Real work, not stock photos

Before — an open miter at an outside corner, with the raw core showing through and a gap running down the wall line. Corners are where crown tells on itself.

After — filled, sanded, spot primed and painted. The priming is the part that matters: filler is porous, and a finish coat straight over it dries to a dull patch that announces the repair from across the room.

Before — dated six-panel slabs in a beautiful surround. The fluted casing, rosettes, plinth blocks and transom were all staying; only the doors were wrong.

After — six slabs swapped across four openings in Brooksville. A pocket door rides a track inside the wall, so the casing and split jamb come off to reach it. All of that trim came down and went back with the reveals matching. The measure of the job is that you cannot tell it happened.

Before — a covered porch with nothing to sit on. The ceiling here is finished drywall, so there was nothing on the surface strong enough to hang a swing from.

After — two finished beams built across the porch ceiling, each anchored into three to four ceiling joists, with rated chain hardware into solid beam. Nothing carried by drywall or trim. Stained to match the swing.

Before — this started as a soft spot underfoot on a Brooksville porch. Once the paint was pulled back, the tread had gone to fibre along most of its length. Paint hides rot well right up until it doesn't.

After — new stock cut in, fastened down, and repainted to match the rest of the steps. If a tread on your porch feels spongy, it is worth looking at before somebody finds out the hard way.

Before — a storm punched through this soffit panel and knocked the run out of line. A tear like this is an open door into the attic: wind-driven rain gets in, and so do wasps, squirrels and rats.

After — damaged sections out, new vented panel in, and the eave closed back up. Vented matters: the soffit is where an attic draws its intake air, and blocking it cooks the roof deck from underneath.

Before — a Spring Hill gutter packed solid with oak debris, with water standing in the channel and nowhere for the next storm to go. This is what overflowing gutters usually turn out to be.

After — cleared out, flushed through, and the downspouts checked for flow. Spring Hill, under live oaks, which means this is a twice-a-year job rather than a once-a-year one.