled
- A list of materials that will be used to complete the project
- Warranty information (if relevant)
- A list of what the carpentry company will and will not do before, during and after the project
- Promises that were made during project discussions and contract negotiations
- A statement of your cancellation rights
Carpentry Projects for Your Home
Depending on the project you want done, a carpenter may do some of the same tasks when they perform work in or around your home.
Some home-based projects you may want to hire a carpenter for include the following:
- Upgraded interior flooring
- Additions that increase heated square footage
- Bathroom remodel
- New cabinets
- Built-in shelving
- Framing
- Dry wall
- Window frame repairs
- Foundation work
- Storage sheds
- Tree houses
- Flooring repairs
- Door replacement and repair
- Basement & attic renovations
- Addition of loft or storage space
- Siding
- Roof replacement or repair
- Paneling
- Counter top installation
- Insulation
- Base & crown molding
- Closet rod installation
- Computer-access flooring
- Metal framing
- Wall partitions
- Office furniture systems
- Displays
- Staircases
- Interior trim
- Columns & beams
Our Carpentry Services
Nolan Painting has everything you should look for in a carpenter you can trust. Since we opened our doors for the first time nearly 40 years ago, everyone at our family-owned and operated business has been committed to our clients’ satisfaction.
Our founder, Kevin Nolan, set the standard for the level of service we provide day-in and day-out when he made the Nolan Painting Promise we will always do the following:
- Start and finish on time
- Maintain a neat, clean work environment
- Provide a total commitment to all details
- Stand behind our work
- Pledge an assurance of high quality
To fulfill our promise, we provide all of our employees with the training and tools they need to get the job done not just right, but done to your exacting standards. Our employees are part of our family and many of our leading managers have been with us for more than two decades because they take pride in the work Nolan Painting does.
Our expert home carpenters are prepared to help you with your next carpentry project Some of the things we do on a regular basis include the following:
- Door installation
- Interior door repair and hardware installation
- Drywall and ceiling installation and repair
- Acoustic ceiling installation
- Bathroom and kitchen tiling
- Window blind installation
- Wainscoting
- Trim installation
- Shelf installation
- Fireplace mantel installation
- Custom Built-in units
- Basement renovations
- Wood replacement
- Plaster & stucco repair
- Wallpaper installation & removal
Our Employee Training
Since 1979, Nolan Painting has been providing carpentry services to residents in Philadelphia, Main Line, Southeastern Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas. There are quite a few reasons why people use our services instead of hiring one of our competitors, but we think one of the biggest ones is that we don’t use subcontractors. Our employees perform all of the work we take on.
We know there’s a lot of trust involved with letting people come into your home and perform work. You can feel comfortable with our employees because each and every one of them has been fully vetted, meaning we’ve conducted reference and background checks on all of our talented representatives. You can also take comfort in the knowledge that our employees are fully trained, and they have the tools necessary to get your project done in accordance with your high standards.
In fact, we offer ongoing training to our employees so we’re up-to-date with industry best practices, new carpentry tools and techniques as well as the latest safety standards. Our company’s 11 trucks aren’t just stocked with the tools and supplies necessary to complete your project. They are manned by knowledgeable professionals you can trust and who will respect you, your family, your neighbors and your biggest investment — your home — for however long it takes to complete your project.
Our clients also like that we have insurance of up to $2M per job and that we’re a licensed Pennsylvania Home Inspector Contractor. We’re also a member of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, and we strive to uphold its standards in every project we complete.
Our 100 Percent Satisfaction Guarantee
Our clients feel confident when they choose us for their carpentry projects because we stand by our work by offering a 100 percent work satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with the work we complete, we will do whatever is necessary to make things right. We take complaints and bad reviews seriously because they reflect negatively on our individual employees, our team and the work we do.
If you’re unhappy, our leader, Kevin Nolan, will reach out to you personally to address your concerns. Put simply, we won’t rest until you are 100 percent satisfied.
We know that we’re only as good as the last job we finished. Our goal isn’t to be good, however. It’s to be excellent in everything we do. That’s why we will do everything possible to make sure you’re completely satisfied before, during and after we work on a project in or around your home.
While we’ve received recognition from various organizations for our commitment to excellence, including the Main Line Chamber of Commerce and the Wharton Business School, the praise we receive from our clients means the most to us. We invite you to check out the thoughtful, five-star reviews we’ve received on our website, Google and Houzz if you’d like to learn more about how we interact with our valued clients.
Our Other Services
Nolan Painting offers more than just carpentry services you can rely on. As our name implies, we also offer painting services, which include commercial and residential painting as well as custom painting. We even have a Painter for a Day program through which you can hire one of our employees to paint, perform minor repairs, pressure wash or a combination of these things — for just one day.
We also offer color consulting services, wallpaper installation and removal, plaster and stucco repair as well as dry wall services. We’ll even hang your holiday lights for you!
When you hire us for a home-based project, our goal is to deliver value. It doesn’t matter if you hire us for a carpentry project, a painting job or another type of project, we want you to see the value of our services and that hiring us was the right decision. That’s why we offer specials from time to time which can help you keep your project costs as low as possible. Keep an eye out for our most popular special, Cyber Monday, this November and December. If you take advantage of this offer, you can get as much as 25 percent off an interior painting project. From December through March, you can receive as much as 20 percent off our interior painting services as well.
No matter when you have a project planned, don’t wait too long to schedule the Nolan Painting services you’ll need to get it done. Our calendar fills up quickly because of the quality of the work we do and our dedication to making sure our clients are completely satisfied. If you have a project on the horizon, whether it’s something you want done next month or next spring, give us a call to get a free estimate today.
As a member of our shared Southeastern Pennsylvania community, we’re committed to doing more than providing the quality services you need to get your projects done. We’re also dedicated to helping charitable organizations improve the quality of life all of us enjoy. That is why we’ve committed to investing approximately $1M in community initiatives over the next ten years. We’re proud to be an active community partner, and we hope you realize that when you do business with us, you’re giving back to our joint community right along with us.
If you’d like to learn more about the services we provide or you’re interested in scheduling a free project consultation, contact Nolan Painting today. We look forward to delivering on our promise to you.