Fine Carpentry in Hudson, NY
Built-ins, trim, doors and porches for Columbia County houses — drawn before they are built, made in Hudson Valley hardwood, one job at a time.
Recent Pieces
We photograph everything we make. Ask and we will send the rest for a house like yours.
What We Make
Five things, and a deliberately short list of them.
Five things is the list because it is what two people can do properly. We will tell you who does the rest.
One Job At A Time
Ashfen is two carpenters and a shop on Warren Street. We take one job, finish it, and start the next. It means we book out further than most and it is the single thing customers mention afterwards — one van, the same two people, every day, until it is done.
We mill Hudson Valley hardwood in the shop, which is less romantic than it sounds: it means we choose boards for your doors instead of accepting what a supplier sent, and it lets us match something already in the house when matching is worth doing.
- Drawnto scale and approved before a board is cut
- Twocarpenters, one job, start to finish
- HudsonValley hardwood milled in the shop
- Repairbefore replacement, and we will say when that is wrong
Three Questions We Wish More People Asked
Ask us too. The answers tell you more than a price does.
Will I see a drawing?
A description is not a specification. Without a scale drawing, the first time you see the piece is the day it arrives — and by then a change is a bill rather than a conversation.
How many jobs are you running?
A carpenter running four houses is a carpenter who will be somewhere else for half of yours. There is no right answer, but there is a right honest answer.
What happens in the first winter?
Wood moves, particularly in a valley that swings from humid to dry. Ask what the reveals are set for and who comes back to ease a door in February.
What We Mill, And Why
Cherry
Darkens for about two years after it leaves the shop. We give every cherry customer a sample to leave on a windowsill so the change is something you chose rather than something that happened.
White oak
Hard, open-grained and the right answer for anything that gets used daily. It is unforgiving of a rushed finish, which is a reason to like it.
Poplar, painted
The quiet workhorse. Takes paint flatter than almost anything, costs less than a hardwood, and in a painted room nobody can tell — including us.
Reclaimed local stock
Old-growth boards out of barns and houses in the county. Beautiful, slow to work, and occasionally full of nails. We price it honestly rather than romantically.
Four Steps, And A Wait
A conversation
About the room and the house, not the budget. Photographs help more than measurements.
A drawing
To scale, with a fixed price and a start date. Changes are free until you approve it.
The shop
Milled, built and finished on Warren Street, in boards chosen for your job.
Fitting
Scribed and finished on site, then walked with you before the final invoice.
What Columbia County Says
We interviewed four carpenters. Three asked what our budget was. Ashfen asked what the room was for, how we used it, and what we would keep if we moved. The bookcase answers all three questions.
They worked on our house for seven weeks and it was the calmest trade experience we have had. One van, two people, the same two people, every day.
The cherry has darkened exactly the way they said it would. They gave us a sample two years ago and told us to leave it on a windowsill. That is the kind of thing that makes you trust somebody.
Three Things We Say Early
We book out
Usually two to four months. The real date goes on the quote. If that does not work for you, we would rather say so on the phone than take a deposit and hope.
We are not the cheapest
Two people, one job at a time, milled stock. That is a price. What it buys is a finish date that holds and a carpenter who answers the phone in year three.
We will send you elsewhere
Plaster conservation, stone, structural masonry, whole-house renovation. We name the person in the county who does it well rather than stretch to it.
Tell Us About The Room
We reply within two working days, including an honest no when the timing or the scope is not right for either of us.
Before You Write
How long is the wait?
Two to four months, occasionally longer in spring. It is the direct consequence of taking one job at a time, and it is on the quote in writing rather than implied. If we cannot start when you need us we will say so at the first conversation.
What does a built-in cost?
A painted alcove bookcase in a straightforward room is in the low thousands. A stain-grade run across a whole wall is several times that. Painted versus stained moves the number more than anything else, and we will give you a range on the phone.
Do you take small jobs?
Yes, hourly — a sticking door, a rotted threshold, a repair to something we did not build. They fit between larger jobs and they are how a good many customers meet us.
Can you match old trim?
Usually. We take a cut-off, draw the profile and grind a cutter to it, then run the new stock in the same species. It adds about a week and it is the difference between new trim disappearing and new trim announcing itself.
Do you work with architects and designers?
Often, and we like it. We read drawings before pricing them and flag anything that will not behave in real wood — an unsupported span, a reveal that closes up in August — before the timber is ordered.
Are you licensed and insured?
Columbia County home improvement contractor license HIC-4472, with general liability and workers' compensation. Certificates go out with every quote without being asked for.
Send A Message
Tell us about the room and the house. Photographs are worth more than measurements at this stage.
- Visit us612 Warren Street, Hudson, NY 12534
- Call us(518) 555-0174
- Email usstudio@ashfencarpentry.com