Remodeling a shower room
Refurbishing a bathroom. I bought a tree bedrooms, two bathroom house ten years ago when I got divorced. The shower area was in bad shape. The shower three wall were plastic laminated thin sheets that were glued to the drywall. The joints everywhere had mildew, the bottom pan was plastic as well. After living there for some time, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was fighting the mildew with chlorine. I decided to tear it apart and redo the plumbing, tile the wall and a new pan. I went to Home Depot and purchased the tiles and the...
read moreNew line of exotic doors
Shapira Builders introducing a new line of exotic doors. The doors are made of different wood species. Doors are an inch and three quarter thick and well constructed. Stain color and shades are subjected to your personal taste. Matching jambs and trim is available as well as sidelights. Most of the doors are available in 6’8″ and 8’0″ high. Width, 30″ 32″ 36″. Doors are the focal point of the house. They add elegance, accent and value to your home. Your front door makes a big statement. When you get a...
read moreDressing an archway with stained French doors
Designing and installing French doors in an open archway. My client found me on Angie’s List , She got tiered of having her office at her home with an open archway. She asked me if I could fit double French doors in the archway. I made a sketch for her including a beam above the doors to square it off the opening . In the opening above the doors I suggested glass. Since my client has very dark furniture in her office she chose a very dark stain for the doors. The doors are made of Douglas Fir. It is not possible to find Douglas fir wood...
read moreMesquite Doors
Mesquite double doors Mesquite wood doors Mesquite tree is a leguminous plant grows in the desert. It grows in different parts of the world. Most mesquite trees grow up to 30 feet tall. Like most desert trees the wood is dense therefor very hard and heavy. Mesquite is not commonly used for lumber. These trees do not make big enough trunks to become commercially useful. However, a small door maker in Tucson AZ. made some custom doors from mesquite. My client from Phoenix called me few years back and told me that he got two doors from the...
read moreInterior French doors
Interior French doors. My client Dona Duncan call me in September 2012. She asked me to give her an estimate on installing French doors between the hallway and her office. There were no doors there, just an archway of five feet wide by seven feet high opening. After I purchased the two doors and the lumber, It’s time to make a precise drawings. From here I cut all the components to create the jamb, make notches for the hinges on the jamb and the doors. Screw all the components together and it’s ready for painting. Arriving at the...
read more6x10x26 feet wood beam grid
Replacing rotted beams with new ones. My client has a U shape home in Phoenix, with a nice front yard. A grid of six by ten wood beams added lovely accent to his home. Two years after he bought this property he decided to check those beams that were covered with aluminum sidings. The previous owner was covering a big problem there. My client called me and asked me to bid on this job. I started with removing the siding, some of the beams were so rotted they wanted to come down without my help. Meaning, someone could have gotten hurt just...
read moreRefurbishing an Entry Way
Refurbishing an Entry Way What in the world the architect / builder was thinking? You are looking at a condo unit in Scottsdale. This is the main entry door to a two story home and another dummy door above it for decoration. The home owners asked me to change the door, remove the dummy and stucco above the new door. The new door was selected by the home owners from catalogs I presented at the free consultation I gave them at their home. The door is a Simpson door, made of Douglas fir. The stain was chosen from samples I provided. I removed...
read moreTongue and Groove Pine Ceiling
Tongue and Groove Pine Ceiling Installing Tongue and Groove (T&G) planks is not an easy job. It requires scaffolding, two installers or more and strong necks. The material has to be straight. It is very easy NOT to keep the lines straight and true parallel. The soft pine tongues and grooves need to be in good shape or it would be hard to engage between two planks and to get a tight fit. I always use a small chunk of the material between the hammer and the plank to prevent hammer damage. The planks get nailed with pneumatic finish gun. As...
read moreReplacing patio doors with French doors
Replacing patio sliding doors with double French doors, low-E and mini blinds between the glasses. In order to remove the frame of the sliding doors, you have to cut the stucco with a four inch diamond blade. I cut it two inches away from the exposed frame and remove the stucco and the Styrofoam. Now the flange is exposed, I remove the nails or screws and the frame can be pulled out. Installing the new pre-hung French door unit is next. Wide trim on the outside should cover the the stucco rough edge. Well, I had to do some stucco repair as...
read moreSectional wood deck
Removable wood deck My client purchased a condo in NYC Walking outside his back door, there was a roof for his use as part of the deal. He asked me to build a wood deck for him. The existing roof deck was made of plywood and black asphalt roofing material. The original roofing needs to be served every now and then. I had to come up with a unique idea. The plan was to built it in sections that can be lifted and removed. pile up half the deck to one side, serve the roof and then do the other side. With no elevator we had to hoist the lumber up...
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