Properties in Delbarton are strung along a valley, and a lot of them sit up a bank from the road. That means long exterior step runs, often built years ago by whoever was available, and standing at the bottom in ground that never really dries.
Had them out after the back steps started going soft underfoot. He came and looked properly before quoting anything, and told me the structure underneath was still sound — so it ended up a smaller job than I had braced myself for. Turned up when he said he would, cleaned up after himself, and the price at the end was the price we agreed. Not much more you can ask for.
Owner replied
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Skyler White
9 months ago
Called on a Tuesday and had someone out the same week. What I appreciated most was being told straight what needed doing now and what could safely wait until spring. No pressure and no trying to talk me into the bigger version of the job. It has held up fine through the winter since.
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Trevor Alford
2 months ago
The quote came through itemised and the final bill matched it, which has honestly not been my experience with everyone around here. They worked around an awkward driveway without once making it my problem, and left the place tidier than they found it. Would have them back.
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Kaleb Withrow
3 weeks ago
Fair price, showed up on time, tidy work. No complaints.
See something like yours?
Send a few photos and we'll tell you what it'll take — free written quote, no pressure.
Where a house sits above the road, the steps up to it are frequently the longest single structure on the property. They were often built in stages, sometimes by different hands, and it shows in the rise changing partway up.
Long exterior runs rebuilt with proper landings
Rise made consistent across a flight built in stages
Handrail posts set on footings rather than into soil
Bottom stringers kept clear of standing water
Steps to outbuildings, garages and workshops
Why Choose Mackwood Construction?
What you get when Mackwood does your stairs & railings — and what we won't do.
Free written quote, itemised before anything starts
We get underneath and look properly before quoting — not from the kerb
We'll tell you straight if a repair isn't worth doing
Based in Williamson — Mingo and Logan counties, about an hour out
Straight answers on permits, which differ either side of the county line
Built for this climate: drainage, flashing and ground contact done right
From first call to finished work — no surprises in between.
Step 1
Tell us about the project
Call, text, or send a message with what you're looking to build or repair. No form to fill in and no call centre — it comes straight to us, and you'll get a real answer about whether it's something we do.
Step 2
Send photos or schedule a look
A few photos are often enough to tell us what we're dealing with. Where it isn't — anything structural, anything hidden underneath — we'll come out and look properly before quoting rather than guessing from the kerb.
Step 3
Get a clear quote
You get a written quote that itemises the work, so you can see what you're paying for and what you aren't. If we think part of it isn't worth doing, we'll say so. No pressure and no surprises at the end.
Step 4
We build it right
We turn up when we said we would, work clean, and haul the offcuts away with us. The job gets built to last in this climate — and we'll walk it with you before we call it finished.
Not sure what your stairs & railing needs?
We'll come and look, then tell you straight — including if it isn't worth doing.
My steps up from the road are very long. Should there be a landing?
On a long run, yes — partly because it is tiring without one, and mostly because a fall on an uninterrupted flight of twenty steps is far more serious than a fall on six. Where there is no break in an existing run, adding one is usually the most valuable change available.
Why does the bottom of my steps rot when the top is fine?
Because that is where the water gathers. Runoff comes down the bank and sits at the foot of the flight, so the stringer ends and lowest treads stay wet. The detail at the bottom decides the life of the whole structure.
The rise changes partway up my steps. Is that dangerous?
It is the most common cause of falls on stairs. Your body learns the rise from the first couple of steps and repeats it, so a change partway up is the one that catches you. It usually happens where a flight was built or repaired in stages.
Will you do just the garage steps?
Yes, and it is often the best value job on a property like these. Outbuilding steps are usually the worst on site and the ones used with your hands full.
Do you cover Delbarton regularly?
Yes — roughly twenty-five minutes from Williamson on WV-65, well inside the hour we work. It's a regular run rather than a special trip.
Water runs toward my house off the hill. Can that be dealt with as part of the job?
We can address how the structure handles it — proper standoffs, drainage away from posts and steps, ground-contact material where it belongs. Regrading the lot itself is a different trade, and we'll say so rather than pretending carpentry solves it.
My driveway is steep gravel. Is that an issue?
It's common up the hollows here. It affects load size and how many trips the material takes, which we allow for in the quote rather than discovering on the day.
What stairs & railings in Delbarton actually involves
Most people are buying a result, not a list of tasks. Pick a topic to see what we look at before quoting in Delbarton.
More on stair & railing work in Delbarton
Long runs also need a landing, both because a flight that long is tiring and because a fall on an uninterrupted run of twenty steps is a much more serious event than a fall on a flight of six. Where an existing run has no break in it, adding one is usually the most valuable change we can make.
The handrail needs to run the whole way, on a post structure that is independent of the ground moving. A rail supported by posts set straight into wet soil is a rail with a service life rather than a permanent fixture.
The bottom of the flight is where it starts
Water sheets down off the slopes toward these properties, and the bottom of any set of steps is where that water gathers. The stringer ends sit in it, the lowest treads stay wet longest, and the whole structure fails from the ground up.
So the detail at the bottom decides the life of the flight. Stringers landing on a solid base that drains rather than in soil, ground-contact rated material where it belongs, and where possible the flight set so runoff crosses under it rather than through it.
That is worth spending on, because everything above it is fine for far longer than the bottom three feet.
Outbuildings count too
Deeper lots here mean garages, workshops and sheds, and their steps are usually the worst on the property because nobody thinks of them as a safety item. They are also the ones used with hands full.
Fixing them is cheap relative to the rest of the property and it removes the most likely fall on the site. We are happy to take that as its own small job rather than as an add-on.
About twenty-five minutes from Williamson on WV-65, a regular run for us.
Homes around Delbarton
Delbarton's housing is largely mid-century and older wood-framed homes strung along WV-65 and up the hollows that feed into it, with a good share of former coal-camp stock. Most sit on block or pier foundations rather than full basements, and covered front porches are standard. Lots are generally deeper and less cramped than in Matewan, which means more detached outbuildings, decks, and additions that have been added over the years by varying hands.
What we see locally
Being strung along a creek valley, Delbarton properties deal with runoff coming down off the slopes as much as with river flooding. Water that sheets toward a house rather than away from it is the recurring theme, and it drives the same failures every time: damp crawl spaces, rot at the base of posts and steps, and framing that stays wet long enough for it to matter.
Getting to the job
Addresses right on WV-65 are straightforward. Up the hollows the roads narrow quickly and driveways get steep and gravelled, which limits what can be brought in on one trip. About twenty-five minutes from Williamson, so it's a comfortable day trip but not one where we want to be running back for forgotten material.
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