High Standards and Attention to Detail – Brad had identified and already called for corrections of subcontractor work flaws before we even saw the problem.

Communication – We always knew exactly where we were in the construction process and budget.

Problem Solving – You are guaranteed to have surprises and challenges in a remodel, and Brad has excellent problem solving skills.

Rapport with Subs and Architect – Subcontractors told us they like working with Brad and said “Brad does things the right way”.

The bottom line is that Brad built a beautiful kitchen for us, right on time and right on budget. We recommend him to our friends and neighbors without reservation.

Brad excels in the area of finish carpentry and project organization and follows through from demo to finish. Brad completed two remodeling projects at my home on Capitol Hill and my experience with him was decidedly positive. These challenging projects were six months in duration and involved technical challenges such as restoring weathered woodwork, matching century old millwork, making structural modifications, and working with an assortment of trades. My family was living in the house while the work was underway and he kept the work area safe, clean and comfortable for us while successfully controlling both budget and schedule.

Brad was professional and conscientious, courteous, reliable, responsive, a clear communicator and enjoyable to work with.

Brad is a warm, kind and friendly person who takes great pride in his work. These qualities have made working with him in a professional capacity very rewarding. We hired Brad to do extensive work on our unfinished daylight basement, which included the full build out of a family room, adding a full bathroom and exercise room. He also completely rebuilt an exterior deck as well as installed wheelchair ramps to our house.

Several things that stand out to us about Brad and his approach to each job he has done for us:

• First is the excellent quality of his work. He is a highly skilled craftsman and his attention to detail in the finish carpentry work not only stood out to us but also continues to be commented on by others who visit our house. For example, Brad built a fireplace mantle in our basement that would have cost over $1000 to purchase in a store.
• Brad is meticulous in his preparation before undertaking a job. His cost estimates were always very accurate and he provided detailed expense reports of all materials used in each phase of a project. There were never any surprises regarding the cost of a project.
• Brad is very efficient with his time. We always felt that he worked hard while on the job and never took advantage of our friendship.
• Communication was always excellent. Brad is easy to talk to and work with. He makes sure that the job gets done correctly the first time. He is fun to work with and has a great sense of humor.

In closing, we highly recommend Brad to any potential client. His personal and professional abilities make him valuable in remodeling and would truly be an asset to your project.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

We were referred to Brad through the Environmental Home Center. From the day he came to give us a quote we felt so grateful that he was available to do the work. He was thorough, had many resources for non-toxic building supplies and was very professional. His quotes were organized, easy to read and his rates were incredibly reasonable for the quality of work he can perform. He was so thorough that he suggested we contact a structural engineer before he started the project and worked with the engineer to finalize plans before he proceeded. We so appreciated that he made every effort to ensure for the safety and integrity of our home so as to make it livable to our needs and high enough quality to improve the value for future resale.

During the work, Brad was faced with numerous challenges. Our floors were being installed at the same time that he was doing his work so he had to work around that. He also had to work around furniture as we had already moved in and were still trying to run our business during the remodeling.

And the weather was extremely difficult including the big windstorm and power outage and heavy rain during that period at the end of the year. He commuted a good distance each day through this weather and there were many days where he was outside working in the cold rain. Even with all of these obstacles, he finished the entire project on time.

We were very satisfied with his work and highly recommend Brad for remodeling and carpentry work of all types. For any future projects we need in this home or another, as long as Brad is in the business, we’ll do our best to enlist his support. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or for further information regarding any of the projects Brad has worked on for us.

This led to a discussion of craftsmanship and I was reminded of a dinner conversation I was part of one time with some acquaintances who were complaining bitterly about the declining quality of craftsmanship in the trades and that there just isn’t the level of “craftsmanship” like there used to be etc. This tirade came up because one couple recently had a very poorly done remodeling project on their home. She chose the materials and directed the project herself without the input of a designer or architect and of course they chose the cheapest contractor they could find and of course it turned out considerably less than what they were expecting both in terms of the design and materials which of course were as cheap as they could find as well. I maintained that “Craftsmanship” is a 3 way marriage between, function, economy and skill but they weren’t buying it or conceding that the choices of materials, design and the cheapest contractor might have contributed to their disappointment.

So after our Home Pros meeting today I was curious about the etymology of the word “craftsman” so I dredged up a little history of the origins of the word and as it turns out craeft in old English it has origins relating to “power, physical strength and might”. At some point the word expanded to include notions of, “skill, art, science and talent via notions of mental power which eventually led to the use of “trade, handicraft, and calling. From these definitions I suppose an argument could be made that we are all “craftsmen” of our own worlds but I have been at times virtually gob smacked by the skills required and the time that it takes to sell ourselves as entrepreneurs and small business owners.

So for grins I looked up the origins of the word “sell” while I was cruising for info and its origins from Old English is “to give, hand over or to offer a sacrifice or betray someone to an enemy”. The idea eventually found its way into common usage by c.1000 with meaning to “give up for money” which is probably our relationships to what selling means to us. So perhaps Howard Howell, That Sales Guy is not far off the mark and is correct when he encourages not to sell a product or service but rather ask ourselves what kind of problem can we solve for a prospective client.

It is estimated that in homes built before 1940, 87% of the US homes contain lead. 69% in homes built between 1940-1960 and 24% in homes built between 1960-1978 when lead in paint was banned for manufacture in residential applications (EPA Pamphlet # 740-F-08-002). However it didn’t stop the sale of lead paint that had been warehoused and sold after 1978 and apparently it is still available in some limited commercial applications like painting bridges and major infrastructure like that.

The problem is lead dust that comes from deteriorating lead based paints and lead contaminated soils that are introduced into the house by children and or adults working and or playing in a contaminated areas and unsuspectingly introducing it into the house and their lives or from renovation which can suspend the dust in the air and on surfaces to be breathed in or ingested.

How is that a problem you might ask? Well lead is particularly dangerous to children under the age of six. It can affect children’s developing brains and nervous systems causing reduced IQ, behavior problems, speech and learning disabilities. Even children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead in their bodies. Adults manifest dangerous levels of high blood pressure and hypertension and can have sexual/fertility disorders, muscle or joint pain, digestive problems, memory and concentration problems. Lead is passed from the mother to the fetus and can cause miscarriages, premature births, brain damage and low birth weight. Lead exposure causes permanent damage and you can’t see it, can’t sweep it up and it travels. It’s nasty stuff.

The EPA has determined that the amount of lead exposure that is an acceptable level of exposure is measured in micrograms or 1 millionth of a gram detected in an area of one square foot or 12”x12”. By comparison if you will, a packet of sugar is roughly about 1 gram of sugar. Now believe it or not, somebody in some great lab somewhere with too much time on their hands actually counted how many grains of sugar average in a gram or a sugar packet and it’s roughly 280,000 grains of sugar in a packet. Now picture the size of a grain of sugar and it’s about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Now imagine that “.” reduced by 1 millionth and you have a very tiny amount of a toxin that not much more than that can harm you, your family and or your customers. One gram of lead-based paint can contaminate a large area. I think you can imagine what kind of dust is created when you renovate a bathroom or home office or a kitchen for example.

Now you know these facts:. Dust is the problem. Lead poisoning is hard to detect and its effects can be permanent and kids are most at risk for lead poisoning. But it’s preventable and that is the intent of the new 2010 RRP Rule (Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule).

Published April 22, 2008, under the authority of the Toxic Substances Control Act(section 402© of TSCA) that effective April 22, 2010 all contractors in the U.S. providing compensated renovation services and will affect an area larger than 6 square feet of interior surface, or 20 square feet of exterior surface must have their firms certified by the EPA for RRP. By comparison, your typical interior bathroom door is about 16 square feet. In addition each firm must have at least one certified renovator on staff available on all work sites that has been trained and certified in dust sampling, containment and disposal of lead dust and material. Lead safe work practices and documentation must be in compliance and the certified renovators must educate owners and occupants and non-certified onsite personnel of hazards and containment.

How will this be enforced you ask? EPA has the authority to seek civil fines of $32,500.00 per offense plus and an additional criminal fine of $32,500 plus jail time for knowing and willful violations of the RRP requirements. As a small contractor like myself that’s a very big incentive to be in compliance. And as a homeowner/business owner you would want to make sure that any contractor you enter into a renovation agreement with is licensed, bonded and insured AND in compliance and is following the proper RRP procedures to reduce your risk and exposure.

If you’re a contractor in Washington State there are currently two certified training facilities according to the EPA website. One in Seattle and one in Bellingham. There are thousands of registered contractors in Washington State. You do the math but there will be a rush to get certified and so you will want to get in line now to get the training and certification. Go to www.epa.gov/lead for more info.

I took the individual certification yesterday and it costs $250.00 for the individual training and $300.00 to certify my company with the EPA. Now my firm as Bradley J. Rodgers LLC, A Carpenter in Private Practice is an EPA Certified Renovator.

Don’t wait until the last minute.