Carpenters near you

Rough carpentry is judged on strength, straightness and square; finish carpentry is judged by eye, at close range. The two depend on each other: trim can't hide a wall that leans, and a perfectly framed opening is wasted if the casing around it is gapped or split.

A carpenter is the natural choice when the project is mostly wood and stays within one trade: new trim throughout a floor, a built-in, a closet system, a stair railing, a set of interior doors or a partition wall with no wiring or plumbing in it. You deal directly with the person doing the work, and small adjustments can be settled on the spot.

Once a job brings in several trades, or changes the structure in a way that needs drawings, a general contractor is usually a better fit. Taking out a load-bearing wall, for example, involves a designer or engineer for the beam, an electrician for the wires in the wall, often a plumber or HVAC technician for pipes and ducts, then a drywaller and a painter, along with the permit and inspections. Many general contractors keep their own carpenters, and some carpenters run small projects with licensed subcontractors. What matters is that one party is clearly responsible for the whole job and holds every licence it requires.

The right material depends on where the piece will live, whether it will be painted or stained, and how much movement it can tolerate. A good carpenter explains why they suggest one product over another instead of quoting whatever they usually use.

Wood keeps trading moisture with the air around it, swelling when the air is humid and shrinking when it is dry. In most of Canada the difference between a muggy July and a heated house in January is large, and that movement shows up as open mitres in trim, gaps where a stair meets the wall, squeaky treads or a door that sticks every summer.

Careful carpenters plan for it. They bring trim, stair parts and wood panels into the heated house and let them adjust to indoor conditions before installing them, following the manufacturer's instructions where there are any. They keep lumber off the ground and out of rain and snow, leave room for movement in wide panels and solid-wood tops, and seal every face of pieces exposed to moisture. Framing a basement or an addition with wet lumber can lead to nail pops, drywall cracks and twisted studs once the heat comes on.

Stairs are where carpentry and safety meet most directly. The building code in force where you live sets requirements for the rise and run of steps, how uniform they are, headroom, handrails, and the guards that keep people from falling off stairs, landings, balconies and raised decks. Those requirements depend on the code edition your province or municipality has adopted, so the carpenter should build to the rules that apply to your project, not from memory.

Cosmetic carpentry, such as new baseboards, casings, closet shelving or a freestanding bookcase, rarely needs a permit. Structural work usually does: removing or altering a load-bearing wall, cutting a new opening in an exterior wall, reframing a floor, building or replacing a staircase, finishing a basement, and building most decks and additions. Each municipality sets its own requirements, so check with the permit office before work starts. A beam or header that replaces a bearing wall should be sized by an engineer, a qualified designer or the manufacturer's tables, never by eye, and structural work is not a do-it-yourself job.

In Quebec, anyone who does residential renovation work for you must hold a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) with the subclasses the job requires. Among the specialized contractor subclasses, the RBQ lists 6.1 for wood structures and 6.2 for wood and plastic work. Ask for the licence number and check it in the RBQ's online register before you sign. Outside Quebec, licensing of carpentry contractors varies by province and sometimes by city, so check the local rules and ask for proof of liability insurance in any case.

Cutting into an older wall or ceiling calls for one more precaution. Health Canada notes that, before 1990, asbestos was mainly used to insulate homes, and it lists plaster, drywall and spackling among the materials that may contain it, so have suspect materials tested by a professional before the carpenter opens them up.