My WORK

Some of my earliest memories take place in the basement of my grandfather’s farmhouse learning to design and build intricate wooden projects. Learning from a man whose only formal training in woodworking took place 50 years before I was born gave me a respect for classical techniques and hand tools. Nearly 20 years later, I have adopted modern techniques and training, but the basic joinery skills I learned in that farmhouse basement, continue to set me apart from the run-of-the-mill production woodworker. I specialize in high-end projects and enjoy working for clients with high quality standards. Difficult projects excite me as they allow me to think creatively and showcase the skills I have worked so hard to develop. I don’t believe in in taking shortcuts or sacrificing aesthetics/functionality to save time. You might be able to find someone who will complete your project for a little less money, or a day or two faster, but you won’t find anyone who stands behind their work the way I do.

Eric Zinger

~ Lead Craftsman

My WORK

Some of my earliest memories take place in the basement of my grandfather’s farmhouse learning to design and build intricate wooden projects. Learning from a man whose only formal training in woodworking took place 50 years before I was born gave me a respect for classical techniques and hand tools. Nearly 20 years later, I have adopted modern techniques and training, but the basic joinery skills I learned in that farmhouse basement, continue to set me apart from the run-of-the-mill production woodworker. I specialize in high-end projects and enjoy working for clients with high quality standards. Stair and Railing Construction is my specialty, and difficult projects excite me as they allow me to think creatively and showcase the skills I have worked so hard to develop. I don’t believe in in taking shortcuts or sacrificing aesthetics/functionality to save time. You might be able to find someone who will complete your project for a little less money, or a day or two faster, but you won’t find anyone who stands behind their work the way I do.

Eric Zinger

~ Lead Craftsman

Stair and Railing Construction

Stair and railing construction and modification is truly our bread and butter. Conventionally stair builders have built their stairs in the shop and had them stained and finished on-site. We don’t mind being unconventional, so we prefer to finish all our stair components in the shop and build the stairs on-site. This allows us to provide our homeowners with the highest quality finish that is fully cured and free of any harmful VOC’s*. It also allows us to provide builders and contractors with a stair system that provides safe access between floors during construction, without the concern of tradespersons damaging the stairs.

*VOC’s refer to volatile organic compounds such as xylene, ethylbenzene and acetates. Many of which are present in traditional wood finishes such as polyurethane and lacquer and continue to off-gas after application for weeks, months or even years depending on site conditions.

New Construction

At Refined Architectural Woodworking, we are proud to be different. Our unconventional take on stair construction allows us to deliver exceptional quality finished products to our end-use customers, while also eliminating one of the biggest risk factors on residential construction sites – poorly constructed or fastened temporary stairs-. Whether you are a home builder, contractor or a home-owner we believe you can benefit from our unconventional approach.

Why we're different

 We start off by installing a construction set of stairs made from LVL and 2x10. This goes in at framing stage and is in place throughout the construction process to allow trades a safe means of access to all floors of the house. The stairs are then dry-walled in. Sometime between the cabinet installation and when the cleaners arrive we come back to remove the 2x10 temporary treads and build our hardwood stairs around the existing LVL frame. This all allows us to shop finish all the stair and railing components and deliver a fully-cured finished product that is more durable than a conventional site finish and is 100% VOC free (no harmful and off-putting smells coming from the stain and clear coat). It also allows us to build the stairs in place so everything fits seamlessly with no additional unsightly trim pieces.

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Capping

Our outlook on stair capping is that it shouldn’t wind up looking like a set of stairs that has been capped. We go the extra mile and cap over every visible component of a staircase.

Clean & Crisp

We don’t use hardwood flooring, so there are no seams on the treads and risers. And when we are almost done we take out the hand tools and custom scribe all our trim work into the floors walls and ceilings as well. When all is said, and done, our capped stairs look like a brand-new set of hardwood stairs. As with our new construction stair cases all the components are pre-finished in the shop, so as soon as we leave the house the stair case can be put into service.

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Refinishing

It's not surprising that we decided to do refinishing a little differently as well.

Ready, set, go!

We certainly aren’t the only company that uses dust extractors with HEPA filters to keep everyone breathing easy during the stripping faze of the project. However, our use of high-output UV lamps and UV-cured wood finishes sets us apart. By using UV-cured finishes we can refinish a staircase faster, and healthier than the competition. We can take your stair case from bare wood to stained and clear-coated in a day. And because these finishes don’t cure by way of solvent evaporation like traditional finishes the risk of VOC exposure is eliminated. And as a bonus, unlike using traditional coatings, you can walk on the stairs the minute we turn the lamp off.

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Flooring

What truly makes a high-quality flooring installation is the time and energy invested into proper site preparation and layout. We pride ourselves in going the extra mile before a row of hardwood is ever nailed down. By laying out or hardwood installations carefully with lasers we know exactly what size our boards are going to be and how square they will be running when they hit balcony openings, stair headers and doorways. This allows us to adjust our layouts to get the most aesthetic and functional floor installation possible.

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"Eric was very knowledgeable, friendly and easy to deal with."

"We are thrilled with our new hardwood stairs; which were carpeted originally and needed to be completely replaced The spindles and railing were all replaced as well and we can’t be more pleased. Everything was finished before it came into our house, which was nice because there was no smell from staining and we could go up and down the stairs as soon as they were installed.

We carried the hardwood flooring from the stairway through the entire second floor. Eric stained the floor grates to match the flooring, and the grates are almost invisible.

Eric at RAWW Inc is very knowledgeable, friendly and easy to deal with. He arrived when promised and the results are simply outstanding."

~ Ann and Bryan Stride

"The character and uniqueness is something special."

"I hired Eric to build me a custom piece similar to something I saw online. It was a shelving piece that attaches to the wall. Eric came by and we went over the piece in detail. He took all the measurements needed, and helped with suggestions such as stain colour and space required to fit each accessory. Needless to say the final piece was everything I wanted and more. I absolutely love the shelf. The character and uniqueness is something special. I was referred to Eric from my brother, and I'll most definitely be calling on him again for future projects. Eric is super easy to work with and fair. Thanks again Eric!"

~ Billy Lee

Millwork

Our theory on trim work is quite simple, “good enough, isn’t”. Baseboards should ride tight to the floor regardless of the rolls or depressions often found in mature homes. Inside corners should always be coped tight and outside corners should always be glued and sanded. Door and window casings should be cut tight, glued and sanded. We believe speed on millwork installations should be the result of experience and efficiency rather than a willingness to churn out substandard work.

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Custom & Resto

When it comes to woodworking, the best part for the clients as well as the crafts-person is the creative process. We are happy to work with our clients to find creative and elegant solutions that are unavailable from production facilities. This includes restorative woodworking, furniture, cabinets, vanities, built-ins, and anything else you can think up.

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Check us out on the gram!

[the_grid name="For the Gram"]