Hathaway Renovations

Looking for an honest, hard working contractor who works with you, not against you?  Well, you've come to the right place.  Hathaway Renovations has been satisfying clients and making their dream projects come true since 1992, and we'd love for your project to be next!

What We Do

     Hello.  My name is John Hathaway, and as the owner of Hathaway Renovations I'd like to welcome you to our site.  A site that has been 17 years in the making!  I've been in this business long enough to know what my clients want from a contractor, and that most often just boils down to honesty.  Honesty is the cement that holds a job together from the first phone call to the last sweep of a broom.  Without it, any job and client relationship is doomed to fail or worse.  I've been building solid relationships with my clients since I first started in 1992, and it shows based on the fact that many of these same clients call me back project after project and pass my name on to their friends and relatives.  That is my only advertising, next to my truck, and it has kept me busy enough throughout my career.  I treat every project, big or small, with the same focus and attention to detail, knowing full well that my clients put their faith and trust in me to do just that.  I do my best to fulfill their expectations and often exceed them. 

     The purpose of this website is not just to look for new clients, but also to provide information, answer questions related to the Building Industry, and/or help guide anyone in a jam.  Be sure to read the "What's On My Mind" segment where I will keep you informed on good and bad contracting practices and other areas of interest, often with amusing anecdotes.  I  will also upload  photos of work that we are doing which will show projects from start to finish in order to provide insight, in case anyone is contemplating a similar project.

     So, take a tour of the site and check back often. Send an e-mail if there's something you'd like to know.  Hopefully you'll agree that at Hathaway Renovations, we really do work with you, not against you.

     Visit our services page to see "Deckzilla", one of the biggest decks I'll probably ever do.

     I also recently completed renovating a Queen Anne Victorian in Stratford, NH. It's now a vacation rental that sleeps 20 and is great for family reunions. For more info, please visit our sister site at www.hathawaysofstratford.com

 New!!!

Available only through this website:

Introducing "The Stratford" Adironack style outdoor chair. Eclipses chairs sold in other stores due to its much more sturdy construction. These chairs are custom made at Hathaway Renovations, and I take a lot of pride in how well they are designed and constructed. As an introductory offer, I am pricing these chairs to compete with other similar chairs even though  "The Stratford" is so much better. I know, because I looked at the competition, and they are more interested in making money than a decent product. These chairs are perfect for porches, yards, or patios, and are made from pressure treated pine for superior weather resistance. Chairs come pre-sealed so they are ready for use immediately. Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back.

Introductory price: $80 ea. or two for $150

For more info or for ordering, please use the contact page on this site.

What's On  My Mind...

Concrete Pad for Deck Stairs

     Aside from cutting the stringers correctly for a set of deck stairs, the next most important job is making sure they don't sink in the ground or get twisted up from a frost heave, as my friends in New Hampshire  know all about. The way this is prevented is by pouring a concrete pad, and no, you don't have to be able to speak portuguese to be able to do this, although those guys are usually the best at it.

    The first step involves digging.  How deep depends on how thick the pad needs to be.  For the steps on "Deckzilla", I dug down about 7", but only because that was the height of the boards I was using for a form.  Once the form was in place, I  filled the form with about 3" of dirt, and tamped it down using a 4x4 cut off. This gave me a good pad thickness of about 4".

     With the form built, all that is left to do is mix the concrete. For the bottom part of the pad I first used a bag of gravel mix for its added strength. The rest of the concrete would be a sand mix for its lack of gravel and smoothness for finishing.

     Since I didn't need a concrete truck for this job, I mixed everything in a bucket with water and a mixing drill. Once the form is filled, just level it off with a 2 x whatever block wider than the form. Set it on edge flat to the form and work it back and forth from left to right, until you remove any excess and it is nice and flat.  You may get some water rising to the top, but this is natural and will dissipate as the concrete starts to cure.

    Once it's dry, usually the next day, pop the form out and backfill around the pad with some of the dirt you dug out the day before. Your steps are now ready to go, and will stay looking good and level for a long time.