Yankee Woodworks, LLC

Jeff Kearbey and Mark Thompson of Yankee Woodworks have performed a few jobs for me and they have been outstanding.When I find guys like this I am always torn between telling everyone how great they are or just keeping them a secret to myself. Seems like finding contractors who show up, give you options, take your budget into consideration, and treat your home and property with respect, is pretty rare these days. Jeff and Mark are all of that on top of being true craftsman who take pride in their work so I felt they should get a little praise here. We had them in to take care of what could have been a nightmare scenario: water damage and insect infestation in our foundation. We noticed something that looked like coffee grounds accumulating on a shelf in our basement. It appeared to be coming from the framing above, near our front door. I had Jeff take a look and he said water/ice/snow had been penetrating the brickwork surrounding the doorstep which in turn had rotted some of the 2x4s below in the basement. Nothing unusual for a 40 year old home in the northeast. They would just chisel out the rotten 2x4s and replace them. But this 2x4 happened to have the entire house resting on it. To me, that seemed pretty daunting, to them it was no big deal whatsoever. They are pros. Mark set about doing the job, constructing temporary walls to secure the joists and once he got to demoing the 2x4s noticed the problem was a lot worse than was visible from the inside. He showed me the extent of the rott in the sill and the front side of the boards he removed. Things were going from bad to worse. Jeff was concerned about how bad the problem might be and how best to go after it. Instead of just tearing the framing apart and sticking me with the bill or walking away from the job, he brought in an architectural engineer that he consults with in times like these. The architect painted a pretty grim picture: lack of pressure treated wood in our sills plus trapped moisture from improperly installed brickwork created a dream scenario for hungry wet-wood eating insects. The rott could cover the entire front of our house. He said our only real option tear the front of our house off and reframe the sills and joist work! I told Jeff that scenario was a death sentence for us and our house. No way could we afford that kind of job. He and Mark came up with a plan that would hopefully save our home without wiping out our savings account or putting us into debt. They installed a few more temporary walls in the basement and by methodically drilling and chiseling they were able to determine exactly where the rott stopped. They sawed out and replaced the rotted 2x4's with the proper pressure treated lumber that would be moisture resistant, and drilled weep holes into the exterior masonry to help ventilate and send any future water back outside. The job was completed in just a handful of days, care was taken to prevent it from happening again, and our bill was very reasonable. Beyond that specific job I will reiterate that Jeff and Mark showed up when they said they would, worked diligently, and always left their job site - our home - clean and free of debris every day. Our jobs were small but I know they have also worked a number of larger commercial jobs and rehab projects as well. If you happen to stop by McGeary's in downtown Albany for a pint (as well you should) take a look at the bar and bathrooms, also their handiwork. If you have any kind of home or business remodel or structural repair project in mind, I recommend you give these guys a call. But don't spread the word too far, let's keep this secret between us.