Holden is the best place we work for this, because the houses were built to a plan. Island Creek Coal put them up to a small number of standard patterns, so once we have seen how one of them rots, the next one holds very few surprises.
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.
Whole streets share a floor plan, a foundation type and a trim detail. That is genuinely useful for repair work: the damage concentrates in the same places because the construction and the ground are the same, and we can check the likely spots directly rather than surveying the whole building.
Sill plates and joist bearings on the low side
Wall framing where the slope sheds toward the house
Original exterior trim and casing profiles
Door frames and thresholds at the back entrance
Fascia and soffit where guttering has failed
Why Choose Mackwood Construction?
What you get when Mackwood does your wood repairs — 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 wood repair needs?
We'll come and look, then tell you straight — including if it isn't worth doing.
Can you match the original trim on a company house?
Usually, and this is the best case for it anywhere we work. The houses were built to standard patterns, so the profile you need is generally still visible on the same street. Where something cannot be sourced we will show you the nearest option before fitting it.
My neighbour just had this done. Does that mean mine is coming?
Quite possibly. These houses were built the same way at the same time on the same ground, so they tend to reach the same failures together. It is worth looking before it becomes urgent.
Why is it always the back of the house?
Because that is the low side, dug into the slope, and the drainage here was laid out for the coal operation rather than the houses. Water comes off the hill and sits against that wall, so the framing closest to it never dries properly.
Which county handles permitting if it turns structural?
Logan County, which administers permitting and inspection separately from Mingo County. It matters most where a repair turns into framing work, and we confirm what applies before we start.
Can you match the original detail on a company house?
Usually, and Holden is the best case for it. The houses were built to standard patterns, so the profile you need is generally still visible on the same street. Where something genuinely can't be sourced we'll show you the nearest option rather than substituting quietly.
My neighbour just had the same repair done. Does that mean mine is coming?
Quite possibly. These houses were built the same way at the same time on the same ground, so they tend to reach the same failures together. It's worth a look underneath before it becomes urgent.
The house is dug into the hill and the back is hard to get to. Is that an issue?
It's the normal situation in the camps and it's usually the side the work is on. It affects access and how long material handling takes, not whether the repair can be done properly.
Most people are buying a result, not a list of tasks. Pick a topic to see what we look at before quoting in Holden.
More on wood repair work in Holden
These houses are approaching a century old, framed in untreated lumber on block and stone piers, set into hillside sites. The damage sits at the back and the low side, where the slope sheds water toward the building — sill plates, joist bearings, and the wall framing closest to the ground.
The uniformity that helps us diagnose also means the whole street tends to arrive at the problem together. If a neighbour has had this work done, it is worth a look at yours.
Matching original detail, realistically
Trim on a company house is worth matching rather than approximating, and Holden is the one place where that is genuinely achievable. The profile you need is usually still visible on the same street, so a repair can be milled or sourced to read as part of the house rather than as a patch.
Where something genuinely cannot be reproduced any more, we will show you the nearest option up front rather than substituting quietly and letting you notice at the end.
That is worth spending on where it shows and worth being sensible about where it does not, and we will say which is which rather than gold-plating the back of the house.
Drainage designed for a coal operation
The drainage around these houses was laid out for the operation rather than for the buildings, and water coming off the slope behind is the constant. It is the single biggest reason the damage here concentrates where it does.
Repairs go back accordingly — material rated for where it sits, a proper break between wood and damp ground, and where possible the water kept off the wall rather than routed past it. Where the real answer is drainage rather than carpentry, we will say so.
It is about forty-five minutes from Williamson, US-119 to WV-44. The camp streets are narrow with limited room to stage material, and houses dug into the hillside mean the working side is often the awkward side. That affects the day rather than the price of the carpentry.
Homes around Holden
Holden is a planned coal town rather than a town that grew, and it shows in the housing more clearly than anywhere else we work. Island Creek Coal built these houses to a small number of standard patterns across the numbered camps, which means whole streets share a floor plan, a porch detail, and a foundation type. For carpentry that is genuinely useful: once we have seen the failure on one of them we know where to look on the next, and matching original trim and porch detail is realistic because the pattern is documented by the houses around it.
What we see locally
These houses are approaching a century old and were built with untreated framing on block and stone piers, set into hillside sites where drainage was designed for the coal operation rather than for the houses. Water coming off the slope behind a house is the constant, and the damage concentrates at the back and the low side — sill plates, joist bearings, and the porch structure where it steps down the grade. The uniformity that helps us diagnose also means the whole street tends to arrive at the problem together.
Getting to the job
About forty-five minutes from Williamson, US-119 to WV-44. The camps sit up off the main road on narrow streets that were laid out for the era, so the approach is tighter than the drive suggests and there is limited room to stage material. Houses set into the hillside also mean the working side is often the awkward side, which affects the day rather than the price of the carpentry.
Get a free quote for wood repairs in Holden
Tell us what you're building or repairing and get a clear, no-pressure quote. Free quotes, honest answers, and craftsmanship built to last.