Becker Design Consulting

I felt that Tim needed more guidance than I had expected. I felt that I needed to oversee the work.

Tried to find a replacement for screen door dampers: The problem was that the existing dampers closed hard...I wanted someone to find out if there were some that stay open (so I can pass unmolested with my hands full without the door closing abruptly on me). I also wanted them to not slam once they did close. Tim removed the existing ones and replaced them with much higher-quality ones that did the same thing as the old, cheaper ones. Didn't really solve the problem.

Replaced two front porch steps: In an attempt to allow the stairs to drain well, he installed them at a 5.5% slope. I have read that code allows 2% at most, and my feeling was that, although it would be unfortunate to have the stairs rot and require me to replace them yet again in the future, I'd rather that than to have to replace someones hip when they slip on such a steply sloped stair...these stairs do get frost and ice in the witner. Also, these were new wood, and he primed them with quick dry, latex primer...I found out later that if you really want to avoid having stairs rot, use a very slow drying oil based primer.

Had a new cap rail made for the front porch: Only problem here was that he again primed it with the quick-dry primer and the work was pretty sloppy...heavy streaks and bits of hair or grass in the primer, which I later sanded out.

Made a mockup of part of an arbor: He said he would be aboe to make an arched arbor as I designed it, but when he brought over the top piece (the tricky part) it was 4" (maybe even bigger) rather than 2"...would have looked bad because it was a small arbor for a light-weight plant.

All of that siad, he was very honest and wanted to do a good job.

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "?????? Pro W3"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times; color: black; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.FreeForm, li.FreeForm, div.FreeForm { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Times; color: black; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } We initially hired Tim Becker to help with a little exterior repair work on our 1908 Phinney Ridge period home on the recommendation of our painter, James Thomas of PhD. Painters, who was in the midst of a extensive exterior paint job. The house is a classic box-style with some beautiful exterior wood details which we wanted to preserve and highlight. Tim worked well with our painter to get an old house ready for the final exterior painting work. He was thoughtful, knowledgeable, and on time with a very few changes of schedule. Because of the success of that work, and because of the competence and enthusiasm Tim brought to the project (small as it was), I then hired him to work with to me design and rebuild the original entry, to more closely match the original details of the house. That project turned out really well, too, and it then made perfect sense to hire Tim to work on a re-design of the outdoor and garden lighting. Working together, we came up with a unique solution to the challenge of providing outdoor security lighting which also is aesthetically pleasing, and highlights our developing side garden. Tim was trustworthy, good-natured and easy to work with. Drawing on a wide breadth of knowledge, Tim was able to come up with creative, cost effective solutions that I had not considered. In short, he offered options that saved money. Tim’s willingness and skill at developing a realistic budget at the very early stages of the project development - sort of a bare minimum needed to get us there - was very reassuring and freeing, as it later allowed us to feel comfortable about adding some upgrades in the finishing stage. Another benefit of working with Tim is that he can do both the design and construction work. He draws on many years of work in architecture and construction. Tim is a good communicator, who listened to our needs and ideas and carefully discussed with us all of our concerns. The focus was on helping us cratively and cost-effectively define the goals and put together a plan to accomplish the project. Tim brings to a project a wealth of knowledge, which he told us he acquired through over 30 years of experience in the northwest, especially work on older homes with all their eccentricities. Tim takes great delight in problem solving design and construction challenges on older homes. In his work, Tim was thoughtful and conscientious, and brought a mix of humor and serious problem-solving skills to the project. He interacted well with the children of the household, too. It was overall the kind of experience that leaves clients satisfied and pleased with the results.

Well, it was fun as well as giving me just what I wanted for my house.....more light, more privacy, and aesthetics. The nice thing about Tim, aside from the fact that he's a nice person and very intelligent, and gifted in his field, is that he listens and makes you part of the process. I felt totally at ease and secure giving him keys to my house for work that was done when I wasn't there. My house maintains it's old feel (he blended the new with the old) as well as contributing to making it an even more beautiful house.

we worked w/tim a few years ago in the siting of a cabin on our property on a remote island in the san juans. we were happy to be able to tap into his many years of practical experience designing and bldg in the islands and in seattle. his fresh perspective, walking our 3+ acre site w/us, confirmed the siting assumptions we'd made and allowed us to move fwd w/our building knowing that we'd left few, if any, stones unturned. his design sense speaks to both contemporary and/or traditional/rustic design -- appropriate design being the key to his vision -- he understands the value of not imposing a design on a site but rather working w/the landform and design to assure a superb fit. tim helped us transform our bldg from ideas to a buildable design. he understands and is highly experienced in the bldg process and is well-versed in the pragmatics, from programming, to schematic design to siting to contractor evaluation and can take a scheme to fruition! he really helped us move our project forward. in the event of a contractor dispute, tim can be helpful in setting things straight and helping to get things back on track and again, moving forward. he's also quite astute in confirming budgeting assumptions, bringing his deep, real world experience to bear on a project. that said, we'd be happy to work w/tim again on any building project we undertake -- he's easygoing, a solid listener and a terrific resource for any project you might want to undertake.

I never expected in two hours to get my design problems solved AND a rough design sketched out. Tim was brilliant. I can use him when I need him throughout the building process, and he's advised how to proceed step by step. Great communicator. Good sense of humor. Completely reliable, trustworthy. A gem.

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