I began working as a handyman when I was a teenager in Michingan. I did painting, minor home repairs etc. My dad taught me the principles of electricity and I worked with him remodeling our old farmhouse. I learned plumbing when we replaced our entire radiant heat plumbing which was all copper.

When I was in my 20's I becam an apprentice to a licensed builder. I woked with a master carpenter and learned framing, finish carpentry, drywall, concrete footings and slabs, and stucco. When I became a journeyman I did all phases of remodeling including tile and linoleum. I ran my own remodeling business for years until I was injured in 1993 and went to school to learn computers. I did computer consulting and taught PC classes at a junior college for a few years.
When I moved my family to Nashville in 1999 I found a lot of work in building so I have been back building now for 2 years.

The title "Master Carpenter" is applied to a person who has had 25 years in carpentry and who can build a house to code from the ground up. I do not call myself a contractor because I believe the old way of being a craftsman and a man of your word was always best. Politicians, unions, building departments, lawyers and all the rest of the "overhead" involved have complicated and taxed a really basic process. My answer is an honest relationship with customers helping the homeowner to be the contractor and save money and headaches.
A good example is a job I just finished. A contractor had bid the job, then hired me to do the carpentry end. They underbid, and as a result the customer had to repeatedly call the contractor asking me back to do this and that to get the job done correctly, and each time they had to pay the contractor PLUS pay me. Had they hired a skilled tradesman initially they would have had a better job for less money. However their "fears" and advice from the "system" was to always get a licensed contractor.

The bottom line is to get 3 CURRENT references from any tradesman (or contractor) from happy customers. Anyone can get a buddy to say he did a good job on a remodel 5 years ago, but how have the last 3 customers been treated ? Secondly if you hire by contract instead of hourly, make sure every detail of what you expect to be done is in writing. Never assume that "to code" means all trimmed and painted and pretty. CODE is a LEGAL MINIMUM! Anything not specified on a contract is an "additional" and can be charged at WHATEVER PRICE the contractor wants to charge!! This is how most contractors make their profit.

My advice is to hire a person with great current references who is a skilled tradesman and a man of his word. Have him give you a labor and materials estimate, then pay him hourly and pay for the materials seperately. This way if after some time progress is not being made as you expected, you can negotiate. If you want to make a change you just tell him. A contractor charges (almost as much as they want) extra for all these things. With an hourly tradesman you are in control of the job and the costs.

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