"John Martin and his team have done great work for us. They have done several projects for us ( Shadow Box fence for our backyard, Extension wall for our staircase, capped the under side of our front porch/deck, and a few other things. John always answers his calls or returns messages asap and their work is top notch. I would recommend them to anyone looking for General/Full Home Building to give them a call."
"Found Sentri on Angi. Jeanette and Violet were very pleasant and efficient in getting a contractor to me in the time frame needed. The contractor was excellent and the roof looks great! I would definitely work with them again if I had additional projects."
"Hello, My name is Phil Carr-Jones, I am reviewing my experience of working with and building my own kitchen, using cabinets and doors from Arkansas Wood Door. While I am an Episcopal Priest, it turns out I get to do a lot of things they don't teach you in seminary. Over the years, I have had to get fairly skilled in all the trades, including, no surprise, carpentry. But I am by no means an expert. For instance, I employed a retired carpenter to help out with the crown molding and other trim. Apart from that though, this is all my and my wife's work. So let me state up front, Arkansas Wood Doors is the go to place for the DIY’er who is thinking of remodeling their own kitchen. Here's why: I searched the web for months, literally doing comparisons and research on flat pack rta cabinets. I went to the big box store for a design and pricing in their three lines of cabinets, and I went in for a consult with a small custom shop in my area. Here's what I found. 99 outof 100 rta cabinet companies have their product made in china which means the standards for formaldehyde are going to be as fishy as they smell, plus you can only get cabinets in fixed sizes so if you looking to eeck out every last inch of space you're going to lose a lot and you'll be using a lot of filler strips wasting what could have been useful storage. If you want to go custom, then you only have less than a handful of online options, companies that will make to order in any dimension. For instance, I only wanted an 8 inches deep spice cabinet to allow for greater working room over the counter. My wife and I are pretty serious about cooking from pastries to mains and sides. We want a very serious kitchen. Plus, I'll tall so I needed the room. In any case, if you want something custom your choices online are limited. The big box stores don't really do custom and are just as limited in their options as are the online rta places. Most online rtas offer far cheaply made boxes with construction methods less sturdy. I have found that if I buy cheap, I shouldnt expect my kitchen to hold up past a few years. The finish will fade. The drawers will warp. The joints will open up. The big box stores basically offer the same thing, too. When I go to a big box store to buy something, I do it knowing I probably willl get a year out of it, whether that’s a lawn chair of a power tool. I mean when was the last time you regretting spending too much money on a better grade of power tool? So if you want quality, a better and safer grade building material and much wider choices in sizing then your basically down to three or four options. I went with Arkansas Wood Door and am completely pleased and impressed by the experience. Now I could have spent twice what I did and gone to a small custom shop and gotten the same thing, but I am in to saving money and frankly I enjoy the challenge. AWD worked with me directly. Working up the order and getting the plan for each box just right. If you have never designed and built a kitchen before, there are plenty of tips and guidance on the web and I recommend you heartily research all of the aspects and complications involved. I hit a couple of unexpected bumps. But more about that below. So do your research. For instance you can save a lot of money by building the plinths yourself and only order squared off boxes without the toe kick. By making the platform on which you place the lower cabinets first, you can get that plumb and level, so throwing up the boxes is a breeze. And again, the cabinets are also less expense, a complete all around win. AWD uses an easy system for matching up box parts so assembly was easy. No special tools required. Given the many parts and I used a mix of frameless and face framed cabinets, there was a moment or two when in amongst all the materials I got nervous about having everything I needed, but low and behold, all was right there in the end. I also recommend the concept from French cooking "mis en place" that is have all your ingredients in place and all your tools where you need them before starting out. Also, it was a lot easier to work with my wife than doing it alone, but I did a few by myself and so if that is your only option than you should have no problem. I've assembled a lot of cheaper Swedish flat packed furniture in my day, and the quality and sturdiness of AWD leaves no doubt about how long these will last. Just rock solid. Great thing about AWD is the cost to quality ratio. Cant beat it. Which also means if you make a mistake the replacement is so reasonable it becomes not big deal. I mis-measured one box and so I needed to order the right size. Worked out fine, but that was because AWD had an incredibly fast turn around. The other few reliable companies are several weeks to months. And these other places are crazy expensive. And in truth, the other companies are a complete rip off on trim and accessories. AWD pricing was so amenable that my mistakes cost me so little in comparison with what I was saving. So there's a built in confidence for the first timer. Also AWD made one mistake on the placement of a hinge in two doors. They immediately and without question remade them and sent them out in under ten days. You just can't get that service anywhere in the custom cabinet world. It was so affordable I upgraded on one side to black walnut. Trying doing that at the other quality shops. The quality of the roll out drawers and top drawer boxes is superb and the hinges and under-mount sliders are top grade excellent. The hardware was the easiest part frankly. Their system, for lining up the hardware is just so easy. Drill driver is all you need as the placement is already leveled for you. SO: high end quality custom built cabinets, superior custom support, fastest turnaround in the marketplace, most affordable pricing out there, excellent hardware, and oh yeah, I almost forget, color choices. They offer complete line of lacquer - just pick a SW color and they'll match it. SO completely and truly custom for a fraction of cost without sacrificing any quality. The Rev. Philip Carr-Jones"
"It is a waste of money. The great majority of people are not going to find any value out of the service. If you need design consultation, you need a full service consultation. If you already have knowledge and experience, and you just need to get a few ideas, then you don't need to pay for that. You can just get a magazine or a book since you already have the knowledge of basic designs in your head or a little bit of experience. To have someone call you and give you information over the phone, you are not getting the personal service that you need. You may as well take the money $49 and apply it to something else like getting someone else to come out and give you the service that you need. Because, you are not getting much, you are not getting anything at all. They are going to have you do the work. After talking to them and I was talking to other home designers, I found out that that was a waste of time and waste of money. I gave them a C because they didn't fail at what they do but they don't offer any value for what they do. There's not much value to it. The cost was fair. They didn't do a terrible job and the cost isn't terrible, it was only $49. It just has a very low value. For responsiveness I gave them a B because they will answer your phone and answer your emails."
"Preston of G-1 Plumbing performed the services and addressed the toilet & drain problem. He was unable to stop leak(made it worse) & submitted his recs to Choice Home for review. I was unable to understand Choice Home's response regarding the faucet leak. Their review stated faucet needed to be replaced BUT it was under "builder's warranty." I built this home in 2005. There is no "builder's warranty" now. I cancelled the proposed work order & paid out-of-pocket. A Friend, who was familiar with my builder and knows faucet components, came to my home, adjusted/cleaned the faucet cartridge and stopped the leak. The CHW tech, Preston, is conscientiuos, however, IMHO lacked the knowledge & experience to stop my leak. Home Warranty Companies, at least in my area, hire owner/operators who need the work to build their business and are NOT the most experienced/knowledgeable & are willing to work for less money. In my experience, Home Warranty Companies want the CHEAPEST resolution, not the BEST. I would recommend G-1 Plumbing for most plumbing issues."
"I will definitely hire this company again for more future jobs. I hired them to add plywood to the bottom of my RV. They showed up on time and had the job done the same day. I will upload pictures of before and after. Thank you SOR Construction!!"
"not to good :( I felt I did most of the work by providing all the details floor plans and colors. What I got back was only two floor plans and some websites to purchase living room deco and some paint samples. Not enough for the money I paid. It also took a month or so before I received these things too. "
"This was the service provided by AHS's contractor Myers Comfort Specialist. They would only provide a 2hr window with a 30 min notice of when they would be there. They agreed to come out between 3pm - 5pm that day; later around 4:30 I call to see when they would be out and discovered the tech had call the wrong number and they couldn't come out until the next day. The tech came out and diagnosed the problem, but he need a part. Later that day, when I called to inquire about a time frame I was told by a supervisor that the technicians do not turn in paperwork until the next morning and then the part would be ordered. I received a call the next day that the part was available, but they could only come out between 1pm and 5pm with a 30 min notice. I ask to schedule the first appointment for the next day and was told they would set up a time to be out between 8am - 10 am with a 30 min notice. At 10am the next morning, no call, no show. I called MCS and was told the technician was delayed at the warehouse picking up the part and would call shortly. (I'm not sure why the part was not picked up the day before when they said the could come out?) Also called AHS and explained the situation and asked to have the $75 service fee waved, which they agreed to do. The tech arrived about 11am installed the part and was finished about noon. Between the initial call and the repair visit I end up missing almost a whole day of work. "
We are committed to excellence in every aspect of our business. We uphold a standard of integrity bound by fairness, honesty, and personal responsibility. Our distinction is the quality of service we bring to our customers. Accurate knowledge of our trade combined with ability is what makes us true professionals. Above all, we are watchful of our customers' interests and make their concerns the basis of our business.
"I had John come out and give me a estimate for a new roof on our home. He was 1 of 7 companies I had come out to my home and give estimates. Out of all of them he showed up 15 minutes early unlike a few that showed up late and did not even bother to call to let me know. I also had given them all the same paper with instructions on how we wanted our estimates give to us and how to break them down for us to see where we were going to be spending our money, and Mid-Valley was the only company to do this for us. john looked at our roof and took measurements and even took time to point out somethings on my front porch that we needed to fix when we fixed the roof over it. He took time to tell me about the products they used and even let me know that if we had any questions to call. I did tell him that my grandparents were going to be paying for this and would be here during the roofing time. He told me to let them know if they had any questions they may call him, and he would even come back out to talk to them if they would like once they got here. I also wanted to make sure that this roof could be put on during a time frame that was only 2 weeks away from the time he came out for my estimate and John managed to be able to fit us in between jobs and our Oregon weather. Once we deiced to go with Mid-Valley my grandfather took over and contacted John to set up a time to meet with him and go over everything. John came all the way back out to my home and did a walk through with my grandfather and explained to him everything that needed to be done. My grandparents were really impressed my him and felt he was really a great choice we made. They agreed that 1 week after meeting and exactly 2 weeks after he showed up to do our estimate work would start and would take 2 days max. The morning of the job start he showed up wit a van of guys already to work which was great to have a van and a truck instead of lots of trucks up and down our street making neighbors made. It made parking a lot easier since we also had family from out of state and out of town here at the same time. They all greeted us and went right up on the roof while John talked to us for a few moments before heading up to work on our roof to. It is nice to see the head guy working on the job right along with his crew. With in a few hours they had the whole back of my roof off and fixed the dry rot we had and had the new one being started while a few of the guys started on the front part and my skylights. it was a very cloudy day and as the finished the back up and had been working on the front part of the house, skylights and front porch which was the worst part of things the sky let loose. I watched as they just keep working and after about 15 minutes of downpour it stopped and work went on full force. Yep they got wet but kept it going. Even though they had to deal with the rain and even our windy day we had that day they were great and kept working. A job that was estimated at 2 days only took 1 day from start to finish. After the roof was done John came and took time to walk around with us and make sure things were done right. We did find a few things that were not totally done and he made sure they got done and even sent a few guys back to put some metal strips on my back porch that was not included in the job, because they seen that it did not have them and some of the singles that the people who roofed that roof before put where weather stripping should have been blew off. He asked if we would like him to do that for us and we told him that would be great. Oh ya forgot to tell you that during the whole roofing project my grandfather was us there asking all kinds of questions and taking pictures of the whole thing from tear off to the finished job. He wanted to make sure that I could see everything since I can not get up there to see it cause I am afraid of heights and wanted to know everything about my old and new roof. I really think we made a great choice in Mid-Valley Building,LLC. I would recommend them to anyone who would be looking to have things done to their home. I would be happy to have them come back in the future and do more work for us and would most likely be the first company I would call on. Thank You John and his whole crew for your great job done From All of Us On Fairoaks in Falls City, Or. "
When building a house, it is customary to use 16d nails that measure 3 1/2 inches in length to construct the frame. These nails are crucial in providing the necessary support and stability for structural elements like joists and studs, which ensures a sturdy framework.
Modern brick houses are really stick-built homes with a brick facade for aesthetic purposes only, so most have framing. With genuine brick construction, most homeowners install furring strips over the interior of the brick and then install drywall over those strips to cover the brick wall, so they don’t have traditional framing.
Yes, a 2x6 should hold a porch swing and safely support the load. A smaller joist runs the risk of it not offering enough support for the swing. If you have a joist smaller than 2x6, add additional bolstering support.
It’s sometimes safe to replace a load-bearing wall with a beam, but you need a structural engineer to sign off on the project. You’ll also likely have to upgrade to a steel I-beam or another material that’s stronger than wood to maintain the level of support you need without the wall underneath.
Baseboards don’t have to be nailed into studs. However, nailing them into studs adds to their stability. When studs aren’t available, you can secure them with drywall nails directly into the drywall and adhesive. Always aim to nail into studs, especially in high-traffic or impact-prone areas.
The Fossil, OR homeowners’ guide to carpentry services
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
Add a wow factor to your home with a chandelier. Chandelier installation costs depend on style, location, and labor, so learn what you can expect to budget.
When you’re tackling a project or hiring a contractor, it’s helpful to know key carpentry terms. From end grain to dovetail joints, here’s a complete list.
