Tile shower in progress

Another bathroom that I worked on recently. It needed to be finished in a hurry so that the customer could get moved into the home. The only problem was that someone else started it, and just about everything was wrong. I had to rip out everything and start over, otherwise the shower would have started leaking in no time. I used GP's fiberglass lined backer board and redguard to water proof the shower and as a backer for the tile. In addition to the tile I redid most of the drywall and tile on the floor. I also had to heavily modify a pocket door that someone else installed that actually pocketed behind the shower, to stiffen it up and make sure everything would remain solid.

New Basement Half Bathroom

Originally an empty unfinished basement. Framing, drywall, paint, tile, then add some fixtures and now a finished bath. Tough to photograph.

Roofing in the heat.

A good friend purchased a HUD home a few weeks ago and he needed some help on his roof. Most of the house had already been re-roofed, but one section 25' by 43' still needed to be redone. As you can see, we tore off the old shingles and patched some holes in the roof decking, laid new tar paper, and then I proceeded to run all the new shingles, while the homeowner addressed the ridge vent and wall/valley flashing. We finished in time for me to leave for a wedding by 3pm, and the homeowner was able to get the flashing done before it rained the next day. It was the hottest day of the year so far, and if i stood still for more than a few seconds I would stick to the shingles.

Note to self, friends don't let friends buy shingles at Lowes.

Just a quick Deck

This was a fun project, and pretty simple. I actually spent more time driving to Annapolis to pull the permits, and driving to the lumber yard to order materials (no phone orders), than it actually took to build this deck. The HOA required the deck to be all wood construction, no synthetic decking. The steps are 5 foot wide, with a 10 foot by 22 1/2 foot frame. The homeowner and I are internet friends, and share a common love for Jesus, so it was a pleasure to work for him.

On to the pics!

Gunstock Hardwood

All this snow has given me time to do a few things that I have been putting off. One of those things was to take pictures of a hardwood floor install that I did in January. Originally the Homeowners supplied their own hardwood flooring, as seen in the before pictures, and were going to go on vacation. The plan was for me to be done by the time that they got back. Unfortunately, the material they bought at the big box, was not the material that I recommended, and it had an inferior finish and way too many defects. I could scratch through the oxide coating and stain with my fingernail in 2 passes! The material was full of beetle holes, and there was no way that I was going to install it without the Homeowners' seeing what I described. After 2 days of phone calls and voicemails, to the Homeowners, big box, my suppliers, and manufacturers, we were able to return the "Mulligan" flooring for a full refund, and get much higher quality Bruce Dundee Gunstock 2 1/4" strip flooring for almost the same price. The Bruce flooring had almost no defects in 1100 sqft, so without the waste and cull, the Homeowners actually saved money, and paid less than my original estimate. I was able to complete the job the following week after they had returned home from vacation. Not the original plan, but I sure did appreciate the pot of coffee that they made for me every morning, and the fresh everything bagels with cream cheese. Hopefully they will have me back to install the stairs to their sunroom.

 

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well, this afternoon I was planning on repairing some damaged ridge vent on a friend's townhouse. A 10' section peeled off during high winds last week. The 5 day "weather guess" predicted clear weather through the weekend. But the current conditions outside are rain and more rain, with accumulations of 1 - 2 inches. So now I have to reschedule the repair for Tuesday, reschedule Tuesday for later in the week, and hope for the best.

I know "A" and "K" are worried about their home and the potential for a leak in their roof, and I'm worried for them. I know their home will be ok, and everything will be fixed once the rain stops. I just wish that I could be everywhere at once, but I can only do one thing at a time. This is the second repair they have needed on their roof this year, and I think that they will have to redo the entire roof in the near future.

Maryland weather... If you don't like it, just wait a few minutes.

Welcome to JM Construction Service's new Blog

Welcome to the JM Construction Service Blog. My name is Jeremy "JB" Tolliver, and I'm a general contractor, carpenter, and skilled craftsman licensed with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, MHIC#100857. I've been building, repairing and remodeling homes in Harford County and the greater Baltimore region of Maryland since 1997. My wife Megan and I are both lifelong residents of Harford county, where we we born, married, and now raise our family.