Handyman Services for Seniors

Wheelchair and mobility ramps, handrails, grab bars, and safer steps, fitted by one person who explains the work while he does it.

Serving Swannanoa · Black Mountain · East Asheville · Oteen · Asheville and Buncombe County

Over 40 years of experience
One carpenter, start to finish
Free written estimates
Based in Swannanoa

Rob Stimson Carpentry builds wheelchair ramps and makes homes easier to get around in Swannanoa, Black Mountain, and Asheville. Rob has been a carpenter since 1985 and has worked here since 1991. Whether you live in the house or you are the son or daughter making the call, the real question is who will be in the house, and the answer is Rob, the same person who gave the estimate.

Ramps are the biggest piece of this work. Rob builds wheelchair and mobility ramps sized to the rise at your door, with a run gentle enough to push a chair up and handrails both sides. The rest is smaller and still matters: a second handrail on the porch steps, worn steps repaired, a threshold planed down so a walker clears it, and lever handles instead of knobs. Grab bars go into solid framing behind the wall, not into tile and not into a hollow wall anchor.

Estimates are free and nobody needs an answer that afternoon. Rob comes to the door himself rather than sending a salesman, gives you the price in writing, and explains the work to whoever is home. You are welcome at the visit.

A ramp built on grade needs no permit. One that ties into an existing deck or landing does, that permit goes in your name, and Rob takes the work. He does not do plumbing or electrical, so a new circuit is somebody else’s job, and roofs, gutter cleaning, and garage doors are out.

How it works

What happens after you get in touch.

Tell him what has got harder

The back step, the tub, a door handle that takes two hands. Adult children ring as often as the person living in the house, and either call is fine.

He comes and has a look

Free, and it is him at the door, not a salesman. The person who works out the price is the person who comes back to do the job.

Priced, then decided at your pace

You get the number in writing and nobody needs an answer that afternoon.

Questions

Questions about work in a parent's house

How do estimates work? +

Rob comes out, looks at the job, and gives you a price before any work starts. Estimates are free. If it turns out to be something he does not do, he will say so on the phone first rather than driving out and wasting your afternoon.

What does Rob charge? +

Small jobs are hourly with a minimum. Larger jobs get a written price before work begins, so you know the number up front.

Does Rob do plumbing or electrical work? +

No. He is a carpenter, not a plumber or an electrician. He will swap a light fixture or a switch for the same kind of thing, but he does not run new wiring, add circuits, or move pipes. If that is what the job needs, you need a different trade first.

What areas does Rob serve? +

Swannanoa first, since that is home, then Black Mountain, East Asheville, Oteen, Fairview, Montreat, Ridgecrest, and Asheville. Further out is possible depending on the job. Just ask.

Is it one person or a crew? +

One person. Rob does the work himself, which means the person who quoted the job is the person who shows up and the person who finishes it. On bigger jobs that takes longer than a crew would. It also means nothing gets lost between people.

Do you help older homeowners stay in their homes? +

Yes, and it is often an adult child who calls. Grab bars, handrails, step and threshold repair, better lighting, and door hardware that is easier to use. The work gets explained in plain terms and priced before it starts.

Where the line is

What needs a permit, and what doesn't.

Rob would rather tell you now than find out in your driveway.

No permit needed

✓ A wheelchair ramp built on grade, not attached to structure
✓ Grab bars and handrails
✓ Step, stair, and threshold repair
✓ Door hardware that is easier to use
✓ Like-for-like lighting fixture swaps
✓ General repairs and small changes

Needs a permit first

The permit goes in your name as the property owner. Rob tells you what the job needs before it starts, then does the work and coordinates around the inspections.

◆ A ramp that ties into an existing deck or landing
◆ A new opening, a removed wall, or structural repair
◆ Grab bars or rails that need framing behind the wall

Nearly all of this needs no permit. If a wall has to come open, or a rail needs real framing put in behind the tile to hold someone's full weight, then it does, and Rob does that work. Plumbing and electrical he does not take, and that includes running a new circuit for a light.

Not his trade, at any size: plumbing, electrical, anything on a roof surface, gutter cleaning, garage doors, and lawn and yard work. He will usually know who to call.