A gazebo can be an awesome addition to ones backyard, especially when entertaining friends and family. Winter fires while enjoying the night sky and summer cookouts are just the best. While gazebos can be a great addition; assembling one can be a bit frustrating. The task is a 2-3 person job and though they come with instructions; they can be quite confusing. Even some DIY’ers have trouble assembling them. Assembling a gazebo can run a person $650+  and can take 4-7 hours to assemble depending on the type you purchase. FYI: please do not try to attempt to assemble one if you do not have the necessary skills to do so. Opening boxes and taking out screws and necessary pieces can result in lost parts. Lost pieces will lead to not being able to erect the gazebo, all the way, which can stop your project for up to 2 to 3 weeks when having to call the manufacturer for missing parts.

So a few weeks ago a customer asked if I could look at their floor in the hall of their home. After walking on it; i notice it felt soft in a couple of spots. You know how you step on a wooden porch and fill the board give a little? Well i knew it either had to be the joist underneath the floor or the plywood was just soft. Although  in my line of work you have to be prepared for anything. It ended up being both and not only that; the entire hall floor had termite damage that had to be replaced. So there is a couple of tips here. Always have your home termite treated when recommended and when you or if you decide to have repair work done prepare yourself for the unexpected. A small job definitely turned into a larger one on this job.

So a customer contacted me a few days ago and said he had an issue with the fan. He said the light comes on but the fan doesn’t turn. After troubleshooting the fan I learned the motor had given out. When you turned it on it just made a humming noise. He also made a comment of having a switch for the light and for the fan but only one switch worked for everything. We looked at the wires and sure enough the blue illumination wire and the black wire were wired together to the black wire in the ceiling box. Now understand that when you have designated double switches for your fan there will be a red and black wire in the ceiling box the majority of the time. One goes to the blue illumination wire and the other goes to the black fan wire. I put (blue to red) and (black to black). Though I strongly urge you to call a local professional to help you if you are not familiar with electrical wiring.

Swing sets are a nice addition for the backyard  during summer time. I particularly love putting the swing sets together just to be able to see the kids amazement once it’s done and every now and then i get to see them take the first swing or slide on the set before leaving and actually get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a kid again. Although the swing sets are nice they are particularly hard to put together you need at least 2 people to do it but on my team we use 4. “DO NOT TRY THIS BY YOURSELF” you may find that patients is not a virtue. 😅 Now it usually takes us a total of 6 to 7 hours to put a set like the (Chateau) together. Believe me we’ve tried it’s hard to do it in less time and have fallen short every time. There’s multiple pieces and a set of directions; you just gotta have a will to get up and want to do it but I love my job I love what I do and this is what makes me happy. If you ever find yourself in need a handyman to put a swing set together  and you live here in Lake Charles, Louisiana or even in the surrounding area give us a shout, we’d love to help you out..

Cutting out recepticals in Sheetrock can be difficult and finding the right contractor is not always easy. While there are plenty of professionals out there; there are also a lot of unprofessionals out there too. Not only does over cutting holes mess up perfectly good material but getting it repaired can be costly. Did you know patching holes can cost you $50-$150 and that’s a small hole.

Today while installing a tub surround the customer complained about a bad plug they had been needing to be repaired, so me being the curious type I ask to take a look at it. This plug was hidden by the bed up against the wall. When I pulled the bed back this is what I found. I asked the customer how long was this like this and they said for about 7 months or so ; luckily I caught this one on time. Just touching the wall plate with a screw driver to replace it was making a sizzling sound. This customer was blessed. This could have easily resulted in a house fire or possible lives being lost. If you see a burnt plug in your home it’s time to get a professional to inspect it, don’t let a minor fix become a major problem.