HOWLING DOG DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION LLC

Charlie Riggs of Howling Dog Design & Construction does wonderful, artistic woodworking. He is a master at building fireplace mantels and surrounds. Not only is he a master finish carpenter, but he is very skilled at preparation, framing, sheetrock repair, tile-setting, and not the least of his talents… DESIGN. To add to these abilities, I must say that Charlie is just one great guy to have around. Very amenable. Very fun. His best quality is that he listens to what you want, he allows an exchange of ideas to produce the very finest results possible. I have worked with all sorts of different contractors on remodel jobs in this and other houses, and Charlie is by far and away the best, and easiest contractor to work with I’ve ever encountered. I think Charlie needs to be my remodel contractor for life! We needed to do a complete remodel, or rather, reconstruction of our corner gas fireplace and mantel, and we were extremely fortunate to find Charlie to do the finish carpentry for us! Our first step was to find the appropriate upgraded fireplace to replace the original one in our living room. We found it at the NW Natural Appliance store. We had a gas installation company demo the mantel and surround, rip out the existing gas unit, and install the new gas unit. They did what framing they needed to do, to get the new unit secured, hooked up gas and power, and vented it out through the outside wall. They really had no idea how to handle the framing and sheetrock above the unit, nor did I. I had been working with Charlie over the phone and by email, on the new design and materials for the mantel, surround, and hearth. I called Charlie, and asked what we needed to do get the area ready for him to do the finish work. He said: “I will be happy to do both the additional framing and sheetrock repair, and will then be in better position to take the measurements I need to begin the finish part of the job.” We adjusted our contract for him to do that. Charlie framed, did sheetrock repair, and took needed measurements. He then built the mantel and put an oil finish on it, set the slate tile, and installed it all. Through Charlie Riggs’ wonderful design and construction abilities, we now have the most beautiful fireplace we could ever imagine.

We had an eyesore of a fireplace when we moved in. Charlie came over and talked with us about what we wanted. We looked at his Facebook page and found a lot of beautiful mantels to choose form. He was delightful to work with and did amazing work. We would recommend him in a heartbeat!

He had great concepts for what we could do. He sheet rocked a whole in the wall and it is beautiful. He was fantastic and we would definitely use him again. He was delightful to work with and we feel like we have made a new friend. He came totally prepared to do the job and everything was left immaculate.

Charlie did a FANTASTIC job of building our built-ins and fireplace mantel. He is extremely easy to work with and a skilled craftsman. The work he did exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend him and will definitely call him in the future if we ever need anything like this done again!

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Charlie is prompt, and is a professional in every way. When he left for the day, everything was tidied and cleaned up. He taped and draped the area.
It involved sheet- rocking , taping, new studs and braces, texturing the wall and framing in an open shelf.
As an added bonus, he is a delightful person, and has an amazing background in all kinds of construction and creative solutions. We will definitely be calling him for any future projects. We highly recommend him

On 1/31/2014, Charlie Riggs met with us to discuss what we wanted. He then sent us a written proposal, estimate and drawings. We signed a contract with Mr. Riggs on 2/13/2014. The bookshelves were installed on 3/14/2014, and are as near to perfect as possible. Mr. Riggs recommended Posten Painting, Inc., which we accepted and very pleased with the result, (another review).

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Charlie and his wife are fantastic! The work he did is absolutely beautiful and was completed in a timely manner.
They cleaned up all areas they worked on and let me know at al times the progress on the job.
He is busy (because his work is so good) so get him scheduled as soon as you can as he is about 6-8 weeks out.
We will definitely use him again for further mill work and finish carpentry in the future.

Charlie Riggs is a pleasure to work with -- He's done work for me in the past and he always does really fine work. A carpenter, he can also do other odd jobs. He's a bit of a 'worry wart' but that's a good thing in a contractor! He helps me to think of things I need to think about, and it makes him very careful with the details so the job always looks professional. Charlie is easy to contact, and he keeps in touch -- by phone and email. He's easy going, and easy to get along with.

For this job, Charlie ordered the window in advance ($200 over the cost of the work ).



At my request, Charlie contacted a plumber and was at the house with him while he (the plumber) moved the kitchen sink drain out of the way for where the new window would be installed. (That job was $235, billed by the plumber directly). Charlie also arranged with LaneCo, the wall cutting company, to come when he was available to install the window. I compensated Charlie for the time he spent doing these activities as they did require time.



Finally -- because the gas meter and regular were within 1 foot of the window edge, Charlie spoke with the window manufacturer and learned the details of how to 'flip' it, - moving the sashes and I don't know what else, so the window would open from the other side. This allowed us to use the window already purchased and to keep the window opening ~ 36and quot; from the gas meter, rather than 12and quot;.



When the wall was cut, Charlie arrived promptly following my phone call and framed in the window --- all he could do that afternoon, as the wall cutter was not out of the way until ~ 2:30 PM. The following day, when I was at work, Charlie completed all the trim around the window, inside and out, and as expected it all looks great. The actual window installation cost $385..... the remainder was for Charlie's time coordinating other activities that needed to be done.



I would definitely hire Charlie again.

They were very responsive and offered suggestions. He installed picture rails in my home. I was very impressed that he matched them to the existing ones. His work is excellent, and I will be using him in the future.

The final product is a wonderful addition to our house. Initially, the fireplace was faced with used brick, without a mantle surround. Charlie designed a mantle that matched the existing woodwork in the house. His drawings helped us to visualize the final product. We selected marble tiles to cover the brick, Charlie provided a tile layer for installation of the tiles. Once they were in place, Charlie measured, fabricated and installed the mantle surround. It is really beautiful. Charlie is very meticulous. He created a wonderful mantle. The installation process was painless, with no mess. Additionally, the tile layer that Charlie provided did an excellent job. Also, when he left for the day, the work area was clean and neat. This whole experience has been extremely positive. Charlie was a pleasure to work with, his design and construction skills are outstanding. If we have further changes to make to the house we will call Charlie for the job!

I wanted a craftsman (arts and crafts) look in my living room. He built the cabinets from scratch to surround my new fireplace. See Rozee Masonry for the fireplace details. The cabinets perfectly complement the new fireplace. Each detail was discussed with me and we changed the design a few tiimes to get the perfect look. He also hired a stain finisher to complete the antique wood look. The whole thing is a real focal point of my home now. It looks like it has always been there! Beautiful work.

Excellent! Charlie is truly a master carpenter -- there's just nothing he can't do with wood. I have had some terrible experiences with other companies in the course of trying to update our old house, but I can always rely on Charlie to create a result that's even better than I imagined. Plus he is prompt, professional, courteous -- everything you want from a contractor. A bit on the expensive side, but I have learned some painful lessons about getting what you pay for. I would rather pay Charlie Riggs a little more and get exactly what I want, precisely when he says he'll do it. The only surprises have been happy ones when the work turned out even better than I expected.

This was a totally satisfactory experience from initial design consultation, which occurred two days after the first phone call, to the bid, which was quite reasonable and presented me with options that allowed me to control the cost; to the execution, which occurred within two weeks. Charlie Riggs arrived when he said he would; worked diligently to complete the project; kept the work site cleaned up at the end of each day; and proved resourceful and fastidious in solving the unpredictable problems that an old house inevitably poses to the finish carpenter. Charlie went the extra mile in doing the little things that weren't specified in the contract but which tied in the project in a pleasing way. For example, he removed the top board of the stairwell so that he could miter in the stairwell nosing on either side of the landing; then, replaced the board, gluing it down, countersinking screws and leaving it more secure than its original condition. He left me with detailed instructions on how to stain and finish the project, more evidence that he genuinely cares about the integrity of his work. The end result is an elegantly crafted, visually pleasing addition to my home.

The entire experience was excellent. Mr. Riggs came to our house to assess the project and make an estimate. Then he met me at an exotic woods store to choose a piece to cover the area where the bows would be removed. We looked at a lot of wood, and he was very helpful in advising me as to the suitability of various pieces. He checked each piece I was interested in for size, warping, grain line, consistency of thickness, etc. I bought the wood; he took it home and cut it to size, and then came to the house and chiseled off the bows and covered the surface with the teak piece. It looks beautiful and fits perfectly. He also left everything extremely clean, despite having to do a substantial amount of sanding. He had a vacuum on the sander, and in fact left almost no dust. We would hire him again in an instant, and in fact have contacted him for other work in the future.

Job 1: Perfect!!! Very satisfied! Job 2: On time and job well done! Very very happy customer! Will use him again!

For quality work and commitment to schedules, I could not hope for better. In addition to that Riggs is very pleasant and amenable, receptive about ideas, helpful in making suggestions or giving advice. He and his workers were right in the middle of my small house for the required time and were consistently prompt, considerate of my property, and my presence. During the last decade, I have had a lot of remodeling done on this fine old house, and not all workers respect the style and quality of old houses; which can present surprises to re-modelers. Riggs seems to enjoy the challenges.