Squaredealhandyman.com

"Where the work speaks for itself"

Reviews

"Brian gave us a bid and stayed on budget. He is a man of his word. He is a professional and gifted craftsman."

Nick

We contacted Brian through craigslist.org because we were looking to have a pergola built before fall settled in, and he installed a quality, beautiful pergola (and lattice!) in less than a week. Wow! Brian was pleasant and professional over the phone and quick to respond via email. His prices were fair and his estimates accurate. He had to change the proposal a couple of times because we kept changing our minds but he took it all in stride. He said he never, ever, ever charges anything more than his estimate and he stuck to that. His integrity is admirable. My wife asked him after he had started for suggestions about how to block the view from our yard to our neighbor's, and he went above and beyond and built a lattice for us out of some lumber left over. Then he stained that too! We highly recommend Brian for his accuracy, speed, quality craftsmanship and customer service and proudly leave our testimonial for future customers to see. Thanks Brian! Michael & Katie

Michael H

Quality Craftsmanship!

My wife and I contacted Bryan through his advertisement on CraigsList. After exploring his site, we requested references which he immediately supplied. (He was easily accessible by phone from first contact to completion of the job. ) We felt confident in hiring Bryan to frame our patio cover. His prices were reasonable, his work clean and meticulous, and his integrity obvious. He completed the job in a timely manner, and when "settling up" at the end made certain that we deducted items he had returned from the final charge. Everyone who has come to our home has commented on the quality of his carpentry and his attention to detail. We highly recommend Bryan, and will contact him in the future when we need "handyman" assistance.

kennynlisa

Impressed customers

My wife and I contracted Brian Lysiak to build us a patio cover. We had previously been using a Sunsetter roll up awning, but each time the wind blew, it would shake the house and flap uncontollably. We decided it was time for something permanent. After seeing pictures of his work on his website, we contacted Brian for a free consultation. He was out the next day discussing plans on what design we wanted and what would fit into our budget. With a design concept in mind and measurements taken, Brian ordered supplies and began work right away. Brian estimated the project to take about one week, but he was finished in just 4 1/2 days. My wife especially loved that Brian cleaned up his work site at the end of each day. There was never a nail or wood scrap. Brian also hand stained all the lumber for the patio cover before building it. He also painted the hardware (nails and hangers) black which contrasted beautifully with the stained wood. And he came in under budget! Great job!!!

Patrick

Extremely pleased with Brians' work!!

Brian did a excellent job constructing a wood stained pergola over a paver patio in my backyard. It makes the space much more useable this summer as it helps a lot to filter the direct sun. After contacting him, He came out and discussed my project ideas and concerns with me in detail, His prices were reasonable and his work meticulous. From start to finish was less than a week. We are enjoying it a bunch. Would not hesitate to do business again in the future.

David

A job well done

Called Brian and spoke with him initially and verified through Kuna Lumber that he was ligitimate since it was advertised on craigslist. They gave him a glowing reference and named his full name while on the phone. I did this because there are plenty of people who don't have integrity and are scammers. He did a great job on our patio pergola and we settled through barter. Would do it again and recommend. Love waking up every morning looking out the window and seeing the nicely stained pergola over the patio. He also threw in a lattice for us on each side. We have a Clematis on one side and a grape plant on the other. Sweet!

billyboycharming

Brian did a great job!

Brian recently worked with us to build a small pergola for our back patio. Overall, the process was quick and easy, but no detail was missed. My husband and I were both finishing up graduate school, so our budget was pretty tight, and Brian was able to work with what we had. Brian is very knowledgeable, and we are so happy with the end result! (hoping to add another later this year). If you are looking for an honest person to work with and quality products, then you have found the right guy! Thanks Brian!

LC

Great Service and Quality!

The size and closeness of the annual growth rings to the left is a great indicator that you might have a variety of redwood heartwood from the center of the tree. Since heartwood is very rarely cut and sold nowadays, it can give you an indication of the woods age. From a pinkish hue to a deeper red color, redwood can vary in color but some boards will also contain 'whitewood' as they were most probably curt from the outer part of the tree or a different species of redwood.

Wood can also wear unevenly on its surface from wind or water erosion. The raised parts of the board are actually a little tougher than the weaker parts that are usually between the annual growth rings. This phenomenon can also accidentally occur when folks use a pressure washer too close to the surface of the deck or project trying to remove old stain or paint. The weaker parts of the board will wear away faster and easier than other parts thus leading to a need to sand it smooth again. It is okay to use a pressure washer in a deck or wood project, you just have to be aware of how close is TOO close. It will vary so start out with the wand of the washer at a distance and then move closer and closer you notice it starting to do a little damage and then back off a bit. Easy does it in the beginning is good advice.

Using a board from the project as a sample board can give you a good indication of what the combination of stain and finishes you choose will look like on the actual wood after it has dried and cured.

Growth rings for each year the tree was living can be as wide apart as 3/8" depending on how the wood was cut all the way down to 1/16" wide or less for every year of growth. This 1 1/2" wide joist took 44 years of growth to produce just these rings. Redwood can grow to more than 15 feet in diameter!

In the old days before we had such access to a wide variety of screws for decks and outdoor projects the only thing available were nails. Although redwood is a very stable wood in dealing with expansion and contraction for wind and cold it must be sealed properly. Once a protective layers integrity is breached, any wood exposed to the elements, including UV light from the sun, wind, rain, heat or and cold temperatures, will decline much more rapidly. This loss of protective layer and expansion from heat and cold can expand and shrink much like a sponge will absorb water and then dry out again over time. This action will eventually, over time, move back and forth forcing the nails up and out of the wood that it was meant to hold down or fasten together. This picture is a good representation of that very movement over time. Untouched and left alone, you can see how far these nails moved up and out of the wood.

Sand until you remove all remnants of the old stain or paint. Remember, "paint peals and stain fades" is the main difference now that stain has come so far with technology pushing forward greatly over the last 20 years. Nails will have to be driven down again prior to the resealing or pulled and replaced with screws. Since redwood is a rather soft wood, pulling the nails can be problematic as you can damage the surface around it as you apply pressure to it. the need for a 'helper' board to spread out the pressure can help and save you from a further sanding.

Sometimes you have to be inventive in the moment to get the desired result.

Once the sanding is done you can begin to apply the stain. Remember, with stain, you get what you pay for. There is a time and place to cut costs and trim the budget of an overall project but for me, the choice of stain is not one of those places. You might regret choosing to pinch pennies on the stain. Choosing a very good quality stain like Cabot can save you alot of headaches in the future let alone alot of work in the future. The trick is to know where to cut cost. I have used Cabot brand stains for over 20 years and they have never let me down in quality. I am not endorsed by the stain company, I just like to make my work look as good as possible and yet stand the test of time. As I say to my customers, "My finished project IS my business card" as all of their relatives, friends, family and coworkers will be seeing it for the next 30 years. It is up to you to decide what your budget is and what you can afford. The money saved over replacing the deck with new wood will more than cover the upgrade to a good quality stain and Cabot stains are at the top of the heap.

And now, the majestic Redwood can live on and last for many more years to come.