Restoration:
Since 1998, the exterior restoration of Milwaukee-area historic and pre-WWII homes has been one of my driving passions. I repair and replace siding to bring the house back to its original look, custom-match unique crown moldings, repair rotten window sills or squirrel damaged soffits, all with the highest quality materials, often using techniques that I personally innovated.
This type of work can be difficult, hard to bid, and a little fussy. Most carpenters shy away from it, often leaving it to well-meaning but un-trained painters and roofers.
But I have made it a primary focus. It is what I love to do and what I do with more experience and knowledge than anyone in our area. My fingerprints (invisible after completion) are all over many of Milwaukee’s finest homes.
Painting:
For years me and my crew would perform the carpentry, window and door restoration, and porch repairs, but then leave the painting to someone else. After being asked by my customers, and after coming up with an approach I could feel passionate about, I began to perform the painting as well. This way I can ensure that from start to finish, no details have been overlooked and no steps have been skipped, and that nothing falls between the responsibilities of multiple companies or crews.
Many painting companies have added “and Restoration” to their name, but don’t be fooled. An extra carton of caulk and some moldings from Home Depot do not transform those college student painters into restoration carpenters. These companies aren’t my competition; rather misinformation and a reassuring sales-pitch are. This is where a true restoration paint job is different.
I treat the painting as the capstone to the restoration. True, some houses just need a fresh coat of paint without lots of carpentry, and as a historic purists, I’m the last person to fix or replace something that isn’t broken. But the key to a long-lasting paint job is the quality and integrity of all the things that happen before a paint can is opened. The soft and damaged wood needs repairing and consolidation. The flashings need to be sound and properly fit, the roof needs to drain properly, and windows need to function as they should.
Then, and only then, the house needs a thorough scraping so that all the loose and failing paint is removed, sometimes all the way to bare wood. Don’t settle for a cheap 5-year paint job when 15 or 20 years is , with the right approach, often possible.
While I am still able to assemble a highly experienced crew to take on large projects, often your painter only needs some help with the carpentry or some guidance in the unique techniques required by an old home. I am available to engage in your restoration and paint jobs according to a range–anywhere from doing the work myself, to coordinating and overseeing work performed by others (with some guidance and training, those college students or suburban painters can often do things the right way).
We can take broken and rotted pieces of rail that look like a jumble of miscellaneous parts and piece it back with epoxy, sanded to blend perfectly with the original
