Mitered stringers...getting the math correct is key .

No way that meets code, I'm calling the state, you're in deep doo doo now buddy......

Nice job Bob 😜😜😜👍

Thanks Guppy......I will put up the post and railing next. I'm afraid someday I will be the one to take a tumble while working on these open stairs with balcony....

I must have immunity:angel:
Never any problems passing building code inspection. Lost track of how many i have done but its a lot.

one tight stairway,nice work.

Thanks Trev. Newel posts and railing installed....just the balconies to finish.

I have another kitchen to finish installing next.

Nice!

Omega cabinets?

Nice!

Omega cabinets?

Cabinet brand is Showplace.....They are very nice.
Good cabinets have finished ends only where they will be exposed.
Custom sizes are no problem.

Slip- we used Omega cabinets on the kitchen room where you did the amazing wall unit... so far they have held up great although some of the self closing hinges are not working quite as well as they did when new.

Nice looking stairs Bob.... One of these days I need to refinish my main red oak stairs... and replace one tread that cracked when I had to temporaily remove the newel post to get a mattress up stairs

Only thing left to do is fill in the winder treads with flooring.
There is another stairway and all the material waiting for me at a house back at the park.
My hands ache badly at the end of the day from carpel tunnel and arthritis. Too many years (43) of daily use and abuse gripping grasping and pounding. Good news is that I still have all of my digits..... so far anyway. I wonder how many cuts I made at the saw in this one stairway alone.

Another house ....more stairs and cabinets.
I am hoping for a little bit of a break before the next house is ready. Bonito and Albies should be arriving in the next couple of weeks and I want to be able to get some time off!

I get pissed when I come in to work and see crap work like this.
They (plumbers) were given toilet specs for water supply locations.
It seems they screw something up on every single job.
I don't do the hiring or firing....if I did they would be long gone.

nice
that modification of the trim on that toilet supply looks classy:fishslap:

nice
that modification of the trim on that toilet supply looks classy:fishslap:

Can you believe they actually did that? It is going to be redone obviously. Just imagine all the stuff you don't see. I have a file folder full of pictures as examples. They neglected to rough gas line so first pic is their elegant solution. Next pic just explains how much pride they take in their work:yak4:

the stories we could tell

I'm 55 and thought I've seen it all, but there are so many drones out there going thru the motions who don't care or don't have pride in their work or don't know any better, that it is mind boggling. And you are right about what you can't see that is hidden, it is scary and why I want to build my own house and barn, but the costs are insane.

the stories we could tell

I'm 55 and thought I've seen it all, but there are so many drones out there going thru the motions who don't care or don't have pride in their work or don't know any better, that it is mind boggling. And you are right about what you can't see that is hidden, it is scary and why I want to build my own house and barn, but the costs are insane.

Yes costs are high but.....it never really gets cheaper either.
I built a starter cape (no finish upstairs) but with a full dormer for future expansion.....finished upstairs a few years later...then added a family room and garage eventually.

Here's a picture from 1977... I was only 21 years old, but had been learning the trade for a few years at that point ...roofing completed only 15 days after I started framing it....wish I had that much energy again.

That plumber would still be looking for a check....:hs:

That plumber would still be looking for a check....:hs:

Guppy...Yeah their work sucks....I've told my boss how I feel....now it's his call. I see a lot of stuff going on that I think sucks...I do try to intervene on occasion...but you can't fix stupid.:wall:

Almost done with this one.

Another house cleaned up and ready for closing. It is actually a one floor house....the window dormers on the front are open through to the cathedral ceiling below.

Master bath

Finishing up another house. After all the debris and dust is removed they look pretty good. Closing on three houses this week...$$$!!. My company has instituted profit sharing, which is a great incentive to get these jobs done.

Geez no wonder why your boat turned out so beautiful! Great work on everything!

I like the last kitchen with the cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. I don't know why it drives me nuts when I see a $$$$ kitchen that has cabinets that stop 2" from the ceiling... but it does!

my Dad was a GC, building custom homes in westchester NY. At the time it was the worst job ever working for him, so much labor and hard work. now that I'm older I realized how much that taught me, how glad I am now to have all that knowledge.

Your work shows years of craftsmanship! looking f'ing awesome!

Thanks alby....Its funny how you describe working for your dad the GC..and how hard it was.
I remember how physicaly demanding it was for me a scrawny teen helping to frame houses back then...carrying all that lumber ,roofing, sheetrock etc. and the older guys and boss had no mercy anybody new or younger. You had to earn their respect by showing them you could take the workload and all the ball busting too!
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Finishing up another stairway. This one will have a round starting step and a handrail that ends with a volute.

Preparing the volute and newel post. There is a lot to getting the post height and rake angle correct. It is satisfying when all the calculations and layout work come together. The starting newel has a 1 1/2" dowel that extends down through the tread and riser to the floor. There are different ways to fasten it. This time I will lag bolt into the bottom of the newel post dowel from the basement.

nice work as always. I'm finishing up a 28 wide by 30 ft deep garage. I've done 99% percent of the work myself. Had 2 guys come in and help me with the trusses and plywood on the roof, the rest I've done myself.

Doing the rail work was my favorite part of working in a stair shop. We did all types of work but rails were the best. I especially enjoyed doing the wreath on a curved stair. It the same as a volute but it is entirely curved and starts climbing as soon as it starts turning. Stairs are an art, beautiful work Rmarsh

Thanks Hooked
Coffman stair parts sells an accending volute that starts climbing right in the turn, it allows for a lower newel post height.

.... after you mentioned wreath railings...I found these videos that help explain the concept in a way I could understand.

https://youtu.be/DgyEXWhamXY
https://youtu.be/hQ5vSszuRTw

Coffered ceiling and fireplace mantel. Kitchen cabinets are next.

Coffered ceiling and fireplace mantel. Kitchen cabinets are next.

it's about time I see a coffered ceiling done right. I see alot of them up here framed then wrapped with drywall then the crown inside the squares. IMO it looks like dog#^&#^&#^&#^&e. It's a cheap way out of doing it the right way.

Thanks Trevier......the ceiling took a lot more man hours than I thought it would, probably why you see so many builders try the cheaper way.
Kitchen install is underway, farmer apron sink in the island is a nice feature I think.

Painted and stained stairway. I thought I was finished...but now customer wants wall panels going up stairway wall and adjacent dining room. It's an easy job that I like doing anyway.

Diet A&W ?
;-)

Diet A&W ?
;-)

HAha yeah.... I just grabbed whatever was in the fridge that morning.
Never been on a diet ...190 lbs for the last 30 years...never changes?

Both my boys are well over 200#....always busting my balls about being too thin....but they both agree to who is the most agile.

Funny how things get into the pictures that you would think no one would notice.:nopain:

I zoom in Bob, if I'd seen anything wrong I'd a really laid into ya LOL
Nice job as usual

all done with this one...I added brackets under the granite overhang after the picture was taken... on to the next one.

a few more

Countertop support brackets ..Fireplace mantel and built-ins in progress...stairs.

Ok Mr. Marsh, I've zoomed in and everything looks ok... ;-)
Nice work as usual, Saturday night?

Starting to think about redoing the kitchen. Wish you lived closer.

Countertop support brackets ..Fireplace mantel and built-ins in progress...stairs.

Nice, but I hate the look of the newel post on the stair tread. We always used to mount it on the face of the tread and landing on the floor.

Nice, but I hate the look of the newel post on the stair tread. We always used to mount it on the face of the tread and landing on the floor.

Trevier... I value your opinion and response... feedback is always welcome.

Guppy.....thanks for the thumbs up....if you zoom in too close you will see that nothing I do is ever "perfect". But always at least adequate.:kewl:

The customer, who I have not met in person, provided a small vague picture of what they wanted for the fireplace and built-ins. No other discussion or plan, so I had to design and build my interpretation. It will all be painted except for the base cabinet tops, which they wanted stained oak to match the flooring.

more stairs......lot of hours to get it done right.

more stairs......lot of hours to get it done right.

My knees hurt just looking at it... :-)

My knees hurt just looking at it... :-)

My orthopedic doctor told me that the arthritis in my hands will get progressively worse, cortisone injections work but wear off within a few months. Can't move my thumbs and wrists without pain, shooting pain at night without even moving them.

He also said that I have the knees of a forty year old ;), and that they should carry me along with no problems....i have never worn knee pads...tried them once.... too uncomfortable.

Stairs again......nothing special about these....but most of the stairs we do use 5/4" thick treads which finish out to just over 1"thick. To save on material costs we are switching to 3/4" thick....when the oak cove moulding gets applied under the tread nosing it gives the appearance of being thicker. It is so much easier to cut and fit these thinner treads too!

Stairs again......nothing special about these....but most of the stairs we do use 5/4" thick treads which finish out to just over 1"thick. To save on material costs we are switching to 3/4" thick....when the oak cove moulding gets applied under the tread nosing it gives the appearance of being thicker. It is so much easier to cut and fit these thinner treads too!

stop working, albys are in, you’ll have more time now that you’re using 3/4 treads, right?

Stairs again......nothing special about these....but most of the stairs we do use 5/4" thick treads which finish out to just over 1"thick. To save on material costs we are switching to 3/4" thick....when the oak cove moulding gets applied under the tread nosing it gives the appearance of being thicker. It is so much easier to cut and fit these thinner treads too!

I always liked the 5/4 treads. I think they are stronger and give a better look. Are those rabbitted risers your using? If so I assume the tread has a tapered piece on the back edge so it fits in nice and tight? Nice system they are. Used to get all my millwork from van lumber out of bellingham mass.

I always liked the 5/4 treads. I think they are stronger and give a better look. Are those rabbitted risers your using? If so I assume the tread has a tapered piece on the back edge so it fits in nice and tight? Nice system they are. Used to get all my millwork from van lumber out of bellingham mass.


I agree.....the 5/4 are stronger and look better....but 99% of our customers would not even notice. Yep...the tread is rabbeted to slide into the groove in the riser...and tapered to tighten when driven back with a heavy rubber mallet. I did a lot of business with Van Lumber back when I was building custom homes.....always good quality stuff.

stop working, albys are in, you’ll have more time now that you’re using 3/4 treads, right?


HAha...the faster I go the more work they give me.....calling in a day off today to try for albies...

I agree.....the 5/4 are stronger and look better....but 99% of our customers would not even notice. Yep...the tread is rabbeted to slide into the groove in the riser...and tapered to tighten when driven back with a heavy rubber mallet. I did a lot of business with Van Lumber back when I was building custom homes.....always good quality stuff.

I remember a 2 million dollar house we were doing back in 01. Trim package was over a 150k, everything was cherry. Van shows up to deliver with one guy. One friggin guy to deliver the stuff. My dad laid into our salesman for allowing this. He told my dad van doesn't want to pay for another guy to go out on deliveries. Gave him jon vans number, man it wasn't pretty I can tell you that.

A delivery guy drops a load of roof trusses on my job, and comes over for to me to sign the slip. As I'm doing so I see his truck rolling slowly away and ask him if someone is with him. He turns to run towards the vehicle, trips over a pile of dirt and falls into a puddle of mud. Well, I could see he wasn't going to get up right away so I take off running after the truck to see if I could stop it before something bad happened.
Luckily it veered off the side of the road and came to rest without hitting anything.:doh:

A delivery guy drops a load of roof trusses on my job, and comes over for to me to sign the slip. As I'm doing so I see his truck rolling slowly away and ask him if someone is with him. He turns to run towards the vehicle, trips over a pile of dirt and falls into a puddle of mud. Well, I could see he wasn't going to get up right away so I take off running after the truck to see if I could stop it before something bad happened.
Luckily it veered off the side of the road and came to rest without hitting anything.:doh:

I like that spindle jig, I'm stealing that.

I like that spindle jig, I'm stealing that.

Good eye!
Yup...its also the pitch block with the stair angles....and helps with post height variables..
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Dark stained cabinets are a bitch......every speck of dust and the tiniest of scratches show through. The finished flooring is 3/8" thick engineered hardwood.

Dark stained cabinets are a bitch......every speck of dust and the tiniest of scratches show through. The finished flooring is 3/8" thick engineered hardwood.

nice work, but not my type of cabinets. I'll stick with my cherry cabinets with a natural finish.

Trev....I worked for years installing commercial millwork in banks, libraries, and country clubs, cherry was the wood of choice, and one of my favorite woods to work with. Like most wood, cherry has a distinct smell. I believe I could be blindfolded and identify most common hard and softwoods by their aroma.....:hihi:

Door pull jig....accurate and efficient. I use a 3/32 bit to mark them...then 3/16 to finish them. That keeps the hole in the jig from becoming larger and wandering.

Good idea doing it that way
I always have to make more since they wear out, I’ll have to try the smaller diameter first then drill with the 3/16

I think it can be almost as fast if I have two drills set up and swap out while still holding the jig in my left hand.
But I have so much scrap maple available, it is easy to make more.

I have made them for drawer front pulls also, it’s faster than measuring and marking.
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I used to make them with scrap lexan
Holds up better
I used to get it free from glass shop I used
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Good idea doing it that way
I always have to make more since they wear out, I’ll have to try the smaller diameter first then drill with the 3/16

I think it can be almost as fast if I have two drills set up and swap out while still holding the jig in my left hand.
But I have so much scrap maple available, it is easy to make more.

I have made them for drawer front pulls also, it’s faster than measuring and marking.
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I mark every door with the small bit before changing to 3/16 bit.
I have also used a vix bit ...self centering...to do the marking, and puts no wear on the jig

For drawer pulls it's very different... I have methods that speed up that process without an actual jig.

I have been in the home construction business for over 45 years.......never....ever been busier. We are selling new houses to first time home buyers at a rate that is hard to fathom. I attribute this to consumer confidence and optimism...but I'm just a simple carpenter.....not an economist.
Unfortunately the construction industry jobs created go mostly to immigrants with questionable legal status.