Ken Lake --Service Recommendations by Residents

Ken Lake services directory

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CONTRACTOR

Olympic Quality Repair
Chuck Srsen
789-1431

“Chuck removed the popcorn texture in our living room and re-textured the ceiling and walls. He does quality work at an affordable price.”

Recommended by:
Shaun Coombs

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CONTRACTOR

Erwin and Associates
705-1365

We had wooden patio French doors that were warped from the weather and no longer fitted the opening. The opening was less than standard size in width. Thus, we had only two options:

1. Replace with the same size wooden door and we didn’t want to do that because that would necessitate yearly maintenance.

2. Get a single door in fiberglass or steel and build up the opening and install.

We chose option #2 (fiberglass) and are very pleased with our new door. Our door was made by Lacey Doors. We still have enough opening space to bring in or take out large appliances or furniture.

Our contractor was Erwin and Associates in Tumwater. The job was difficult as nothing was standard. We knew in advance the labor cost and clean-up was ongoing through the four days. We felt they were very reasonable and less than quoted by Home Depot.

Recommended by:
Gail & Ted Dahm

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CARPENTER

Steve Crow
866-7965

Recommended by:
Dirk & Dixie Havlak

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DENTIST

Dr. Carey Lasley
866-9500

Dr. Lasley has been our dentist for several years. He is great.

Recommended by:
Susan & Kerry Bustetter

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DENTIST
Child Dentist/ Orthodontist

Dr. Andrew J. Kapust
943-6600

We and our kids love Dr. Kapust

Recommended by:
Susan and Kerry Bustetter

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DOCTOR

Seek recommendation for a GP or internist “primary care provider”

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ELECTRICAL

Mr. Electric
705-4225
January, 2007

“We have had them out twice and they seem to try to save you money instead of charge extra. Both times they have talked to us about each problem and helped us to understand whether it was really a problem or not and the best option for repair or improvement. Also, they make appointments and keep them.”

Recommended by:
Dirk & Dixie Havlak

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FURNACES/WATER HEATERS

GasWorks, Inc.
Furnaces, Boilers, Water Heaters, Gas Ranges & Dryers
Mike & Jessica Pettit
456-8845

“The morning after an 18-degree night was when I discovered my furnace had quit functioning. New to the area, my realtor recommended GasWorks. Overwhelmed with work, Mike still managed to fit me into his schedule. He diagnosed and fixed the minor problem in little time. He graciously struggled through the authorization process with my homeowner warranty people, a more daunting task than the repair.

A month later the furnace problem recurred. Mike promptly repaired it at no charge.”

Recommended by:
Tom Blankenship

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GUTTERS

Home Depot

(The homeowners purchased and installed American gutter covers in February of 2007 from Home Depot) “These were really cheap, easy to install, and with double screens, seem to keep out needles and bigger debris effectively.”

Recommended by:
Dirk & Dixie Havlak

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INTERNET PHONE for free!!

Skype.com
(owned by ebay)

I first learned about this free, world-wide internet phone service when my sister-in-law who lives in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific told me about it. I was in disbelief, thinking there surely must be a costly catch. Having personally talked with her and folks in Australia, England and, of course, the USA, I can report to you that it is absolutely free.

HOW IT WORKS:
You need a high-speed internet connection (DSL or cable), plus a headset (or speakers and a microphone). Then, go to Skype’s website, download their free, self-installing software and you’re ready to talk with any other Skype user in the world! You can also conference call with up to 5 connections, send chat messages while you talk, and send files (similar to email) while you talk. There are lots of other goodies you may or may not want to use, too.

HOW DO THEY MAKE MONEY?
The Skype folks hope you will like their service and want to utilize some of their very inexpensive other services such as calling land lines. For instance, I paid $29.95 to be able to call any land line or cell phone in the USA and Canada for one year. There are no limits to these calls and no connection fees. For what is likely the cheapest per-minute cost, you can also reach land lines and cell phones in most foreign countries.

My experience is that the quality is usually as good as with your home phone, sometimes better. Rarely there will be an echo in which case I usually hang up and call back.

You can generate your own phone directory, so calling those numbers requires only a click of your mouse.

Skype’s website

Recommended by:
Tom Blankenship

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PAINTING

Verra Bonnie Painting
Licensed Contractor
Lynne Jensen
388-6942

“We recently engaged a private contractor to repaint the entire interior of our home. Because this was a huge job requiring frequent disruptions of our family over an extended period of time, we got to know and appreciate our contractor’s many skills and talents both as a professional painter and as a problem solver par excellence. As a result, we are extremely delighted to endorse Master Painter Lynne Jensen to any and all homeowners who want to experience superior work performance and smooth job completion at a surprisingly affordable price. Our experience is that Lynne is simply the best professional painter we have ever had the joy to work with and get the job done right from start to finish. She’s energetic, conscientious, and totally reliable.”

Recommended by:
Ann & Tory Tjersland

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ROOFER

(Seek a recommendation)

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WINDOW REPLACEMENT

D.K. Boos Windows
456-0668
(March, 2007)

“Had new vinyl windows installed after consulting with several vendors. DeBoos was more expensive but did a better type of installation that we felt would protect our windblown lakefront house. Were prompt, did excellent clean up, communicated well, and gave us final instructions. So far, we are happy with the product.”

Recommended by:
Dirk & Dixie Havlak

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