Carpenters are broken down into two skill types, “framers” those who primarily do the rough carpentry work, and finish carpenters, those who fabricate and install cabinetry, millwork, casework, as well as exterior siding and trim. A poor framing job will wreck havoc later in the job. Beyond the obvious critical nature of the structure, proper nailing and installation of all the load carrying members of the house, door and window rough openings must be properly sized and constructed plumb and square for correct installation. Walls installed out of plumb or square will cause untold headaches later on for the finish crew who must install cabinetry, countertops, and millwork such as crown moldings or baseboard and other casework. These defects often aren’t readily apparent to the naked eye until it’s too late, short of putting a level and square to every inch of the job or verifying all measurements.

Excellent finish carpenters have their character traits, they keep their workspace clean, they exhibit patience, never afraid to back off and look at a detail a second time, they work carefully but productively. My favorite finish carpenter of all time is Cecil, a classic suspender clad man tall and lanky, with dust brush in hand, carefully testing the tightness of his work with the palms of his hand. Full of stories, and a scrapbook full of ideas, and moldings. His joy for his work was obvious.

My suggestion to you, before hiring a carpenter is to visit their jobs in progress and search for these clues. A good craftsman will gladly parade you around his job, allowing you to test his good work.

 By the way, in my experience the best craftsman always have a clean job. No scraps of wood or other debris, sheetrock tapers will not drop much “mud” on the floor, painters won’t look like kindergartners after a half hour of finger painting, and so on.

After                                                               Before