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Miscellaneous Projects

This is the completed bathroom in the studio apartment, which is pictured on it’s own page.
Misc Bathroom (1)    Misc Bathroom (2)

This is the outside of the same studio apartment. It has T1-11 siding and common pine trim.

Studio Apartment (3)    Studio Apartment (2)    Studio Apartment (1)

This is the deck leading into the studio apartment, I built the stairs in a fan shape to flow from the existing landing to the deck that the owner built.

Studio Apartment (4)

This is a gambrel-roof shed that I constructed from a kit bought from Lowe’s. It is 8Wx10Dx8H and sitting on pressure treated 6×6’s for a foundation, to save cost (pouring a concrete slab would have been 5 times the cost)

Gambrel-roof Shed (2)    Gambrel-roof Shed (1)

These 3 pictures are of a wood-fired water boiler that I installed for a customer who wanted to keep his utility bills down. By burning wood, he gets radiant heat from the fire as well as heating water which is pumped through 4 baseboard radiators throughout the house as well as heating his domestic water through a flat-plate heat exchanger. This system has not only replaced the propane forced air heating system in the house, but also the electric water heater. The whole system was conceived and

installed by me alone.
Wood-fired Water Boiler (3)    Wood-fired Water Boiler (2)    Wood-fired Water Boiler (1)
 This is a picture taken from the front door of a 900 square foot condo that I helped design and was the lead carpenter and foreman for building. Everything that you see in the picture (flooring, windows & doors, ceiling, fixtures & appliances, cabinets, etc.) as well as the things you don’t see (framing, electrical, plumbing, insulation, siding) was done by me, either alone or with some degree of help from laborers. The ceiling is tongue and groove pine, the floor is floating laminate, the cabinets are knotty hickory.
Misc Doorway
This is a picture taken from the loft of a house that I built almost completely by myself. The room below the railing has 18 foot high ceilings with hemlock beams and white cedar boards. Behind me (while taking this picture) is an office and to my right is the door to a 3rd story roof-top deck built to accommodate a hot tub. More pictures of this house to come.
Misc Loft
This is a a bay window that I built in place of a ‘postage-stamp’ kitchen window, replacing less than 4 square feet of glass with over 30 square feet while also extending the kitchen out 10″ in the middle.
Bay Window
This is a stainless steel island range hood that I installed over an island that I rebuilt (pictures of island are on another page) that vents to the outside.
Stainless Steel Island Range (2)     Stainless Steel Island Range (1)

Jim in San Ramon

I am a chronic project starter – are you? There are two types of projects in my home; repair and improvement. The improvement ones are typically “quality of life” projects – and I want those done at a standard typical of an East Coast tradesmen. For several years my wife has put the “handyman” coupons on my desk. My problem is that I have never trusted anyone to do it as good as I can.

After interviewing three people off of Craigslist – I found Syd. Syd cares as much and works as hard on projects as I do. If a project requires collaboration – he is there with suggestions and listens to input. If I leave a list – he works on it – yet leaves items that require more input until I am available. He is a self starter. Here is a partial list of projects Syd has finished at my home (you would think it was falling apart before he got here!) Laundry Room – installed granite countertop (coordinated fabrication as well). Two bedrooms – installed new bi-fold closet doors with crown molding to augment. Workout room – installed motorized shades on existing Velux skylights Yard – built an awesome potting bench, pulled cable for outside movie theater, reworked landscape and speaker wiring, fixed two gates, built stairs from decking to downslope. Exterior chimney – turned it into a functional storage closet (who needs fireplaces?) Kitchen – repaired warped hickory floor, reattached decorative molding along cabinetry kickplates. Inside & out – pulled cable and mounted security cameras Designed, crafted and installed hickory counter-top inside art niches. Installed large black tiles around the one remaining fireplace in the house to augment existing marble mantle.The list of small items he repaired or finished is endless; outlets, outlet covers, door hinges, hose reel, outside faucet, decorative stone façade.

Dependable, on time, attention to detail, open to input – yet honest about your goofy idea, self-starter, works without supervision – but not bothered when you check in; these are all qualities of Syd.

Potting Bench

In the garage

In the garage

This is a custom potting bench that I built based on some photos the customer found online. I used the basic design, and altered it to fit the customers particular needs for use as well as space.
It has a hatch door built into it that opens to a bin which catches the soil as the plants are potted. When the hatch is closed, it leaves the work surface smooth to work on.

Outside

To the left side there are three rods for hanging plants. When installed in place, there will be a drip system supplying water to the hanging pot area as well as the work surface of the bench.

The bench got two coats of stain to enhance the redwood color, and then several coats of UV protective polyurethane, to protect it from weather and fading over time.

There is storage space underneath the work surface as well as above it. Under the shelves, just above the work surface, there is a rail running across that will have hooks for hanging tools.

More pictures will be added when this is finished, installed and put into use.

Joe in Pacific Heights

Syd provided detailed carpentry work on my condo renovation in Pacific Heights. He was a true professional and his skills were exemplary. Syd took on projects ranging from crown moulding to hardwood flooring and provided both guidance and heads-down effort to deliver a quality result. Many of the projects were challenging and required a creative approach. Syd didn’t shy away from these and always delivered. He was also very reliable. I never had to worry that he was burning up time on the clock with unproductive work. I’d recommend him on any job, especially those that require excellent carpentry skills.

Pacific Heights Condo

This is a condo in Pacific Heights that I was originally hired to rework all of the old doors, repair and reinstall the jambs, hang the doors and install the old refurbished hardware. After that, the owner kept me to do the finish carpentry, and build custom soffits. In this first picture you can see the ornate medallion and soffit in the dining room. The second picture shows the soffit in the master bedroom, which is a little more intricate, with extra moulding detail and 45 degree corners.
This is one of the windows I trimmed to try to match the original. More pictures of all of this are coming soon.
Pacific Heights Condo (4) Pacific Heights Condo (3) Pacific Heights Condo (2)
This is one of the two archways leading into (and out of) the dining room. The detail is 2 pieces of wood bent around the curve.
Pacific Heights Condo (6)
This is at the bottom of the archway, I wanted to make the section stand out from the rest of the baseboard, so there is extra detail on top of the baseboard to tie it all together.
Pacific Heights Condo (1)
This is one of the 11 doors that I reworked (some needed patching, hardware/ hinges changed from one side to the other, squared, sanded and painted) The plinths are custom, I built them from square-stock maple (the piece at the bottom where the door trim meets the baseboard) The rosettes (at the top corners) are also custom, although I did not make them.
Pacific Heights Condo (5)

Bathroom in Piedmont

This is a bathroom remodel that I did in Piedmont. I tore it down to bare studs, insulated, rewired, new drywall and flooring, all new fixtures and a custom tiled shower. 
Piedmont Bathroom (4)
It is a small room, so it was difficult to get pictures. This one was taken from outside, through the window… 
Piedmont Bathroom (3)
for this one, I was standing in the shower.
Piedmont Bathroom (1)
The mirror will be hung soon, and frameless shower doors will be installed.
Piedmont Bathroom (2)

Clayton Kitchen

This is a kitchen remodel that I did in Clayton. These pictures were taken near completion, but there were still some things not yet done. I will have more pictures soon of the completed kitchen.

Clayton Kitchen (1)

I removed the old cabinets and counter, moved and added some outlets, rearranged the location of appliances, installed the new cabinets and tiled the backsplash and floor.

Clayton Kitchen (5)    Clayton Kitchen (4)

 

The back side of the peninsula is paneled in the same wood as the cabinets, as can be seen on the end, pictured here.

Clayton Kitchen (3)    Clayton Kitchen (2)

 

Redwood Gates

These are some redwood gates I built at a house in Montclair. The pictures show raw wood first, then stained.

Redwood Gates (20)

The first gates are concealing the garbage and recycling cans, previously this area was just open and the customer didn’t want them to be seen.

Redwood Gates (21)

This style was chosen to match the entry gates on the other side of the driveway.

Redwood Gates (19)    Redwood Gates (6)    Redwood Gates (5)

This gate was to separate the back deck from the front, so that the dogs could be outside and contained to this area.

Redwood Gates (18)    Redwood Gates (17)    Redwood Gates (16)    Redwood Gates (15)    Redwood Gates (14)

 

It had to be notched and shaped to fit against the house and look as though it was meant to be there.

Redwood Gates (4)    Redwood Gates (13)

 

This one was a little tricky. It was previously part of the railing that I converted into a gate so that the dogs could be let out into the backyard. The angles seen on the gate itself are cut to fit into where the railing had been.
Redwood Gates (3)    Redwood Gates (12)    Redwood Gates (11)    Redwood Gates (10)    Redwood Gates (9)
These pictures are hard to see because of the glare from the sun, but they are all after the stain was applied.
Redwood Gates (7)    Redwood Gates (2)
Redwood Gates (1)    Redwood Gates (8)

 

3 Bathroom Remodel

The following pictures are of 3 bathrooms in the same house which I gave minor to moderate facelifts. This first set of pictures shows the upstairs bathroom which got the most work: New vanity cabinet, new counter, sink, faucet and backsplash, also new tille floor with tile baseboard.
3 Bathroom Remodels (8)    3 Bathroom Remodels (7)    3 Bathroom Remodels (6)

This is the master bathroom sink which is the old cabinet but new counter, sink, faucet and backsplash. The master bathroom also got a new shower door (which is pictured on the ‘frameless shower doors‘ page)

3 Bathroom Remodels (5)    3 Bathroom Remodels (4)    3 Bathroom Remodels (3)

Finally, this is the powder room, which also had a new counter, sink, faucet and backsplash but kept the old vanity cabinet. The backsplash in this room continues past the sink to mimic the wainscoting on the opposite wall.

3 Bathroom Remodels (2)    3 Bathroom Remodels (1)

Frameless Shower Door

Here is a frameless shower door that I installed, the door that it replaced is pictured next to it.
Frameless Shower Door (1) Frameless Shower Door (4)
This custom shower never had a door or curtain, the theory was that it was big enough and the water was far enough away that it wasn’t necessary. The new owner felt differently and wanted me to install something that kept the open feel of the shower, but reduced the water splashing out the opening. So this door is only 4 feet tall and about 2 feet wide. 
Frameless Shower Door (2) Frameless Shower Door (3)