Handy carpentry and repairs · Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
The carpenter for all the jobs on your list.
Doors that stick, rotten deck boards, new skirting, a wobbly handrail. No job too small, and we turn up when we say. Send a photo and you'll usually have a price the same day.
- 4.9 from 147 Google reviews
- We turn up on time
- Licensed and insured
Dead level. That's what "true" means to a carpenter.
- Send a photo, price usually same day
- Eight little jobs? One visit.
- We clean up before we go
- Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm
Jobs we do every week
The small jobs other tradies won't touch.
Most of our days are made of four kinds of work. Tap any job to see what's included.
Replace rotten boards, re-fix loose ones and re-oil, so the deck looks like one deck again.
What's included
- Probe every board and joist for soft spots
- Swap rotten boards to match width and species as closely as we can
- Re-fix popped nails with stainless screws
- Sand and oil, or leave it ready for you to oil
Hang, plane and rehang doors, and fit new locks and handles.
What's included
- Sticking, dragging or not latching doors
- New internal and external doors hung
- Handles, locks, door stops and closers
- Sliding door and cavity slider fixes
New skirting, architraves and shadow lines, plus built-in shelving.
What's included
- Replace damaged or dated skirting
- Architraves around doors and windows
- Shadow line and square-set trims
- Built-ins and shelving for awkward nooks
Handrails, gates, fences, pergola posts and the rest of the list.
What's included
- Wobbly handrails and loose balusters made solid
- Sagging gates rehung, fence palings replaced
- Rotten pergola posts and stair treads replaced
- Anything timber that's bugging you
Before and after
Same deck, two days later.
Rotten boards replaced, re-fixed and oiled in Merewether. Drag the handle to compare.
- Day one: lifted and replaced the soft boards, checked the joists underneath.
- Day two: sanded back, screwed down and oiled.
- After: swept, offcuts gone, deck ready for the weekend.
BeforeAfter
Free tools
Sort your list before you call.
Three handy tools for Newcastle homeowners. Use them for free, and send the result straight to Dan if you'd like a price.
Job list planner
Tick the jobs around your place. We'll tell you roughly how long they take together, and whether it's a half day or a full one.
Your list
How we work it out: typical on-site times for straightforward jobs, with an allowance for setting up and cleaning up. Rot, out-of-square frames or hidden damage add time. It's a rough guide, not a quote. Prices come after Dan sees photos.
Deck board estimator
How many boards, screws and litres of oil for a re-deck or a patch-up? Enter your deck and see.
Your deck, roughly
Assumptions: 5 mm gap between boards; 10% extra for offcuts and bad lengths; joists at typical 450 mm centres with 2 screws per board at each joist; decking oil at about 10 to 15 m² per litre per coat, 2 coats (check your tin, it varies by brand and timber). We can't see your joists from here, and rotten boards often mean a soft joist or two.
Deck and stairs safety check
Grab a tape measure. Compare your deck railing and steps with the typical rules for houses in the National Construction Code.
How it measures up
Typical NCC figures for houses: a barrier is needed where a deck is more than 1 m above the ground below; barriers at least 1 m high on the deck (865 mm on stairs); gaps must not let a 125 mm sphere through; where the drop is over 4 m, no climbable rails between 150 and 760 mm; stair risers 115 to 190 mm and goings 240 to 355 mm, with 2 risers plus 1 going between 550 and 700 mm. This is a guide only. Read the rules at ncc.abcb.gov.au and check tradies on NSW Fair Trading's licence check.
Recent jobs
Around Newcastle this season.
What neighbours say
Turns up. Fixes it. Cleans up.
"Sent through a list of eight little jobs. All done in one day for a fair price."
"Finally a tradie who turns up when he says. Our doors close properly for the first time in years."
"Great bloke, quality work, and he cleaned up better than we would have."
"Dan fitted shelves into an awkward nook nobody else wanted to quote. Looks like it was always there."
"Two rotten pergola posts swapped in a morning. Texted a photo, had a price by lunch."
Sample reviews
Where you'll see our ute
We work in Merewether, Hamilton, Adamstown, Lambton, Charlestown, The Junction, and around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
How it works
From list to done, in four steps.
Send your list
Text or use the form. A photo of each job helps most.
Get a price
You'll usually hear back the same day with a price and a date.
We turn up
On the day we said, at the time we said, with the timber already cut to suit where we can.
Walk-through
We show you each job, sweep up and take the offcuts with us.
Your go-to carpenter
About Dan
Hi, I'm Dan. I've been a carpenter for 22 years and I love the jobs other tradies won't touch. The sticking door, the three rotten boards, the handrail that's been wobbling since you moved in.
Send a photo of the job and you'll usually get a price the same day.
- 22 years a carpenter
- Licensed and insured
- Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
Dan Murphy, Carpenter
Where we work
- Merewether
- Hamilton
- Adamstown
- Lambton
- Charlestown
- The Junction
- and around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
Questions we get
Asked and answered.
Is my job too small for you?
Almost certainly not. One sticking door is fine. If you've got a few little jobs, put them on one list and we'll do them in the same visit so you're not paying for us to come back.
How do I get a price without you coming out?
Text a photo of each job, with a rough size if it's a deck or fence. You'll usually get a price the same day. For bigger jobs we'll pop round to measure up first.
My door sticks. Is it the door or the house?
Often it's the door swelling in humid weather, or hinge screws that have worked loose. Look for where it rubs: shiny paint marks show the spot. If it sticks at the top on the latch side, the hinges often need tightening or packing. If the gaps around the door have changed a lot, the frame may have moved, and we'll check that before planing anything.
Can you match my old deck boards?
We match width and species as closely as we can. New timber looks brighter at first, so oiling the whole deck afterwards helps it blend. The deck estimator above shows you the numbers either way.
Do I need to be home?
Not always. For outside jobs, lots of customers leave the side gate open. For inside work we'll arrange a time that suits you.
Do you take the rubbish away?
Yes. Old boards, offcuts and packaging go with us, and we sweep up before we leave.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, licensed and insured. You can check any tradie's licence on the NSW Government licence check.
What hours do you work?
Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm, across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Get in touch
Send us your list.
Tell us what's bugging you around the house. Photos help. We'll come back with a price, usually the same day.
- 0400 XXX 000
Call or text Dan - Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm
- Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
- Licensed and insured