Lenny's Welding and Fabricating Inc

Twenty years ago, with no pertinent knowledge, I decided to reinforce two rear patio posts that were rusting through at their bases. I placed pressure treated 2 x 4s on the entire front and back of each support, drilled through, sandwiching the beams, ran five 8" bolts through, added four L brackets and figured I should be good for twenty years. Twenty years later, the PT 2 x 4s were substantially ok, but there was some softening at the bottoms, and the cats had used one as a scratching post, removing enough material to make me nervous with arrival of hurricane season. After several visits by local businesses, I seemed to have two choices; either replace the supports entirely, or temporarily support the roof with jacks and cut out and replace the bottom twenty four inces with new post material. Either way I would be stuck with having to disassemble and reassemble the screening frames attached to the supports or paying to have it done. At the same time, my neighbor was dealing with a similar issue and had resolved it successfuly. The solution? Lenny's Welding. I invited Lenny over and explained. He listened politely and we went out and examined the problem. He looked, measured, asked a few questions. His proposal was simple and exactly what I was looking for. He would make four L brackets of 1/8" treated and primed steel. They would be three feet high, three inches wide with a four inch long foot, and buttressed at the inside corners with welded steel triangles. The foot would be drilled with two diagonally placed holes and secured with 1/2" fasteners 6" long. The three foot high piece welded to the posts. The brackets would be treated to prevent rust, and Rustoleum primed for paint. My job was to remove the 2 x4s. The price? $150. Each? Nope that was for the 4 brackets, the priming and the complete install. Job was scheduled for two days later. Two days later the job was complete. He even reapplied primer to all the welding. The job was faultless, there were no extra charges, no grief and no unpleasant surprises. And there's more. My lovely wife asked Lenny during his initial visit if he could make a shelf for her plants that would mount to the patio wall. She specified 84" x 18" aluminum, perforated shelf, 3" decorative edge with no sharp edges, painted black, and able to hold at least 100 lbs. Lenny smiled, drew a sketch for the Mrs. approval and left. When he returned to do the posts he brought this beautifully crafted plant tray along that looked like it would cost three hundred dollars and take 2 weeks to make. In minutes it was Tapconned to the wall, perfectly level. I threw a cushion on and hopped on. I weigh 160 and it didn't even twitch. Wife came home after Lenny was gone. Took one look at the plant shelf, marvelled at the look, couldn't find any sharp edges. All she said was, "I love Lenny." Cost? $100 including paint and install. Total project cost-$250. I happily gave him a generous tip for his gracious, friendly and honest work. Lenny called that evening to find out if my wife was happy with his work. A nice courtesy call. Lenny is licensed, and does welding of different metals, including the trailer he uses to carry his equipment.