FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I offer free estimates. For small, simple jobs, I prefer to work for an hourly rate and I offer senior discounts (age 60+, for your primary residence). For larger, more complex jobs, I prefer to agree to a set price for the entire job. For most jobs, I prefer to supply the parts and materials, so I can guarantee quality and guarantee everything is compatible with how your house is constructed. There's usually fewer headaches that way, but I am open to customers that supply parts and materials.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I tend to ask a lot of questions at first to get a sense of what you are looking for and whether I can deliver it. If you have a larger project, I have a designer with 20 years of experience who we can collaborate with to create an interactive 3D model of the design. For most jobs, I will need to do an on-site inspection before I can provide a free estimate, though sometimes, for smaller, simpler jobs I can give a ballpark estimate based on your photos and measurements.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Most contractors can get the job done, but I excel at communication. I am a native speaker of English, y hablo español casi con fluidez. I also have a master's degree in Linguistics, which shows that I am a detail-oriented problem-solver both with language and with other sorts of work. Both linguists and carpenters focus on hidden structure--either the structure behind sentences or the structure holding together your living space. When I am not running my contractor business, I also work as a college teacher, which means I am experienced at explaining complex concepts to a variety of audiences.