Frequently Asked
Questions

Often yes, but it depends where the soil stack runs and what is under the floor. We check that at the walkthrough and tell you what is realistic before you commit to a layout.

We handle the whole job. Demolition, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile, fixtures and clean up. One crew, one point of contact.

Sometimes. Original hex floor and cast iron tubs are often worth keeping and we will say so. We would rather restore something original than replace it with something that looks like everyone else’s bathroom.

You hear about it the day we find it, with what it means and what it costs. Old houses have surprises. The problem is never the surprise, it is finding out about it late.

Yes. Roofing, siding, gutters and drainage are part of what we do, and on a whole home job they usually come first. See roofing and drainage.

In practice, no. People use both words for the same work, and we answer to either. If you want the longer version we wrote about it: renovating vs remodeling.

Depends on the age of the covering and whether the decking underneath is sound. We will tell you when a repair is genuinely the right call. Replacing a roof that has years left in it is not a service.

Yes. Water travels along framing before it shows on a ceiling, so the stain is often nowhere near the entry point. Finding it properly is most of the work.

Yes, and it is usually the sensible time to do it. Gutters and drainage decide where the water off your roof ends up. See drainage.

Often yes. If the damage is local and the rest of the cladding is sound, a section repair is the sensible call. Matching weathered board exactly is the limitation and we will be straight about how close we can get.

Fiber cement handles this climate well and takes paint. Vinyl is lower maintenance and lower cost. On a historic house the answer is usually neither, and we match the original timber profile instead.

Sometimes, and it is better found than hidden. Rot and termite damage in the sheathing gets quoted as it is found, with photos, rather than buried.

Often it starts as one. Uneven soil moisture moves piers, and the floor follows. We look at the water before quoting any levelling, because fixing the symptom first is money badly spent.

A perforated pipe laid in gravel below ground that intercepts water and carries it away by gravity. It works on water in the soil, not just water on the surface.

That is the real design question on a flat lot. Depending on the site it may be a street discharge, a dry well, or a pumped system. We work it out on site.

Usually more of it than people expect. Surface rust cleans back. Only where the metal has actually lost section does it need replacing, and even then it is often one part of a run.

Yes, that is the normal ask on these houses. We match the pattern so a repair does not stand out from the street.

That is worth checking properly rather than guessing. The fixings into the building usually fail before the metal does. We will tell you straight if something needs attention now.

Usually worth repairing. Boarding over plaster loses the depth of the wall and the relationship with the trim, and it hides whatever is going on behind.

Yes, and that is usually where the space is. Built ins scribed to the actual walls beat anything freestanding in a room that is not square.

Yes, and it is usually more efficient. We can stage it so you keep somewhere to sleep throughout.

It can, easily. Soft historic brick and lime mortar need low pressure and the right detergent. We soft wash where blasting would take the face off.

It depends on shade and tree cover more than time. A north facing wall under oaks needs it far more often than an open sunny elevation.

Yes, and carefully. Roofs are the easiest surface to damage and the one most often wrecked by too much pressure.