Making an end grain cutting board.

It all begins with an idea. In this case, my clients needed to restrict their dog from accessing the upstairs, but allow their felines access to their feeding location. Using green laser technology here, to determine proper gate location and alignment.

I designed and built the gate from quarter-sawn white oak to compliment the flooring. I designed a “no drill” mount to attach to the existing metal railing system without damaging the metal railing.

Stair view of gate assembly with cat access in left “saloon style” gate. The “saloon style” gate design was chosen to avoid gate interference in blocking access to the upstairs hallway. Gate construction employed mortise and tenons at all connection points.

Here is finished view of the pet gate from the upstairs hallway.

Cats can easily access entry to second floor thru access “hole” in left section of the spring loaded hinge, saloon style gate assembly.

Client’s dog had chewed on stair balusters. Severe damage to balusters necessitated the need two replace them with new baluster assemblies.

Stairs are carefully masked of in preparation for baluster removal.

Baluster is carefully removed, new locating dowel is put in place to align new replacement.

Damaged balusters are replaced with new primed balusters. Client is employing professional painter to repaint baluster assemblies.

Client’s century old gum wood staircase baluster was broken and a previous repair attempt had failed. I carefully removed broken baluster to repair existing item as “gum wood” is no longer available. I am using a green laser for positioning here.

Old baluster is clamped into a precision fixture in preparation for precise spot facing and boring to accept a hardwood repair dowel.

Here a CNC (computer numerical controlled) router is employed for precise X, Y coordinate locations, spot facing end of broken section and precision boring to exact depth within thousandths of an inch.

Broken section has been repaired here with a new oak hardwood dowel glued in place to reinforce broke section.

Client’s gum wood balustrade volute shown with broken spindle removed

Client had a 45 inch television in the existing solid cherry entertainment center. They wanted to install an 85 inch TV, requiring enlargement of cabinet allocated for the space.

Using my Festool woodworking equipment, the “cabinet cubby” space was surgically removed making room for the new television set. New cherry wood trim and a new solid cherry top plate was fabricated to replace the old trim and cover exposed areas. The new wood was stained and finished to match the existing cabinets.

With the alteration complete, the client has the new 85” television installed.

With the new TV arrival, the client discovered the manufacturer requires additional heat dissipation venting. I cut an additional vent in top section ( not shown) of the new solid cherry panel I had made.

Client had a flaw in the floor that had been filled with putty. The patch material shrunk and fell out leaving a hole.

A precision rectangular oak flooring patch is formed using my CNC router. Next, a matching cavity removes the “hole” in the floor to extremely precise dimensions. The quarter-sawn white oak patch is then installed.

Using my portable CNC router, I fabricated a oak floor repair piece seen installed here. The repair is installed a few thousandths of an inch proud to allow for blending to finished floor height.

As an option to removing an entire floor board, a ”Dutchman” repair saved the client time and money with minimal disruption to the household. This repair was completed, same day. Once the floor finish cures, the repair blends in nicely.

Client had purchased a new double oven unit that would not fit existing space.The client contacted me for a consultation of how we could accommodate the newly purchased double oven unit.

After obtaining oven manufacturer specifications, I use my Festool track saw with HEPA dust collection to resize opening to exact size.

I fabricated a custom hardwood oven mount (shown here above drawer) to handle the increased weight and size of the KitchenAid double oven unit. The client employed professional oven installation personnel to place unit and make proper electrical code connections.

KitchenAid double oven finished installation is precisely fitted to manufacturer’s specifications. Cabinet doors above and storage drawer below were modified for proper fit and finish.

Poor workmanship and ( early 2004-2007) TREX stair tread material failures prompted client to call me for a rebuild of their porch stairs and railings

Substandard workmanship and poor choice of materials by homebuilder in 2005

Replacement with custom designed newel post with solid copper pyramid post caps.

Concrete footings were poured as original homebuilder did not place any footings at all.

All new premium TimberTech composite stair treads with hidden fasteners were employed. All #1 cedar was angle cut to shed water then primed and painted with 2 coats of premium grad paint. A powder coated handrail with ADA returns was selected and installed.

All new premium grade TimberTech composite porch stair treads, CorTex hidden fasteners, stainless steel hardware, custom milled cedar railing and stiles.

Client’s 106 year old garage has rot and termite damage to garage door header and is in desperate need of replacement.

Rotten and insect damaged garage door header assembly to be replaced.

New pressure treated 4” x 12” assembly is installed into garage door opening.

Pressure treated header assembly is reinforced with Simpson Strong tie metal components.

Existing garage door was re-installed by garage door vendor. Door opening was trimmed with new Western Red cedar. Trim was primed and painted on all four surfaces with premium quality paint for longevity.

Client is satisfied with the new look of wider wood trim, compared to the old look.