How I price a job, and why I won't guess over the phone
Why a real number needs eyes on the job, what actually moves a quote, and how to get an accurate one fast.
Read itBlog
The practical stuff I explain on the phone.
The things I end up explaining on the phone all week: how a quote actually gets put together, when a repair is worth doing, and what to check before you call anybody out.
The new-build punch list your builder never came back for
Settling cracks, builder-grade finish work and trim nobody came back for: what is normal, what is still the builder's problem, what to fix now.
Read itIs your shower failing, or just ugly?
Cracked grout and a waterproofing failure look nothing alike once you know where to look. One is an afternoon. One is a tear-out.
Read itBefore you call anyone: the photos to send
The four photographs that let me quote most jobs without a trip out, and the ones a picture can never answer.
Read itOne visit or three? How to group a punch list
Which jobs belong in the same trip, which genuinely need their own, and the order to do them in so nothing gets done twice.
Read itDrywall cracks: which ones matter and which ones don't
Most cracks in a Central Texas house are the house moving, not the house failing. How to tell which is which before you patch anything.
Read itWhy a texture repair shows, and how matching actually works
Knockdown, orange peel and skip trowel all went on by hand. Matching one is a hand skill, not a product you buy off a shelf.
Read itChoosing flooring that survives a Central Texas house
Slabs that move, humidity that swings, sun that fades. What that rules in, what it rules out, and what actually decides the result.
Read itGutters: what they are actually protecting, and when to clean them
On clay soil, gutters are not really about the roof. They are about keeping water off the ground your slab is sitting on.
Read itAfter a Texas storm: what to check, and in what order
What is worth looking at from the ground after wind or hail, what needs somebody up there, and how not to get taken by a door knocker.
Read itCabinets: reface, repaint, or replace?
Three very different jobs that get talked about as if they were one. How to tell which one you need, and when the cheap one is the right one.
Read itInterior painting: the preparation is the job
Rolling the paint on is the fast part. Everything that decides how it looks and how long it lasts happens before the lid comes off the can.
Read itBuilding outdoors in this sun: what actually lasts
Our summers are hard on anything built outside. What that means for material choice, fasteners, and the maintenance you are signing up for.
Read itReady to get that list handled?
Send a few photos and I'll tell you what it takes, in writing, before anything starts. I work across Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Round Rock and the towns nearby.