Porch Repair and Remodel, Minneapolis MN
Dupont Construction and Remodeling loves to build and repair porches. We recently completed a front porch repair and remodeling project for a homeowner in Minneapolis, MN. The customer liked the way his front porch functioned on his house, but it was getting very run down and deteriorating rapidly, the railing on the front steps was not supported and was about to fall off and the steps were very unsafe. Since the homeowner was an elderly gentleman, he wanted us to remodel the porch to make it look nice and new, keeping the same layout but also improving the safety and security of the structure. No Problem, That’s what we do best. We make safe and 
secure spaces that look and feel how our customers want them to and function the way that fits their needs the best as well as adding beauty and value to the home. As you can see in the before and after pictures, the style stayed the same but since we used all new maintenance free materials we were able to give the
porch a new fresh look that will look great for years to come. The old wooden windows were replaced with energy efficient vinyl windows, we also redid the concrete stairs and railing to make the steps and safe and secure for the homeowner.
The inside of the porch was finished off with knotty pine on the walls and ceiling and the homeowner picked out a rich cherry wood hardwood to finish the floors and give the room some contrast and character. 
He was very happy with his new porch space and we know that he will be able to safely enjoy it for years to come. If you have a porch that you need repaired or replaced or if you would like a new porch built on your home give us a call today for a free estimate! Call our office at 763-753-9796 or send us an email at dupontconstruction@msn.com.
We had a customer come to us in the fall of this year, 2011, with a deck that was in severe need of an extreme makeover. As you can see in the before picture, the outdated railing style really showed the age of this deck. The deck was also starting to show signs of aging and deterioration that could possibly lead to a safety hazard in the future. The customer liked the lay out of his deck, he thought it worked well with the space and flow of his back yard, but he just wanted something that looked new and was safe and secure. We built the customer a new deck using Azek decking in Morado color. 
The customer had a budget that we needed to stay within and so in order to stay within the budget but still make the deck as low maintenance as possible, we used cedar railing that blended well with the decking and black circular balusters. Since the railing gets very little wear and tear, it is common to mix cedar railing with maintenance free decking to save money and as you can see by the after picture, it still gives a very nice appearance. The customer was pleased with the new updated deck that was not only beautiful, but also safe and secure, and comes with a warranty that will ensure it lasts for many years.
More often than not, upon inspecting a chimney we find that some of the clay tile flues in the chimney liner have broken or begun cracking. This can be caused by debris hitting the top of the liner during a storm causing a crack or even just harsh enough weather conditions can cause cracking in the clay tiles. A small hairline crack in a clay tile flue liner will dramatically increase over the course of a year with the harsh Minnesota weather conditions. Once the small crack occurs, water gets inside the crack and freezes in the winter, this causes the crack to spread, creating a domino effect of cracking from the top to the bottom of the chimney liner. If caught early enough (preferably before Winter) it’s a simple repair and usually only one or two flues will need to be replaced. But more often than not if you do not get your chimney regularly inspected every year, you wont even notice the crack until you start to get the dreaded “leaking” in your chimney or your roof. Usually at this point the liner is in need of replacement. Instead of replacing all of the clay tile flues with new clay tile flues that have the potential of cracking again in the future, lots of homeowners are now getting there liners replaced with Stainless Steel Class A liners. 
Although these new liners cost more for the materials because they are stainless steel instead of clay, the labor is usually less intensive to install them than traditional clay tile liners and so therefore the pricing is usually about the same or just slightlyhigher than a clay tile liner replacement, and since it carries a much longer warranty than a clay tile flue, it is a better long term investment when replacing a chimney liner. Obviously the best advice to chimney owners is to make sure that you are having your chimney inspected and cleaned every year so you can avoid costly liner replacements by making catching the cracks and making the necessary repairs early enough. But should you need a new chimney liner installed we highly recommend considering having your clay tile liner replaced with a stainless steel liner to avoid another costly liner replacement project in the future. To get a free chimney liner inspection call Dupont Construction and Remodeling today, we send our owner out to inspect every chimney and he takes pictures to show you exactly what the inside of your chimney looks like. Call our office today to get your free inspection and Estimate! Call Dupont Construction and Remodeling at 763-753-9796!
Dupont Construction and Remodeling just finished a screen porch in Fridley, Minnesota. The homeowners wanted a space where they could sit outside and enjoy the fresh air without enjoying the mosquitoes. They also wanted the porch to be built with the ability to convert it from a 3 season porch to a 4 season porch down the road, should they decide to. We built th porch using a half wall for the bottom section of the porch so that it can be easily converted to a 4 season porch with windows in the future, should they decide to make the switch from Screen windows to glass windows. We hope they enjoy their porch for many years to come. Call Dupont Construction and Remodeling today for all your home improvement needs @ 763-753-9796.
We recently had a customer contact us because they had bats in their house. They had hired a pest control company to come out and capture the pests, but the company was not sure where the entry point was the bats may be coming in from, their best guess was the chimney. Well being in the chimney business we know that Bats Love Chimney’s. Those damp dark openings with cracks just big enough for them to crawl inside, are the perfect place for them to make their cozy little home. Upon initial inspection it was found that the old concrete crown was cracked and needed to be replaced with a new stone crown, there were also gaps between the brick where mortar had come out, which is another perfect entry and exit place for bats, and the top of the chimney was wide open with no cap installed. The solution is quite simple. Seal up any cracks or openings on the outside of the chimney where the bats can enter through and put on a rain/animal cap. This simple repair does not cost a lot of money if your chimney is in relatively good condition and can save you from the terror of finding bats in your house. If your chimney top is open and exposed give us a call today to come out and inspect your chimney and install a rain/animal cap to keep your chimney from becoming a home to these and other pesky pests such as squirrels, raccoons and birds. Call our office at 763-753-9796 today!
Dupont Construction and Remodeling recently did a chimney rebuild for a customer in the City of Minneapolis. This chimney was in bad shape the customer had been having issues for the last few years with her furnace. The pilot light would go out leaving her “heat-less” so she would call the gas company to come out to re-light the pilot light, however on several occasions they told her that due to a blockage in her furnace pipes there was not a good enough draw on the gas line to re-light the pilot, so she would have to make a small repair here and there to get the pilot light turned back on and re-light her furnace.
Dupont Construction and Remodeling was contracted by a homeowner last fall to build a low maintenance deck with a covered porch roof over a portion of the deck. The customer wanted to add this addition onto the house, but they wanted the look to flow together and look like it belonged on the house and had been there since the house was built. We built them a custom deck that not only flowed well with the house, but enhanced the beauty of the backyard. The backyard had a streaming waterfall that was laid with rocks, so we tied the deck and the yard together by adding faux stone post covers over the deck posts. The inside of the covered porch ceiling was done with knotty cedar boards to finish and enhance the ceiling while making it practical for outdoor use in Minnesota. The customers loved their new deck and porch and we were so proud to be be able to add this beautiful project to our portfolio.
Last year we were contacted by a customer that had a fire in their garage. The homeowner had placed a bag of burnt popcorn on top of their garbage can and it had ignited a fire, the customer had gone to bed after throwing the popcorn away so they were unaware that the fire was taking place in their garage. Thankfully, someone saw the smoke coming out of the garage and called the fire department in the middle of the night. The fire department came out and extinguished the fire, but it had caused pretty significant smoke damage to the garage and the interior of some of the house. The homeowner called their insurance company to come out and they took a look at everything and said that they would be cutting a check for a couple thousand dollars for the clean up and re-painting of the walls in the garage. The homeowner did not feel satisfied with the assessment that the insurance agency did of the damage. That’s when they called us.
We are happy to say that after working very closely with the insurance claims specialist and the homeowners, they were able to reach a settlement with the insurance company and get everything that the homeowners deserved. Not only was the garage rebuilt, but there was new siding and a new roof installed on the home.
In July, 2011 Dupont Construction and Remodeling built a Hot tub deck for a customer in Lakeville, MN. The customer had just purchased a Hot tub and they wanted to place it on their deck, but their existing deck, although it was in great condition, was not built strong enough to hold the weight of a hot tub. Hot Tub decks have to be built with incredibly strong and re-enforced frames to carry the weight of the tub and the water. Since their existing deck was in great condition, we left the existing deck in place. They did not have much room on the back of the house to build an additional space for the hot tub so we built a walkway from the existing deck to the corner of the house and then built a step up to a new deck around the corner of the house. The new deck was finished with the same type of wood and railing as the existing deck so it was a seamless extension that flowed together nicely with the existing deck. The customer wanted to be able to have some privacy while they enjoyed time relaxing in their hot tub so we built a privacy fence on the back and side of the deck.