Historic Home Carpenter in Charlottesville
Matched trim, repaired sash windows and porches rebuilt the way they were built — for houses where replacing is not an option and should not be the first idea.
What We Do
The same six as any carpenter. What changes is that we assume the house was here first.
If another contractor has told you the only option is replacement, it is worth a second look.
Repair First, And Say Why
Most of what gets torn out of a hundred-year-old house did not need to come out. Old-growth heart pine and cypress are denser and more rot-resistant than anything you can buy new, and a sash that has survived a century usually needs a repair measured in inches, not a replacement measured in openings.
That is not sentiment — it is arithmetic. Repairing eleven sashes generally costs less than half of replacing them, keeps the original glass, and does not need approval from anybody. We will tell you the times replacement genuinely is right, and they are fewer than you have been told.
- Dutchmanrepairs let rotted sections be cut out and pieced rather than replaced
- Old-growthtimber outlasts anything available new, so keeping it is the durable option
- Sashrepair keeps original glass and rarely needs architectural review
- Replacementis right sometimes, and we will say so plainly when it is
Houses We Have Worked On
Two recent ones. We photograph every job; ask and we will send the rest for a house like yours.
From The First Visit To The Last Coat
We come and look
We open anything suspect, take cut-offs where finish work is involved, and tell you what we find before anyone prices it.
You get a written scope
Repair versus replacement set out item by item, with the reasoning, plus review and lead-safe requirements where they apply.
Approvals, if needed
We prepare the architectural review submission and the drawings. Most go through first time; we allow for the meeting calendar in the schedule.
We do the work
Contained, cleaned daily, and walked with you at the end. Anything on your list is finished before the final invoice.
What Our Clients Say
Our house is in the North Downtown district, which means the board of architectural review sees everything on the street face. Westenholt put the submission together, the porch was approved first time, and the new balusters are the same profile as the four originals we kept.
We were quoted replacement windows by three companies. Westenholt repaired eleven sashes instead, re-roped them and kept the original glass. The house is warmer, the windows work, and it cost less than half of replacing them.
They found rot under the threshold that nobody had mentioned, opened it up, showed us, and priced the repair before carrying on. That is the whole reason we trusted them with the rest of the house.
Thirty Years On Preston Avenue
We have worked on houses from the 1740s to the 1970s, and almost all of our work comes from architects, previous clients and their neighbors.
Small on purpose
Five carpenters. We take fewer jobs and finish them, because the alternative in this kind of work is a scaffold on somebody's house for a season.
We write things down
Every scope says repair or replace, and why. You should be able to hand it to an architect or a review board without translating it.
We keep the offcuts
Profiles, species and cutter drawings from past jobs are kept. If a client needs another twenty feet in six years, we can run it.
We will say no
If a house needs a specialist we are not — plaster conservation, slate, structural masonry — we will name the right person rather than stretch.
Have An Old House That Needs Work?
Tell us what it is and roughly when the house was built. We will tell you honestly whether it needs repair, replacement, or somebody who is not a carpenter.
Before You Get In Touch
Can you really match trim nobody makes?
Yes, and it is most of what we do. We take a cut-off of the original, draw the section to scale, grind a cutter to it and run the new stock in the same species. It adds about a week and it is the difference between new trim that disappears and new trim you notice every time you walk past.
Should I repair or replace my windows?
Repair, in almost every case. A sash that has lasted a century is old-growth timber that is denser than anything sold today, and repairing typically costs well under half of replacing. Repair also keeps the original glass and usually avoids architectural review altogether. Replacement is right when a sash is gone beyond piecing, and we will tell you when that is true.
What is a Dutchman repair?
Cutting out the rotted section of a piece and letting in a new piece of the same species, shaped to match. It is how a column base, a sill or a threshold gets saved instead of thrown away, and on painted work it is invisible once finished.
Do I need architectural review?
If your house is in one of Charlottesville's protected districts and the change is visible from the street — a porch, windows, exterior trim — then usually yes. We prepare the submission and drawings as part of the job and allow for the meeting calendar in the schedule rather than discovering it halfway through.
What does lead-safe certified mean for me?
For any house built before 1978 it governs how we contain the area, how we work and how we clean up. We are an EPA certified firm, our carpenters are trained, and it is built into the price rather than added later. It is not something a contractor can offer to skip.
How far out are you booked?
Usually eight to fourteen weeks, and longer if approvals are involved. The real date goes on the written scope. If we cannot start when you need us we say so at the visit rather than later.
Do you take small jobs?
Yes, hourly. A sticking door, a rotted threshold, one window sash. Several of our largest projects started as somebody's single stuck window.
Get A Free Quote
Tell us about the house. If it is in a district or you are not sure, mention it — that changes what we prepare and it is far easier to plan at the start.
- Visit us918 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22903
- Call us(434) 555-0139
- Email usoffice@westenholtcarpentry.com