WHO ARE SHERIDAN & GRONDAHL? We are a small team of hands-on craftsmen who take pride in producing beautiful spaces for our clients. We are at the job site every day, personally ensuring our work and the homeowner's investment. WHAT KIND OF WORK DO YOU DO? We do interior residential renovations in New York City. In addition to our premium skim-coating and painting, as part of a larger job we will also: Replace or add trim, including baseboards and crown mouldings; Build bookcases, closets, fireplace surrounds, home offices, and more; Add or remove doors, doorways, or walls; Get doors to close properly, including pocket doors; Change or add switches, outlets, and light fixtures; Bury cable, phone, and speaker wire in the walls. We will even hang mirrors, artwork, & window treatments when the job is finished! WHAT IS SKIM-COATING, ANYWAY? "Skim-coating" generally describes adding a thin layer of plaster and/or joint compound to walls and ceilings, to give a more uniform surface for painting. We believe that we provide a superior finished product because of the preliminary steps we take. We razor scrape any loose - or potentially loose - old plaster and paint; clean, and seal, all surfaces; and apply a plaster-bonding agent, and adhesive fiberglass mesh. These steps create as solid and secure a surface on your old walls as possible, before we begin to plaster. Then, we apply 5-6 coats of plaster/compound, including 3-4 with an over-sized blade,to create the smoothest surface available; sand or damp-sponge the plaster smooth, using a side-light to catch as manyimperfections as possible; prime with an overnight-drying oil primer; check for any remaining imperfections; sand and sponge clean all surfaces before painting. CAN I GET AWAY WITH NOT SKIM-COATING? Certainly. We can simply prep, clean, and patch loose areas, without resurfacing the entire wall. This will leave some variance in the smoothness of your walls -- it's a subjective decision. We can accommodate either choice. WHAT IF I JUST WANT A SIMPLE PAINT JOB? Our standard 'Simple' paint job includes at least 2 coats of: flat paint on the ceiling, flat or eggshell paint on walls, and satin oil paint on trim. We nearly always use Benjamin Moore's line of paints unless you prefer a different brand. In addition, we usually remove & re-install most door and cabinet hardware (which will also be cleaned, as needed), as well as removing and replacing all switch and outlet plates. DO YOU TAKE ON SMALL JOBS? We are often able to accommodate smaller projects. HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD I CALL? Typically, we book our jobs two months in advance, though sometimes we can accommodate less notice. SHOULD I BUY THE PAINT? No. We will provide all the paint and materials needed at our contractors' discount rate. HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR THE RENOVATION? We will thoroughly cover your floors, and protect all furniture and belongings. We take the utmost care with our clients' property, and we treat your home as we would our own. The less there is for us to move during the job, the lower the cost will be to you. We suggest that you pack up books, and edit furniture to only those pieces that will remain in your final design. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? We work on a Time + Materials basis. All materials are provided at cost, with NO MARK-UP to our clients. Only a site inspection can allow us to accurately estimate the cost of any job. Recent projects have ranged in price from $500 -> $6,000 per room, depending on the extent of the prep work, as described above. In our last client survey, 100% of the respondents said that they would "Definitely hire us again," and judged us to be an "Excellent Value." The highly selective Franklin Report gives us the highest possible rating for Customer Recommendations and Value. CAN I SEE SOME EXAMPLES OF YOUR WORK? Yes. Click here for some samples. CAN I ASK ANOTHER QUESTION? Sure. E-mail us your questions or arrange a free estimate: mikecross1997@aol.com OR call us at (917) 549-1530.