Where to Get (Nearly) Everything Fixed

We can fix dinner, fix up friends, even fix a broken nail. But when the washer’s out of whack, the computer stops computing, the dishwasher’s DOA—well, we know when to call in the pros. To help you (and ourselves), we’ve queried designers, decorators, architects, and homeowners for their recommendations. The result is this handy A to Z guide for the repair-impaired.

Antiques Restoration

The Antique Restoration Shop
495 Lexington Ave, Mount Kisco (914) 241-3050
William Bagley inherited the fix-it gene from his uncles and grandfathers, who all worked with wood—building and repairing furniture. “I just happen to enjoy repair work,” Bagley says. What kind of repairs does he see the most? “I get a ton of broken chairs,” he says. “The arms break, the backs break, and antiques can’t take that.” What advice does he have? “When something goes wrong, the longer you wait, the worse it is.” Nearby pick-up and delivery is free, with fees charged for longer distances. The fee is dependent on a number of factors but costs approximately $100.

Tarrytown Woodworks
6 S Washington St, Tarrytown (914) 332-4189
Owner Eric Clingen calls his shop “a walk-in clinic for damaged furniture,” declaring, “our goal is to accurately restore antique furniture using traditional methods and techniques, taking a conservative approach.” The company recently restored furniture by Charles Eames and George Nakashima. Tarrytown Woodworks charges between $60 and $80 per hour, depending on the project.

Curry and Hovis
34 Westchester Ave, Pound Ridge (914) 764-1138
Since the early 1980s, John Curry and his crew have specialized in restoring 18th-century furniture: re-gluing, French polishing, waxing, and patching veneers. Curry also does traditional water gilding and patches gilt rococo mirrors and other decorative objects. He can custom-reproduce 18th-century furniture as well. Re-gluing a chair typically costs around $300, while a total restoration of a historically important, ornate secretary could cost $20,000.

R.D. Carone & Co.
380 Adams St, Bedford Hills (914) 241-1172
Rick Carone repairs antique furniture with an eye toward protecting the investment in the piece. Anything that is a part of an item’s history is kept intact, while burns or watermarks and discoloration are repaired. Carone also fixes joints that have come loose, repairs chipped veneers, and restores finishes. Prices range from $60 to $140 an hour, depending on the complexity of the job.

Appliance Repair

Albano Appliance and Service
83 Westchester Ave, Pound Ridge (914) 764-4053
Three generations of Albanos have been servicing almost every appliance the company sells (except Sub-Zero; only Sub-Zero technicians can work on those), as well as appliances with expired warranties bought elsewhere. With an in-house staff of four technicians, the company guarantees service on products it has sold within 48 hours of that first SOS. The techs are top-notch, and compassionate, too. When this writer’s double Dacors got fried by a lightning strike, the repair guy did everything short of sending flowers to soften the blow of the final bill. Unsure whether it’s worth fixing a faulty appliance? Depending on the brand, if it’s more than 10 years old, the company recommends you skip the extensive repairs and buy a new model instead. Basic repairs on domestic models average $125; repairs on European brands can go as high as $200.

Atlantic Appliance
50 Triangle Ctr, Yorktown Heights (914) 962-2500
Atlantic Appliance sells and services most major household appliances, whether or not they were purchased from its shop. And if Atlantic can’t fix it, it can provide a replacement for purchase within 24 hours—a comfort if you’re expecting a horde of hungry guests and your stove stops cold. Which apparently happens rather frequently in November, right before Thanksgiving. Word of
advice: give your appliances a test run before you send out the invites. A service call costs $79.95 per hour, and the customer is charged only for the parts used; the hourly rate is adjusted for minor repairs if it takes less than an hour.

Mr. Appliance
422 Rte 52, Carmel, NY (845) 225-5215
10 Silver Spring Ln, Ridgefield, CT (203) 438-9288
Jim Ward, owner of Mr. Appliance, understands that helpless feeling you get when an appliance goes kaput, so his team tries to respond to customers within 24 hours. The company repairs any type and any brand of household appliance (except, of course, those finicky Sub-Zeros). The most common problem? Clogged dryer vents. Suggestion: vents to the outdoors should be cleaned every year to avoid attracting birds, bees, and mice looking for a warm place to nest. The company charges $89.95 for the service call, which is incorporated into the repair cost, based on the National Blue Book Flat Rates.

Artwork Restoration

Miro Art Inc.
704-A Locust St, Mount Vernon (914) 484-8350

First, we must disclose that Miro Art’s Roman Kujawa is married to this magazine’s Art Department Assistant, Marta Kujawa. But, rest assured, nepotism is not why we included him in this guide. We figure that if he’s good enough for the President of the United States… In 1995, Kujawa restored the 18th-century ceiling and gilded 365 acanthus leaves on the crown molding in the Blue Room of the White House. Trained in art conservation in his native Krakow, Poland, Kujawa has restored art treasures in European museums, palaces, and churches, so here in the States, both private collectors and auction houses such as Sotheby’s rely on Kujawa to restore museum-quality pieces. He also can restore stone, wood, or plaster sculptures, as well as gilded and painted furniture (including Louis XIV and Louis XV), mirrors, and frames. Prices are determined by the job; estimates are available.

Blacksmith

Startup Steel
11 Old Mill River Rd, Pound Ridge (914) 764-5985
Antiques dealers, interior designers, estate groundskeepers, and County home-owners know they can count on Cliff Startup to restore anything and everything metal—brass, bronze, iron, cast and wrought iron, copper, and stainless steel—including garden ornaments, fountains, furniture, fences, statuary, sundials, and gates. His specialty is repairing and restoring antiques, like metal gazebos from England and France that date back to the late 1800s and turn-of-the-century metal tables and chairs. Startup does all the work by hand in his on-site machine shop. The craft is in his blood: his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were also blacksmiths, the last for Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm I. He charges $90 an hour for repair work and also makes house calls.

Camera Repair

Specialty Photographic Repair Services
629 Fifth Ave, Pelham (914) 738-6500
For nearly three decades, photography buffs have brought in every type of camera—point-and-shoot, 35mm amateur and professional cameras, digital cameras, even obsolete slide projectors, film, and video equipment to Specialty, an authorized service center for scores of camera brands, including Nikon and Olympus. The company also has a, well, specialty, in reviving antique equipment, like Hasselblads dating back to the ’50s, Nikons and Canons from the ’60s, even a ’70s- era Kodak Pocket Instamatic. “We’ve encountered everything and anything,” Jay Cohn says. Have they ever been stumped by a job? “Once a guy came in with a camera sitting at the bottom of a five-gallon pail of water. We did everything we could, but the camera was totally rusted.” Specialty charges $65 per hour, with flat rates offered for complicated jobs; run-of-the-mill repairs range from $65 to $100, and there is a $30 charge to disassemble and assess problems on digital cameras.

Sam’s Camera Exchange
979 Central Ave, Scarsdale (914) 725-1616
195 N Bedford Rd, Mount Kisco (914) 666-3383
Faster than you can say “cheese,” Sam’s photo equipment pros can help with such common camera crises as recovering deleted digital shots or lost images on memory cards. While it handles repairs on all photographic equipment, Sam’s, a County staple since 1939, is best known for de-bugging digital cameras: solving printing problems, photo-editing, and the like. Sam’s repairs can take a minimum of two weeks. Pricing varies depending on the project.

Carpet And Upholstery Cleaning

Carlan Cleaners of Westchester
Ossining (914) 923-2184
Carl McKenzie, the County’s very own Mr. Clean, has been keeping the carpets, rugs, and upholstery of Westchester spot-free and spiffy since 1990. He charges by the square foot: $.65 for carpeting (so a 10-by-10 foot room would cost $65) and $1.25 for rugs; upholstery is $19 a linear foot. For a large home with multiple children and pets, it might run around $2,000 for a full day to clean all the wall-to-wall carpets, rugs, and furniture.

China Repair

China Repair Studio
32 Beacon St, Yonkers (914) 375-0080/(914) 376-2768
Humpty Dumpty might have had a happier outcome if he had just called Gail Guccione; she’s been putting broken china (and jade, ivory, and glass) back together again for the past 30 years. One recent challenge was to completely restore an heirloom manger that had languished in an attic for years. “People bring objects to me because they have sentimental value or are irreplaceable,” she says. She charges by the piece; prices vary widely per project based on complexity. Restoration and touch-ups are added expenses.

Computer Repair

PC Ventures
White Plains (914) 288-9806
Aaron Woodin of PC Ventures is available 24/7 to solve computing nightmares: screens gone mysteriously blank, creepy spyware run amok, and other digital disasters. Too set in your ways to upgrade your system? Not to worry—Woodin can keep “middle-aged” systems up and running so you don’t have to. He specializes in Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Microsoft Office, small networks, and DSL/cable modem setups. He also can truly customize a computer system to mesh with a client’s needs, wants, and lifestyles so even the techno-challenged can have a rocking setup. Woodin charges $80 per hour, pro-rated for projects that take less than an hour.

RSA Computer
630 Saw Mill River Rd, Ardsley (914) 693-4052
RSA fixes failed hard drives and broken keyboards, recovers lost data, and helps clients switching from a Windows-format PC to a Mac by converting and transferring address books, Quicken financial data, documents, and e-mails onto the new machine. The company charges $80 per hour.

Westchester PC Fix
120 S Lawn Ave, Dobbs Ferry (914) 673-6831
As the name suggests, PCs are the main focus of this firm, whose staff is happy to make a house­­—or office—call to cure assorted viruses, eliminate malicious spyware, recover data from failed hard drives, or transfer data from your old computer to a new one. The staff also is ready to assist in setting up home theaters, digital cameras, telephone wiring, and networking with wireless routers. The company charges $100 per hour for most jobs.

Clock Repair 

Mark’s Time
Depot Plaza, Bedford Hills (914) 242-0058
Whatever you use to track the time, whether it’s a 16th-century pocket watch or a brand-spanking-new Patek Philippe wristwatch, grandfather clock, or antique mantel model, we’ve got your go-to guy for repair and restoration. Owner Mark Reichbach, originally trained at the Bulova Watch Company factory on Long Island, has more than 30 years of expertise keeping up with the times. Typical repairs include servicing mantel clocks (usually about $275), replacing watch batteries ($10 and up), cleaning table clocks ($150 and up) and grandfather clocks ($650). Overhauling a clock or watch usually takes two weeks; estimates are provided. For larger items, like a grandfather clock, house calls start at $125.

Wilson & Son Jewelers LTD
18 Chase Rd, Scarsdale (914) 723-0327
29 S Moger Ave, Mount Kisco (914) 241-4500
This 105-year-old full-service jeweler does everything from changing watch batteries to the full servicing of watches. While most repairs consist of changing ring sizes or shortening or lengthening chains, owner Mike Wilson has had a few jobs that made him stand up and take notice. “A number of years ago, a man brought his pet snake—who had slithered into his ring and couldn’t slither out—into the store,” Wilson says. “We cut the ring off, repaired and restored it, and both the snake and the customer were very happy.”
The store doesn’t charge for simple things, like changing a battery, but special repairs are estimated on a case-by-case basis, most falling in the $200 range.

Concrete

Savaspace
81 Pondfield Rd, #134 Bronxville (914) 509-6101
Who knew you could get a master’s certificate in decorative concrete? Matthew Johnson, for one, who promises to find a concrete solution to any concrete surface problems. The company can transform cracked, discolored, and otherwise unsavory-looking floors into gleaming works of stain-free, dust-free art worthy of a place inside your house (or garage).

Counter Tops

Luis Antonio Pichasaca
2986 Navajo St, Yorktown (914) 275-6178
In the restoration business for 10 years, Pichasaca struck out on his own two years ago and quickly found his niche repairing kitchen and bathroom countertops, which accounts for 90 percent of his work. “I try to make everybody happy,” he says. Pichasaca charges either per hour or per job, depending on the type of stone being repaired with most common repairs costing between $45 and $50. There is a $30 minimum for new customers; waived for regulars.

Decking

Archadeck of Southern Fairfield & Westchester Counties
144 Selleck St, Stamford, CT (203) 978-9050/(203) 698-0111

Did Mother Nature have an unfortunate encounter with your deck over the winter? Or perhaps it’s just the years that have been unkind to your outdoor aerie, requiring a major intervention. For more than two decades, Archadeck has been repairing, resurfacing, and replacing decks as well as building totally new (and totally striking) structures. They handle all the details including getting building permits and code variations. (Know that all decks in Westchester require an architect’s or engineer’s seal by standards of the Westchester Building Code Enforcement.) The company has a licensed engineer to do the necessary calculations and to handle approvals so you can rest assured that what goes up won’t come down. Projects typically start around $7,000 and go as high as $100,000.

Electric Repair

Ancon Electric
29 Havell St, Ossining (914) 762-1706
Vincent Conte has been doing electrical contracting since 1982, doing a little of everything electrical from replacing an outlet to wiring an entire house. Service calls are $95 for the first half hour, and then $75 each additional hour; larger projects are priced by the job.

PNA Electric inc.
Phil Andrulis (914) 237-5933
Phil Andrulis of PNA Electric has been sorting out sockets for more than 30 years, entering the trade right out of high school before founding his own one-man business 14 years later. He charges $90 an hour for repairs, most of which, he says, don’t exceed $200.

Electronics

Nu-Sonic Radio
28 N Central Ave, Hartsdale (914) 949-2500
We know how hard it is to resist temptation when you have to walk the gantlet of shiny new flat screens and Blu-ray players on your way to the service department only to get a hard sell that maybe it’s time to trash your old AV gear and trade up. We’ve been there, which is why we trust Nu-Sonic Radio, a service-only business with no sales department or pushy clerks, to fix our TVs, VCRs, DVDs, and stereos. Repairs are guaranteed for 90 days and estimates are free. Delivery from temptation? Priceless.

Tele-Sonic TV
(914) 666-3902
The digital-doctors at Tele-Sonic TV will come to your house (for a minimum charge of $90); if they can’t fix the problem in your home, they’ll schlelp your broken gear back to the shop themselves for more intensive care. And since electronics is an ever-changing business, co-owners Joseph Bueti and Michael Williams keep up with the times by attending seminars and courses at places like the National Institute of Technology in Washington. They also install home theater systems, satellite televisions, Direct TV, and Dishnet.

Fireplaces & Chimneys

Mad Hatter Chimney Sweep
23 Roundtree Ln, Montrose (914) 736-0173
You know to steer clear of those aggressive telemarketers hawking chimney services over the phone—the ones who always seem to find serious flaws in your flues and cracks in your caps? Hang up on those guys and call Bob Pelaccio who is in his 30th year of business. Pelaccio, the Mad Hatter himself, advises his customers to schedule a service before the busy fall season when prices are lower to save them some bucks. The company cleans chimneys, fireplaces, furnaces, and wood stoves; installs chimney caps to keep out critters and the elements; de-gunks gutters and dryer vents; reworks masonry; does flashing work to stop chimneys from leaking; and repairs interior fireplaces. A typical cleaning ranges from $99 to $149 and usually takes about a half-hour; $10 to $15 less during off season. Other works vary depending on the project.

Furniture Fix-Ups

Marcello Zanferrari
Danbury, CT (203) 942-9315

Consider it a miracle. A North Salem resident eyed a friend’s 125-year-old church pew salvaged from a Brooklyn church that closed in the late ‘70s. It was exactly what he and his wife were looking for—except for the layers of dark stain and dirt along with damage from sitting in an unheated garage for nearly 30 years. Divine intervention came in the form of Marcello Zanferrari, who carefully restored the pew to reveal the rich oak grain and classically simple lines of the pew, which now graces the entryway of the couple’s home. Of course, Zanferrari doesn’t limit himself to sacred objects: he’s an equal-opportunity fixer, bringing all sorts (and all ages) of cabinets, chairs, and tables back to better-than-original conditions.

Damiano Finishes
250 North Ave, New Rochelle (914) 633-8827
Damiano is a two-man shop, in business—and busy—since 1978. And when they repair something, it never comes back, according to co-owner Robert Raab. Projects range in price from around $300 to refinish a small end table to $6,000 to $7,000 to refinish an entire dining room set.

Glass

Glassolutions Unlimited Corp
212 S William St, Newburgh, NY (845) 569-0001
These folks don’t stop with just making glass-enclosed showers, windows, and doors, but also create custom glass railings, furniture, and displays. In business for more than 40 years, Glassolutions always has an inventory of architectural metal, glass, mirrors, plastics, and hardware on hand for any kind of repairs.

Heating & Air Conditioning

AMHAC
365 White Plains Rd, Eastchester (914) 337-5555
Maintenance is the key to avoiding heating and cooling problems, says Ted Weinberg, owner of the 50-year-old AMHAC, which specializes in unusual, large, and complicated multi-zone systems, including 5,000-bottle wine cellars and 50,000-square-foot homes. The company’s 30 GPS-loaded trucks are stocked with parts from its 30,000-square-foot shop and hit the road at all hours, day and night. AMHAC charges $95 for a diagnostic call, and 50 to 60 percent of all problems requires only minor corrections, the company assures.

Bruni & Campisi Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Inc
300 Central Ave, White Plains (914) 946-5558
The call came in on Christmas Eve from a caretaker who said there was a problem with the heat. Talk about an understatement. “When we got to the house, everything was frozen solid, the pipes—even the water in the toilet bowls,” Mario Bruni recalls. “Turns out it was Regis Philbin’s home in Bedford. It took weeks to rebuild the plumbing. When Regis came back from his Christmas vacation, he said some real nice things about us on his show.” Most emergencies are not that drastic: pipes burst, heat or AC goes out, toilets leak, diamond rings fall down drains—it’s all in a day’s (or night’s) work as these guys are on call 24/7. And Regis is not the only celeb they service. They get lots of Yankees, Knicks, and politicians, notably our new county exec, Rob Astorino. There is a $40 service charge to come to the house, then $55 for each half-hour at the house. For larger problems, like Regis’s frozen house, clients pay a flat rate.

Shoes/Bags

Katonah Shoe Maker Shop
23 Valley Rd, Katonah (914) 232-4220
One of our favorite fashionistas is also a frugalista who knows to head over to the Katonah cobbler whenever she’s in need of a fix. “Why replace when you can so easily get your favorite shoes and bags repaired,” she asks sensibly. We agree. Tucked away off the main drag, the Katonah Shoe Maker Shop has been in business 60 years, the son now carrying on the family tradition of keeping Northern Westchester clients and their Balenciagas and Blahniks in fine form. Pricing is dependent on the project.

Tony’s Shoe Repair
226 N Highland Ave, Ossining (914) 941-9548
Susan Jacobson’s freshman daughter absolutely had to have a new Tory Burch bag to tote her books around. Of course, the weight of the books broke the slim, yet stylish bag handles in a New York minute. “Tony, the shoe man, suggested we hit the Goodwill and pick up a couple of belts,” the Croton-on-Hudson resident reports, “and—voilà!—he fashioned new handles out of our two-dollar Goodwill belts, charged us only five dollars for the labor, and saved the day. The Tory Burch was as good as new—stronger and back
in action!”

Vaccaro Shoe Repair
11 Boniface Circle, Scarsdale (914) 723-1308
Since 1929, this family-run shoe repair shop has saved the snapped-off stilettos and busted boots for generations of its loyal and well-heeled customers.

Leather Repair

Occhicone Fine Leather Goods
42 N Main St, Port Chester
(914) 937-6327)
In business 60 years, Occhicone promises it can fix anything that is leather: handbags, luggage, jackets, skirts, pants, and even furniture (you may have seen its handiwork in such stores as Neiman Marcus—then again, maybe not—the repairs are that seamless). Pricing is determined by the work to be done.

Clothing Repair

Stanley Custom Tailoring
22 Purdy Ave, Rye
(914) 967-3351
Before emigrating to the United States in the early ’90s, Stanley Szewczyk studied design in Krakow, Poland, where he perfected his craft working on
the extravagant costumes of the Polish Theater. While most of us have few occasions where we need to wear costumes, he can easily work his wizardry on the hole in your favorite cashmere sweater or the split seam in your suit jacket.

Cleaners

Nu-Way Cleaners and Tailors of Westchester
110 W Post Rd, White Plains
(914) 949-2333; nuwaycleaners.com
This family-owned and -operated company has been cleaning the clothes of the County’s
elites since 1945, handling items most cleaners won’t touch—say a vintage hand-beaded silk wedding gown. (Mary Jane Denzer, of the eponymous high-end ladies’ couture boutique, sends her store’s gowns and other goodies there for cleaning and repairs.) There are three tailors on the premises to tackle torn hems and replace missing buttons (which they do for free), and do other minor repairs.

Home Repair Service (Handymen)

Team Service and Maintenance, LLC
35 Abington Ave
Ardsley (914) 591-4231
All those annoying To Dos: changing an out-of-reach light bulb, unsticking a balky door, repairing a leaky shower, replacing a loose electrical outlet. Make just one call to Schwarz and consider your list cleared. Note that he also is a whiz at wireless remote-control home automation, so if you want your lights or AC turned on before you arrive home, he’s the guy to make that happen. He charges $90 to $95 per hour or flat fees for larger jobs.

Home Service Shop
78 Washington Ave, Pleasantville
(914) 769-1100
homeservicesshop.com
This group of fix-it gurus is ready, willing, and able to tackle all those repair jobs—including electrical and plumbing problems—as well as routine maintenance, like deck sealing in the summer, gardening in spring, gutter cleaning in fall, indoor painting in winter. The company charges $115 for the first hour and $90 for subsequent ones, with a one-hour minimum. Customers can purchase days in advance per year for additional savings (two to three days: $640 each; four to five days: $585 each; and six or more days: $540 each. For larger jobs, a price is quoted.

in-home gym repair

Dave Steinberg
(914) 274-0449
All your good intentions to work out at home are for naught if your equipment isn’t up to snuff. And if it’s not in great shape—how can your body be? Dave Steinberg, formerly with Precor, knows the equipment cold and makes house calls to get you up and spinning, stepping, and pumping iron in no time. He also does preventative maintenance—so you have no excuse not to exercise. Steinberg charges $125 an hour.

Jack of all Trades

Highlands Carpentry Plus LLC
Phil Ginter Jr. (914) 374-8612
Consider the Case of the Mysterious Sinking Windows. Four 4’ x 8’ fixed glass windows in a second-story room were sinking into the sill, leaving a one-inch gap across the top. Contractors and carpenters were called in to diagnose the problem; they all left, saying the job couldn’t be done without breaking the glass, which would easily double the cost of repairs. Enter Phil Ginter. He had a plan: remove the windows—all by himself—rebuild the rotted-out wood that had spread to the floor joists, correct the flashing, and put everything back together again. No broken glass. He charges by the job, estimates available.

Aesthetic Renovations
(888) 2-RENOVATE
aestheticrenovations.com
Here’s a place that does everything: from general maintenance and light repairs to major renovations. Need the roof replaced? No problem. Kitchen need an overhaul? They’re on it, and as one satisfied customer says, “always professional, on schedule, tidy, and a pleasure to work with!”

Knife Sharpening

Zwilling J.A. Henckels
171 Saw Miller River Rd, Hawthorne (800) 777-4308; zwillingonline.com
Sharp knives are a cook’s best friends—until good blades go dull. Our resident foodie (and former chef) Julia Sexton heads to Henckels or Wüsthof during their sales (usually the weeks before and after Thanksgiving) to extend the life of her own blades “Their sharpening is speedy, discounted, and these pros won’t whittle off too much steel,” Sexton of New Rochelle reports.

lighting repair

Powell Accessories, Ltd
33 Tarrytown Rd, White Plains
(914) 948-8866; Powellaccessories.com
Founded in 1950, this third-generation, family-owned business does all kinds of lighting repairs but specializes in selling, reconditioning, and repairing new, period, and vintage fixtures. Powell also refits lamps with new shades, hand-sews repairs to old silk shades, and makes new ones out of a customer’s fabric. Memorable projects include bringing a damaged 1920s Tiffany lamp back to light, and converting an entire batch of European lamps imported for sale by a large giftware company to U.S. 220-voltage. The store charges a flat hourly rate of $75, with a typical turnaround of two weeks.

Mason

Stone Art Masonry LLC
23 Ells St, Norwalk, CT
(203) 847-3931
Terry Goodman of Waccabuc was embarrassed by the
state of her wide steps leading up to the entrance to her home. Stones kept coming loose; she kept propping them up and hoping no one would take a header. Clearly it was time for a major overhaul. On the advice of a landscape designer, she tapped Stone Art Masonry for the job and Rodrigo Godoi and his crew completely reworked the broken steps into a work of very functional art. “It turned out so great that my neighbor hired him on the spot to work on her steps,” Goodman says. Pricing is dependent on the project.

Mirror & Glass

Modern Mirror and Glass Co.
100 Lake St, White Plains
(914) 946-7346; modernmirrorandglassco.com
Four generations of Fugazzis have been creating, restoring, and repairing mirrors, shower doors, glass tabletops, glass railings, and just about anything else made of glass for half a century. They also do hand-wheel engraving—a process for engraving flower designs on mirrors—the old-fashioned way, using some of the original machinery that the original Fugazzi used to produce mirrors. Pricing is based on materials used and labor; the price for restoring a hand-engraved mirror starts at about $150.

Mirage Mirror & Glass
1 Station Plz, Ossining
(914) 941-0063; miragemirrorandglass.com
Interior decorator Phyllis Harbinger calls Mirage M&G’s work “excellent and innovative,” an opinion likely shared by such A-list clients as Rob Thomas, Vanessa Williams, Eileen Fisher, Donna Karan, and a whole slew of New York Knicks. The company is best known for its mirror work, shower enclosures, medicine cabinets, and flat glasswork. What sets Mirage apart from the crowd? “We have one of the very few fabricating machines from Italy, so ninety-five percent of our fabrication is done in-house,” says John Count, the current owner. “My father started in this business when he was just seventeen. He’s seventy-eight now and still works five to six days a week.” Price depends on category; replacing a frameless shower door costs between $2,000 and $3,000, with a minimum service charge of $150.

Hudson Glass Company
219 N Division St, Peekskill
(914) 737-2124; hudsonglass.com
“Hudson Glass can repair anything glass, from windshields and car mirrors to windows, doors, tabletops, and storefronts to stained and other decorative glass,” Vice President Jeff Lewis declares. While they will travel to jobs only in the Peekskill area, people certainly can bring their work to Peekskill. And the company prides itself on helping supply residents with any type of glass they need: old glass for vintage houses, even glass for wood stoves. “We’re like a Home Depot for glass,” Lewis says. Pricing depends on the job.

Oil Tank Removal

Envirostar Corp.
50 Fields Ln, Brewster, NY
(845) 279-9555; tankremovalservices.com
Need to remove your aging underground oil tank and replace it with a more environmentally friendly above-ground model? In business 12 years, Envirostar can do it all in just one day. Prices run from $3,300 to $5,000 for the entire job—soup to nuts, says Vice President Mark DiBartolo.

 Piano Tuning & Repair

Ford Piano
15 S Division St, Peekskill
(914) 739-1224; fordpiano.com
Four generations of Fords have been fine-tuning and repairing pianos since the 1890s. Satisfied clients (past and present) include Duke Ellington, Stephen Sondheim, Roberta Flack, and John Lennon—to name a few. It can take up to three months to rebuild a piano and the project can cost up to $15,000, but since buying a new piano can be extremely expensive (a Steinway begins at $35,000), that might be considered a bargain.

Photo Restoration

Katonah Image
22 Woodsbridge Rd, Katonah
(914) 232-0961
Founded in 1989, Katonah Image has restored nearly everything from early Civil War photos to old wedding portraits, repairing cracks, rips, stains, folds, dust spots, wrinkles, bleaching, and fading. Owners and twin brothers Tom and Joe Kiley do all the work in-house. (If legendary World War II photographer Slim Aarons of Katonah trusted his photographs to them, you certainly can, too.) Repair costs depend upon photo size and condition; a 5” x 7” or 8” x 10” original will run from $12 to $65 for a scan, plus $35 per hour for restoration, with a typical photograph requiring about two to six hours of work to restore.

Somers Custom Framing
253 Route 202, Somers
(914) 276-3173; somersframing.com
As the name of the company implies, framing prints and canvases is Somers Custom Framing’s main focus, but the shop offers restoration services for old family photos that have been cracked and torn over time. “Restoring a photo that means the world to someone is what makes this business special,” co-owner Ken Ryan says. Prices depend on size of photo and extent of restoration needed.

Pond Restoration

Related Sciences
Bedford Hills, (914) 403-7313
relatedsciences.com
Once upon a time, a group of determined Greenwich, Connecticut, housewives were on a mission to restore a neighborhood pond. One quote for the work came back at $600,000; another at a cool $1 million. Still another contractor told them to forget it. Enter Carmine L. Labriola, an award-winning landscape designer (he worked on Central Park’s Strawberry Fields), whose business has evolved into sustainable landscaping. “A maintenance dredge causes the least environmental disturbance,” Labriola says. “We perform the dredge like carotid surgery. It’s easier to apply for permits and is a lot less expensive than completely dredging a pond.” How much less expensive? The ladies from Greenwich got their pond back for $100,000.

Quilt Repair

The Quilt Cottage
414 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck
(914) 777-1333; quiltcottage.net
Nancy Rosenberger spent 20 years in the textile business before opening the Quilt Cottage in a historic building: the perfect place to honor (and learn) the age-old art of quilting. In addition to making custom quilts and selling materials for new ones, Rosenberger repairs old quilts, a time-consuming task that must be performed by hand to match the original stitching. Pricing depends on size, condition, and amount of hand work needed.

Rug Restoration

The Golden Horn
Oriental Rugs
464 N Main St, Port Chester
(914) 670-6666; rugrestoration.com
For knotty problems like holes, rips, worn areas, missing fringe, even moth, water, or fire damage, count on the dream weavers at the Golden Horn Rugs to bring your well-worn rugs back to almost original condition in a way that the work is virtually undetectable. Their work is so renowned that Christie’s auction house calls the company in to evaluate rugs and estimate how much it will cost to fix before a sale. Pricing is per project with a $100 minimum. A foot-long hole in a wool rug might take a week to repair ($1,500); the same hole in a silk rug could take three months ($6,000). If a rug requires more than a month to repair, Golden Horn will ship the rug back to its team in Turkey, where the work can be done for a third what it would cost in the States. Depending on the number of orders, a shipment could go out the first part of every month.

Rug & Home Gallery
722 Commerce St, Thornwood
(914) 741-2486; rug-lady.com
Other carpet-store owners and flood-insurance restoration companies look to “the Rug Lady,” Antoinette Lombardi, and her trio of weaving wizards to painstakingly restore, repair, reweave, and clean torn, frayed, or stained hand-loomed area rugs. All work is done by hand on the premises (nothing—not even cleaning—is performed elsewhere) as many times as necessary (that is, until the customer is completely satisfied, Lombardi says) and at no additional charge.

Cornell Carpet
226 Main St, Mount Kisco
(914) 241-1227; cornellcarpet.com
Interior designers recommend Cornell Carpet to their clients looking to restore and clean machine-loomed rugs or broadloom. Typical repairs include fixing borders that have come apart or need rebinding. Owner Peter DiPaola promises service, dedication, and loyalty to each customer and project.

Silver Replating

Artcraft Silversmiths, Inc
156 Mount Vernon Ave, Mount Vernon
(914) 668-9486
If you have a treasured family heirloom made of silver, gold, brass, or copper that needs replating or restoration, head straight over to Artcraft Silversmiths, a firm that’s been performing miracles on metal since 1933. The experts there will polish up your tired and tarnished tea sets and trophies, chandeliers, and hardware fixtures (most notably, the ones throughout Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater). Restoring an 18” x 14” tray usually costs between $250 to $300, and a tea set between $800 to $1,000. Depending upon the “before” condition of an item, most work can be completed within two weeks.

Stained Glass

Rohlf’s Stained and Leaded Glass Studio
783 S Third Ave, Mount Vernon
(914) 699-4848
When the stained glass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity Church on Wall Street, and Riverside Church needed work, the folks in charge called on Rolhf’s. And repairing these works of art is no easy task. When windows get to be 75 to 100 years old, the lead deteriorates. To restore, first the stained glass is photographed, then taken apart piece by piece. It’s then pieced together again with all new lead holding it together. So, if Rohlf’s can be trusted to do such painstaking and intricate work for magnificent churches and cathedrals, imagine what the company can do for your home. The company works on residences as well as churches, and pricing depends on the intricacy of the glass and the project: the more glass, the more expensive it will be. Prices on the lower end of the scale start at around $100 per square foot; the high end could be $600 a square foot. Glass with multiple layers can run more than that.

DC Studios LLC
21 Winston Dr, Rhinebeck, NY
(914) 400-5887/(845) 876-3200
dcstudiosllc.com
Stained-glass artist Doris Cultraro gladly does windows—and lampshades and hanging medallions and panels—and offers expert repair and restoration services for stained and leaded glass. She pays particular attention to details such as period styles and intended settings. Pricing depends on the project.

Textiles

Textile Conservation Workshop
3 Main St, South Salem
(914) 763-5805
textileconservationworkshop.org
To restore the flag that cradled President Lincoln’s head after he was shot, the professional conservators at this not-for-profit workshop were called in, as they so often are, to lavish their painstaking care on textiles of artistic merit, sentimental value, and/or historic importance. They also can work wonders on christening gowns, tapestries, and needlework. The group charges $75 per hour.

Upholstery

Creazzi Upholstery
67 Central Ave, Ossining
(914) 923-1938
If a home-furnishings store recommends an upholsterer, then we take notice. Melita Silva of Melita’s Home Furnishings in Ossining entrusts Victor Bazan of Creazzi Upholstery in Ossining with any upholstered work. “When it comes to matching fabrics,” says Silva, “he is the best.”

Photo by John O’Donnell This ’60s designer chair was purchased at Grand Course Antiques’ going out of business sale. Joshua Katz of Fabu Fabrics in Bedford Hills transformed it into this show-stopper.

Fabu Fabrics
355 Adams St, Bedford Hills
(914) 244-9041
With more than 20 years of experience, Joshua Katz of Fabu Fabrics has thousands of fabrics to choose from. His job as an “editor” is to find the three or four that are perfect for any given project. Prices depend on the job, but consultations, he notes, are always free.

Vacuum Repair

Suburban Vacuum Company Inc
4 W Main St, Elmsford
(914) 592-5888; suburbanvacuum.com
If your vacuum has more hairballs than your cat, it’s time for a trip to Suburban Vacuum Company, which has been selling and servicing cleaning equipment since 1964. It specializes in premium brands like Miele. Not only do the folks at Suburban Vacuum do a bang-up job of fixing vacuums, and with a great attitude, our source recommends you try the tacos right next door while you wait. Estimates are free, and pricing depends on the project.

Windows

Brewster Glass Shop Inc.
122 Old Rt 6, Carmel, NY
(845) 225-8488; brewsterglassshop.com
People who live in glass houses keep Brewster Glass on speed dial. The company replaces glass in standard windows as well as patio doors, storm windows and doors, and heavy glass tabletops and custom mirrors, and custom shower doors. Pricing depends on the project.

X-Treme Cleaning

The Butlers of Westchester and Air Quality Control Systems
1661 Front St, Ste 4, Yorktown Heights
(914) 232-5656; thebutlersairquality.com
When disaster strikes—a fire, flood, or toxic mold contamination—who you gonna call? Margaret Ann and Tom Furer, owners of this 28-year-old niche business, who restore and clean up after fire, smoke, and water damage. A division of the company, Air Quality Control Systems, handles the mold remediation as well as cleaning air ducts and ventilation systems. House estimates are free, and pricing is dependent on the project.

Yard Gear

Telesco Lawnmower Inc
848 Scarsdale Ave, Scarsdale
(914) 723-1767
Piles of leaves, mounds of snow, yards of grass that just keep on growing. But what to do when the mower stops mowing, the blower stops blowing? No, you don’t head over to your local hardware store for a replacement, but to Telesco (or have them pick up your ailing gear and then return it to you ready for business). Not to worry if your equipment is old—these folks can even save antiques. Pricing is dependent on the project.

Continue reading for our Web Exclusive: The Fix is In

Web Exclusive

The Fix is In

Wowed by the before and after pictures in our fix-it guide feature? Witness more miracles performed by members of our rescue team.

Paul Bissonette of North Salem called on Carmine L. Labriola (Related Sciences, Bedford Hills, 914-403-7313) to restore a pond on his property that had been neglected for years. “Labriola is a true genius and artist at this kind of thing,” Bissonette says, “the reason our pond now looks so beautiful and works so well.”

These stone steps had seen better days—much better days. Enter Rodrigo Godoi of Stone Art Masonry (23 Ells St, Norwalk Ct, 203-847-3931), who transformed them into a work of very functional art.

PHOTOS BY: TERRY GOODMAN

If slippery fingers caused you to drop a piece of Aunt Edith’s heirloom china, not to worry. Gail Guccione of the China Repair Studio (32 Beacon St, Yonkers, 914-375-0080 or 914-376-2768) can put it back together again as she has been for the past 30 years.

This porch was not only an eyesore, but a hazard as well. Phil Ginter of Highlands Carpentry Plus (914-374-8612) transformed it into an enhancement to the home.