This business was permanently closed in 2019. Please feel free to browse the archives for inspiration. Thanks!
All posts by adamlakari
Ipe Privacy Fence & Gate
A privacy fence I designed and built with ipe over 4 x 4 pressure treated posts. The fence is about six feet tall in the middle section. It encloses the entirety of this small backyard. The gate, which weighs about 150 pounds, is nestled between the garage and the house.
Ipe fence – front side of gate with stainless hardware 
Small Porch in SoPo
I built this porch using douglas fir and pressure treated pine. The toprail is made from select grade douglas fir 2 x 4 and has half lapped corner joints for to minimize movement. The customer wanted something that was durable, paintable, and low profile. The job also involved a bit of shingling. The area around the new porch was re-shingled as needed, with premium grade eastern white cedar shingles.
Composite Deck with Cumaru Rail
This deck was built using composite PVC decking for low maintenance and durability. The guardrail system is made from cumaru and powder coated aluminum balusters. Cumaru is a tropical hardwood that is similar to ipe at a much lower price point. The high bush blueberries around the front of the deck were a great source of snacks throughout the job. I miss those things.
Ipe Deck with Cablerail in Falmouth, Maine
A customer in Falmouth requested a low maintenance deck durable enough to stand up to tough Maine winters. I modified the homeowner’s original design and built a custom 52′ x 12′ deck using Ipe, one of the most durable hardwoods available. Stainless steel cable with low-profile powder coated aluminum posts provide an unobstructed view of the wooded backyard .
A 50′ run of Ipe handrail installed on a stainless steel cable rail system from Viewrail
Viewrail cable rail with a custom ipe toprail
Another view of the framing. Blocking between the joists stiffens the guardrail posts.
A closer view of the framing. A double 2″ x 10″ carrying beam on 6″ x 6″ posts
Decking installation in progress. This deck was installed with Ipe clip hidden fasteners from Deckwise.
Small Kitchen Remodel Challenge in Portland, Maine
A customer with a home built in 1910 came to me with a challenge. She wanted a kitchen with more storage, more counter space, and room for standard appliances – without expanding the existing footprint. I designed a solution that kept the footprint intact, maximized placement of the cabinets and standard appliances (e.g., a much needed dishwasher), and included new features such as an opening to the dining room with a bar. No additional square footage was added and there is more usable space to prepare meals and entertain guests.
Looking into the kitchen from the dining room
A new pass through to the dining room
Range with a full height quartz backsplash
A tall pantry with a compact workspace to the left
Another view looking into the kitchen from the dining room
Painted Radiator Covers with Aluminum Grilles
A set of three radiator covers designed and built for a home in Portland, Maine. The covers were built using maple plywood and hardwood and spray finished with Benjamin Moore Advance acrylic paint.
Douglas Fir and Pressure Treated Pine Deck
Here’s a very large 500 square foot deck I built in South Portland. The guardrail was built from Douglas Fir and the Classic Aluminum Balusters from Deckorators. The homeowner applied a clear UV sealer to the decking and guardrail to prevent the wood from graying.
View from the back. The deck is 32 feet wide and 22 feet deep. The railing has a total of 188 balusters.
The deck had a single set of 4 foot wide stairs to the backyard. I milled a handrail from Douglas fir to match the guardrail.
A view of the carrying beam. I used clamps and ratcheting tie downs to roll the carrying beam plumb.
Detail of the top rail. Love how the tight grain looks.
Small and Inexpensive Kitchen Renovation in South Portland, Maine
This is a small kitchen I did using the quick ship cabinet options from Home Decorators line at Home Depot. The cabinets are very solid for the price. All of the boxes are birch plywood and cost about the same as the particle board options that KraftMaid offers. The best thing about these cabinets was the quick turn around time, they were delivered only 10 days after I ordered them. The solid surface counter top is made from Corian, and was chosen primarily for its quick fabrication time.
Deck with Boardwalk in Scarborough, Maine
A deck on a sloped site with multiple levels. Built with pressure treated pine.
View from the stairs
Stairs to the backyard
Looking towards the backyard
Stairs to the driveway
View from the side
Stairs to the garage
Wooden Radiator Covers in South Portland, Maine
I recently built some shaker style radiator covers for a customer in South Portland. The covers were constructed using birch plywood and poplar. We used SketchUp to design the covers and finalize the look before any building took place. One of the covers was made for a child’s room and has built in storage.
Built-in Bookshelves in Portland, Maine
This is a built-in corner unit I made for a customer in Portland. I designed the bookshelves in SketchUp and after a few revisions we landed on a design that’s functional and looks great in the space.
The corner unit was designed in SketchUp
Built-In Bookshelves – Painted and ready to load
Built-In Bookshelves – Adjustable shelving, fully loaded
Simple Built-in Bookshelves in Cape Elizabeth, Maine
A trio of built-in bookshelves with adjustable shelving for a home in Cape Elizabeth. The cases are made from birch plywood and the face frames are poplar. The customer had a painter finish the cabinets with an alkyd based paint from Benjamin Moore.
A small, unfinished built-in bookshelf.
The largest of the three unfinished built-ins
A small, unfinished built-in bookshelf.
Replacing a Girder / Carrying Beam
This past fall I replaced a carrying beam supported by steel tubes that were buried directly in the ground sometime in the 1970’s. The beam was rotten and the ends of the steel posts had broken at ground level.
I began by removing the old beam and leveling the structure using a temporary girder and bottle jacks. Then new 8″ diameter concrete footings were placed 48″ below grade to support 6″ x 6″ posts. A seat notch supports each side of the the beam which was constructed using three plies of 2″ x 12″ Douglas fir. Â Copper flashing on the top and ends prevents water and ice from entering the space between the plies.
I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the final step – I added cleats below the splice on each side of the 6″ x 6″ post to support the ends of the beams’ center ply. The cleats are attached to the posts with 5/8″ galvanized threaded rod.
Garapa Porch with Aluminum Balusters
A Garapa porch in Falmouth. Garapa is a very dense tropical hardwood from Brazil with a color and grain pattern similar to teak. The balusters are the Estate series by Deckorators. The wood was sealed with a tinted UV sealer to prevent graying.
Douglas Fir Table
A simple bar height table, made from clear vertical grain (CVG) Douglas Fir. This was built for a customer in Portland that had limited seating space in their condo’s kitchen.
Custom Douglas Fir Table
Douglas Fir Pergola
A pergola built from Douglas fir, designed using SketchUp.  The perlins are notched around the rafters for added stability. The base of the posts were covered in tar for waterproofing.
Railing Repair
The railing components were all custom milled from Douglas Fir and pressure treated pine to match the existing rail.
Railing milled from Douglas fir to match the existing rail
Side Entry Porch
A small porch with a handrail. The wide top rail on the porch provides a surface for planters.
A small porch with a handrail mounted with weather-proof stainless hardware.
New porch in Cumberland
A small pressure treated pine porch with custom milled handrails
Deck Rehab in Cumberland
A girder was added under the deck joists to properly carry the weight of the deck. Rotten cedar decking and railing was replaced with pressure treated pine.
TimberSil Deck
This is a deck I built in Portland using TimberSil from Maine Green Building Supply. TimberSil is a non-toxic alternative to standard pressure treated lumber.
Dog Proof Entry
This porch was designed to contain the homeowner’s two active dogs. The gate is extra sturdy yet easy to open. The decking and guardrail posts are glued to the framing with polyurethane construction adhesive to minimize checking as the pressure treated lumbers dries.
Cumaru deck with LED lighting, Stone countertop
This project began as a hand drawn sketch a customer gave me. With his input, I created many revisions in SketchUp to which we added a lot of unique features – low voltage LED disc lights, concealed lighting under the countertop, hidden fasteners in the decking, and a custom milled two piece riser. The framing is constructed from pressure treated southern yellow pine. The decking, rail, posts and trim is Cumaru from Bozovich Timber Products.
Custom Radiator Covers
Poplar radiator covers sprayed with a durable white lacquer finish.
Porch in Cape Elizabeth
The original porch on this old farmhouse in Cape Elizabeth was supported by ant infested pine timbers buried in the soil. The whole structure was on the verge of collapse. I installed temporary supports for the roof, removed the old porch,then replaced it with this one. The new concrete footings with pressure treated posts supporting the structure should last for many years to come.
Floating deck with precast footings
A floating deck is a free standing structure that is not attached to the house using a ledger board. I built this one using Dek-Block brand precast concrete footings. The raised octagonal tier serves as a dining area and is about ten feet in diameter.
Installing a fence on ledge
Installing a fence that sits directly on bedrock, or ledge, requires a little extra work. The bottom of the fence posts are drilled out and slid onto rebar that is cemented into 18″ holes drilled in the bedrock.
Small Deck in South Portland
This deck replaced an old porch that was literally falling off of the house. It adds a great outdoor space that’s just the right size for the small house.
Vinyl Clad Casement Window
I installed this window to replace a similar one that had begun to rot due to inadequate flashing. I removed the cedar shingles on the exterior and replaced the water damaged sheathing and framing. Then I flashed the opening with butyl rubber tape and installed the window with plenty of silicone. I applied another layer of flashing over the exterior nailing fin on the windows and re-installed the cedar shingles and the interior trim.
