Frieary's Custom Carpentry

When my husband and I finally downsized into a home just for the two of us, and decided to turn the largely unused formal living room into a long-dreamed-of library to house our large collection of books, we thought it would be easy to find someone to build it for us. We asked our realtor and our new neighbors for recommendations. We scoured the Internet. We brought in several people for quotes. Let?s just say that most of the responses we got were along the lines of, ?You want a what? You know, my wife just got this thing called a ?Kindle?...? Then, by great good fortune, we ran across Rob Frieary, a custom carpenter based in Catskill, New York. The minute he came into our house and learned what we wanted to do, his eyes lit up. He was full of ideas and enthusiasm, and returned soon with a scaled drawing of beautifully trimmed shelving that wrapped three walls of the room. He explained with great honesty that he is a one-man operation, that the whole design and build would take some months, and that his price would reflect the time he would have to put into a project of that size. He returned with a quote that was higher than others, but that included a great deal more. Given his enthusiasm, knowledge and already demonstrated concern for quality and detail, we hired him to build and to light the library, and to provide matching crown molding and door trim in the foyer and dining room that open onto it. When we suddenly decided to put hardwood flooring down in the living room and dining room before the library job began, Rob added that to the schedule and did a beautiful job. The build took several months, with numerous consultations during which Rob was unfailingly responsive to our needs and concerns. He built and painted the cases and shelves in his workshop, delivered them to the house and finally installed and finished everything on site. I spent a lot of time with him in my home, and he and the helpers and subcontractors he used as needed were polite, thoughtful, and always left me with as clean a site as possible at the end of each day. The result is far more beautiful than we originally imagined, and we are thrilled with every detail. The spray painted finish is perfect. The proportions are beautiful; the moldings, elegant. For the first time in decades all of our books have a home together. We practically live in the library now with our books and music, whereas before, the room was more or less wasted space. There is no doubt that we will hire Rob again for any future carpentry/building jobs, large or small. At the moment he is adding some baseboard and door moldings in other rooms. If we ever get around to the kitchen, Rob will be the one we call, to build from scratch or just to install cabinets, depending on our budget at the time. I also have a notion about a gazebo for the garden, for which I think he will have a lot of good ideas when the time comes. He says he enjoys building decks and other outdoor structures, and custom solutions seem to be his forte. Highly recommended.