The terms, in plain language.

We give free written estimates. An estimate is our good faith price for the scope we describe in it, based on what we could see and measure on the day we visited. It is an offer to do that scope at that price. It is not a contract until both of us sign one.

• Estimates are valid for 30 days unless the estimate says otherwise.
• Prices assume the scope exactly as written. Adding a room, changing a profile, or switching species changes the price.
• Material prices move. If lumber or hardware costs change materially between the estimate and your acceptance, we will tell you in writing before any work starts, and you are free to walk away at that point at no cost.
• Anything we could not see is priced as an allowance and labelled as one. See the section on concealed conditions below.

Illinois regulates home repair and remodeling contracts closely, and we follow those rules rather than working around them. For any project over $1,000 you get a written contract before we start, signed by both of us, stating the total cost and the work to be done, along with our business name and address.

This is the single most common source of disagreement in carpentry, so we would rather be blunt about it before you hire anyone, us included.

An estimate prices what can be seen. Behind existing plaster, under existing floors and inside existing cabinetry, Chicago houses routinely hide water damage, rot, insect damage, mold, knob and tube wiring, undersized or notched framing, previous repairs done badly, and structural members that are not where any drawing says they are.

When we find something like that, we stop, photograph it, show it to you, and give you a written change order with a price before we do anything about it. We do not proceed on discovered work without your written approval, and we do not bill you for it after the fact. If the discovery is severe enough that the job no longer makes sense, we will tell you that too, and you can stop.

Some conditions are outside carpentry altogether. Structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, mold remediation and asbestos work are performed by the appropriate licensed trades, not by us, and are not included in a carpentry estimate unless it says so in writing.

Two facts about finish carpentry that we set out in advance because they are properties of the work rather than defects in it.

Wood moves. It expands and contracts with humidity, and Chicago swings from humid summers to very dry heated winters every year. Seasonal hairline movement at joints and panel edges, minor checking, and slight cupping are normal in solid wood and are not defects. Grain, figure and color vary from board to board within the same species, and stained wood will not match a sample exactly. Natural wood also ambers with light over time. None of that is a workmanship failure, and we will show you samples before we order so the range is not a surprise.

Old houses are out of square. Chicago walls are rarely plumb, floors are rarely level and openings are rarely square, particularly in bungalows, two flats and greystones that have settled for a century. Good finish carpentry scribes to the house as it stands. That means a reveal may be very slightly tapered across a long run, because the alternative is trim that is geometrically perfect and visibly wrong against the wall beside it. We will point out anywhere this will be noticeable before we cut.

Unless your contract says otherwise, our scope is carpentry and installation. Painting, staining, finishing, drywall repair and final touch up of adjacent surfaces are separate line items and are only included when they appear in the written scope.

You are welcome to supply your own materials, and plenty of clients do. Two conditions apply, and they are the same ones every carpenter works under:

• We do not warrant materials we did not supply. Our workmanship warranty covers our installation of them; it does not cover the material itself failing, warping, or arriving short.
• If supplied material arrives late, damaged, mismeasured or insufficient, the resulting delay and any return trip are chargeable, because the crew and the calendar were held for your job.

Materials we supply carry whatever warranty the manufacturer gives them, and we will pass those documents to you. We are not the manufacturer and do not extend those warranties.

We warrant our workmanship for one year from substantial completion. If something we built or installed fails in that year because of how we did it, we come back and correct it at no charge to you. Tell us and we will schedule it.

What that warranty does not cover:

• Normal seasonal wood movement, grain variation and ambering, as described above.
• Normal wear, abuse, impact damage, or damage from a later trade working nearby.
• Failures caused by conditions outside our scope, such as a roof or plumbing leak wetting our work, or continuing structural settlement.
• Materials you supplied, or manufacturer defects in materials we supplied.
• Work altered, repaired or refinished by somebody else after we left.

This warranty is in addition to anything Illinois law requires. It does not replace it and does not shorten it.

Most of the housing stock we work in predates 1978, and removing or disturbing original trim in those homes can release lead dust. This is a safety obligation we carry, not a risk we pass to you.

Where federal law applies, work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre 1978 housing is performed under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, using certified personnel, contained work areas and the required cleaning verification. You will receive the Renovate Right pamphlet before that work starts. If you believe your home has lead paint, tell us early so we can scope it correctly rather than discovering it with a pry bar.

Payment terms, including any deposit and the milestone schedule, are set out in your signed contract. We do not ask for payment in full up front.

• Lien waivers. We provide waivers of mechanics lien rights for ourselves and, where applicable, for suppliers, at each payment. Ask for them at any time. We keep our lien rights under the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act until we are paid, which is the ordinary position for any contractor in the state.
• Access. We need reasonable access to the work area on the scheduled days. Repeated lost access days may be rescheduled or charged, because a held crew day cannot be resold.
• Cancellation by you. Beyond the three day right to cancel described above, if you cancel after we have ordered custom or milled material, you are responsible for the cost of that material, which by definition cannot be returned or resold.
• Delays. We are not liable for delay caused by things outside our reasonable control, including supplier failure, permit timelines, other trades on your job, severe weather and utility outages. We will tell you as soon as we know.

We photograph our own work and use it in our portfolio, on this site and on social media. Those photographs show carpentry, not people, and we do not publish your name, your address or anything that identifies where you live. If you would prefer we not photograph your project at all, tell us and we will not. If a photograph of your project is already published and you want it removed, ask and we will take it down.

To the fullest extent Illinois law permits, our total liability arising out of a project is limited to the amount you paid us for that project, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including lost rent, lost profit, or the cost of alternative accommodation.

The photographs on this site are of work we have done. Where an image is used to illustrate a service rather than to document a specific project, it is presented as illustration and not as a claim about a particular job.

Prices, availability, service areas and descriptions on this site are general information and can change. Nothing on this site is an offer or a guaranteed price. Only a written estimate signed by us is.

The text, photographs, layout and design of this site belong to us. Please do not reproduce them commercially without asking.

Some consumer protections in Illinois cannot be waived by contract. A term trying to waive them is void, and a business that tells you otherwise is committing a separate violation. So that there is no ambiguity about our position:

• Your rights under the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act (815 ILCS 513) remain fully intact, including the written contract and consumer pamphlet requirements.
• Your rights under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505) remain fully intact and are not waived by anything on this page.
• Implied warranties are limited only to the extent Illinois law allows them to be limited, and not further.
• You keep the right to complain to the Illinois Attorney General or to your local consumer affairs office at any time, and nothing here discourages you from doing so.

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, that part is removed and the rest continues to apply.

Call us first. Almost everything is fixable by the crew that built it, and we would rather return and correct something than argue about it. Please give us written notice of the problem and a reasonable opportunity, at least 30 days, to inspect and cure it.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois. Any dispute that we cannot resolve is brought in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois. You keep the right to bring a qualifying claim in small claims court instead.