Services
Services
What we build
Exterior work only. It is a short list because it is the list we are good at.
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01
Farmer's porches
A covered porch across the front of the house: frame, roof tied into the existing line, columns, ceiling, rail and skirt. The addition that changes how a house reads from the street more than any other.
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02
Composite & pressure-treated decks
New decks and replacements, from a landing outside a side door to a raised deck with a full stair run. Composite if you want to stop maintaining it; pressure-treated if you would rather the budget went into size.
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03
Porticos & entryways
A roof and columns over the front door, sized and trimmed to the proportions of the house so it looks like it came with the place.
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04
Stairs & railings
Entry steps, deck stairs, and rail systems in vinyl, composite or black aluminium. Graspable handrails and guard heights that pass inspection the first time.
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05
Framing & structural repair
Footings, beams, joists, ledger flashing — and whatever rot turns up when the old deck comes off. Skirting and lattice to close it back in.
How it works
How a job actually goes
- Step 1
We come and look
A walk round the site, measurements, and a straight conversation about what will actually work where you want it. Bring pictures of anything you have seen and liked.
- Step 2
Materials and a number
Composite or wood, which rail system, which way the boards run, where the stairs land. Then a price with the materials named on it, so you can hold it next to anyone else's quote and compare like for like.
- Step 3
Permit and schedule
Most towns around here want a permit for a new deck or any porch with a roof, and an inspection of the footings before they are covered. We will tell you what yours requires and when we can start.
- Step 4
Build, then walk it together
The site gets swept at the end of each day, and we walk the finished work together before anyone calls it done.
Questions
Questions worth asking any carpenter
What does a deck cost?
It depends on size, how high off the ground it sits, how many stairs, which rail system, and composite versus pressure-treated — those choices move the number more than anything else does. Nobody can give you a real figure over the phone. We come out, measure, and put it in writing.
Composite or pressure-treated?
Composite costs more up front and then you stop thinking about it: no staining, no sealing, no splinters. Pressure-treated is cheaper per square foot, so the same budget buys you a bigger deck, but it wants cleaning and sealing every couple of years to keep looking like the day it went down. If you are staying in the house a long time, composite usually wins on what you spend over the life of it.
Do I need a permit?
Usually, yes. Most towns around Nashua require a building permit for a new deck or any porch with a roof, plus an inspection of the footings before they are covered up. We will tell you what your town wants and what has to be on the drawings.
How long does it take?
A set of entry steps is often a day or two. A straightforward deck runs about a week once we start. A farmer's porch with a roof takes longer, because there is a roof to tie into the existing one and inspections that fall in between.
Do you build in winter?
Yes. Several of the projects on this page were framed with snow on the ground. Footings go below the frost line whatever the month, and composite and pressure-treated both go down fine in the cold.
Can you repair a deck instead of replacing it?
Often. If the frame and the footings are sound, new decking and a new rail on the existing structure costs a fraction of a rebuild. If the ledger has rotted or the posts have moved, replacing it is the cheaper answer over any length of time. We will tell you which one you are looking at.
How do I get hold of you?
Send a message to the Facebook page, or fill in the form on this page and it comes straight through. Photographs of the spot and a rough idea of the size help more than anything else you can send.
Get an estimate
Tell us what you are thinking about.
Rough size, where it goes, and roughly when. Photographs of the spot help more than anything else you can send.
Based in Nashua, New Hampshire
What helps most
- A photograph of the spot, taken from a few steps back
- Roughly how big, even if it is a guess in paces
- Whether anything is there now, and what state it is in
- Roughly when you would like it done