Building & remodeling
Built carefully, by people who care how it’s built.
Tay River does design, construction and major remodels, all the way down to small repairs. We aim to provide everything you need to improve, repair or maintain your home, and when we can't do something ourselves, we'll send you to the best specialist we know.
What we build
Big projects and small ones.
We’re skilled builders with an obsessive eye for detail, and we’re also home-energy specialists. That combination means a remodel can make a room more comfortable as well as better-looking.
Kitchens & additions
From a full kitchen to a new wing that respects the house it’s attached to. We design in sympathy with older buildings without pretending the new part is original.
Bathrooms
Carved stone, detailed tilework, accessible showers, custom vanities. Several of our favorite projects are bathrooms.
Restoration & trim
Rotted cornices, dormers and porches, replicated by hand when they can’t be saved. We use cypress outdoors so the work lasts.
Custom carpentry
Stairs, built-ins, shelving and furniture-grade cabinetry, often designed and built in our own shop.
Envelope work
Roofing, siding and windows, done with the insulation and air sealing that should go with them.
Whole-home remodels
Gut renovations of houses and apartments, including prewar plaster and floors that deserve to be saved.
Craft
It would have been easier to simplify it.
On a set of rotted dormers we could have swapped the ornate trim for something simpler. Instead we hand-milled every piece to match the original. On a cracked cherry slab, Abel stitched the split with handmade maple butterfly keys. That’s our standard, and you don’t have to ask for it.
See the dormer restorationRecent projects
From Lambertville to the Upper West Side.
Service & upkeep
Small jobs matter too.
We also do service work and repairs, down to the smallest jobs: a door that won’t close right, a soft spot in the trim, a leak you’ve been ignoring.
“We love our door! Makes a big difference down there. June got it hanging just right. Thanks guys.”
How a project works
Four steps, and a visit a year later.
Your satisfaction is how we stay in business: most of our work comes from referrals and repeat clients.
- 01
Feasibility
We work out the rough scope, sketch a preliminary layout with general specs, give you a ballpark budget based on past projects, and check with the town for anything that could slow the work down.
- 02
Design & estimate
You should like and understand the design, it should improve your home, and it should fit your budget. For the largest projects we bring in an architect and work alongside them. Then you get a detailed estimate with fixed costs for everything we can specify.
- 03
Building
We’re with you through every step, right down to choosing a paint color. Renovation is disruptive, so we work hard to keep it as unobtrusive as possible.
- 04
Follow-up
At the end we do a full job review together. Then, one year after completion, we come back to review both the design and the construction.
Start a project
Tell us about your house.
Whether it’s a cold bedroom, a tired bathroom, a heat pump quote you’re unsure about, or a dormer that’s seen better days, start with a conversation. We’ll tell you honestly what we’d do, and what we wouldn’t.