--- title: "Doctor Structure — General Contractors | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/doctor-structure-pfvwus-pf~26590715 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~26590715.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "Doctor Structure" category: ["General Contractors"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/dee3b49704d6e4ec_9453-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg address: "Peekskill, New York 10566, United States" latitude: 41.2892 longitude: -73.9184 phone: "(914) 263-6148" website: http://doctorstructure.com rating: 5 review_count: 2 followers: 46 last_updated: 2026-08-09 --- # Doctor Structure Original Houzz profile: [Doctor Structure](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/doctor-structure-pfvwus-pf~26590715) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** General Contractors - **Location:** Peekskill, NY - **Serves:** Ossining, Yorktown, Peekskill, Jefferson Valley-Yorktown, Mount Kisco, Croton-on-Hudson, Briarcliff Manor, Highland Falls, Chappaqua, Cold Spring, Millwood, Nelsonville, Cornwall On Hudson, Ft Montgomery, Garrison, Jefferson Valley, Lake Peekskill, New Castle - **Houzz rating:** 5.0 out of 5 (2 reviews) ## About ### Houzz Badges - Star Houzzer - Houzz Influencer - 25 Ideabook Saves Doctor Structure is a subsidiary of Third floor Corporation a full service construction and general contracting company serving private residential clients in New York State's Hudson Valley, Putnam and Westchester Counties and New York City with satellite capacity in Rhode Island and Virginia. We specialize in structural repairs of all types, custom crafted homebuilding, estate development, and estate management, architectural projects and in the restoration of historic and classic architecture. Our company is lead by master builder Ben Fiering and a team of craftspeople with developed skill and knowlege in many building trades. We have a commitment to craftsmanship. We believe that fine architecture is a product of good planning, and attention to detail and that a refined and yet functional aesthetic derives from the long tested vocabulary of traditional building coupled with scientific engineering and a sensitivity to the rhythms of modern life. ### Services Provided - Home Remodeling - General Contracting - Home Additions - Custom Homes - New Home Construction - Home Extensions - Deck Building - Energy-Efficient Homes - Green Building - House Framing - Concrete Construction - Foundation Construction - Sustainable Design - Masonry - Foundation Repair - Concrete Repair - Home Inspection ### Areas Served - Ossining - Yorktown - Peekskill - Jefferson Valley-Yorktown - Mount Kisco - Croton-on-Hudson - Briarcliff Manor - Highland Falls - Chappaqua - Cold Spring - Millwood - Nelsonville - Cornwall On Hudson - Ft Montgomery - Garrison - Jefferson Valley - Lake Peekskill - New Castle ### Typical Job Cost $20,000 - 3 million We will perform specific structural repairs on relatively small jobs. We can build whole houses and will work with any homeowner on design and budget matters. ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | Doctor Structure | | Address | Peekskill, New York 10566, United States | | Phone | (914) 263-6148 | | Website | http://doctorstructure.com | | License Number | PC 2577-A | | Followers on Houzz | 46 | **Social profiles:** - X (Twitter) — https://twitter.com/Dr\_Structure - Blog — doctorstructure.com ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [Doctor Structure](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/doctor-structure-pfvwus-pf~26590715) - **Website:** http://doctorstructure.com - **Phone:** (914) 263-6148 ## Reviews **Overall rating: 5.0 out of 5 — 2 reviews** ### All 2 reviews **★★★★★ — Jenny Davis, Nov. 2016** > Ben had some excellent ideas on how to fix a very unwelcoming and poorly designed home facade, as well as extensive advice about homes in the general area. He knows all of the local towns and neighborhoods and is a wealth of information. We ended up not buying the home in question (and thus could not complete the project), but greatly look forward to the possibility of working with Ben in the future. We are very picky people and thought it would be impossible to find a contractor who prizes aesthetics and authenticity in design as much as we do, but we were wrong! **★★★★★ — bethannmbrown, Nov. 2014** > We worked with Ben Fiering and his talented crew over the Spring and Summer of 2014. We not only needed to rebuild a deck, but found our house to be sinking from water damage and rot. Ben created a master plan to reinforce our structure while replacing our deck as well. Ben's careful planning unique design ideas and expert craftsmanship made our crumbling home new again. ## Selected projects - [Sherman Connecticut Deck House restoration](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/sherman-connecticut-deck-house-restoration-pj-vj~2208545) - Location: Sherman, CT - Photos: 2 - [Garrison Residence](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/garrison-residence-pj-vj~911432) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 7 - [Interior Details by Third Floor Corp](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/interior-details-by-third-floor-corp-pj-vj~970210) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 9 - [Urban deck and garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/urban-deck-and-garden-pj-vj~966950) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 4 - [Noble Custom Kit Homes](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/noble-custom-kit-homes-pj-vj~949297) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 6 - [Deck House Restoration](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/deck-house-restoration-pj-vj~943036) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 3 - Description: This project in Norwalk, CT is representative of work we have done on quite a few 1960's and '70's Deck Houses. The problem that precipitated the work is endemic to Deck Houses of this period. Often the residents notice symptoms of decay the when sliding doors leading out to the balcony decks fail to operate properly. In the original construction posts support the roof loads through the rafters and these posts come to bear directly on the deck girders. Additionally the upper floors are typically… - [USC Community House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/usc-community-house-pj-vj~911448) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 1 [See all 7 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/general-contractors/doctor-structure-pfvwus-pf~26590715) ## Ideabooks - [Brick Arched Coffee Shop](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/45771331/list/brick-arched-coffee-shop) — 1 idea - [Noble Home, kit Houses](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/44923677/list/noble-home-kit-houses) — 2 ideas [See all 2 ideabooks](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/doctorstructure) ## Community Q&A **Q: Kitchen counters - how deep is too deep?** *(in Kitchens)* For cabinets/counters that run along a wall, how deep do you feel is max for counter depth? I like the look and feel of having either extra space on the back of the counter or a raised shelf area behind the counter. In this area of the kitchen, I was thinking of having no uppers (possibly some floating shelves for looks, not necessarily for daily use) so reaching up and over the counters would not be an issue. I don't find much written about anything over 30" deep. Would something bigger be excessive? Say, a 30" counter with another 6" shelf behind? A: My standard counter depth is 28". I have never had a complaint from a customer as regards this arrangement not providing sufficient working depth on the countertops. This provides sufficient room for pipes, electrical runs and clearance behind standard depth cabinetry and it allows flush alignment of appliance fronts and base cabinet doors. In some cases we make extra allowance for deeper refrigerators. I almost always block forward upper cabinets 3" by setting up a double 2x4 rail. The rail furrs forward the cabinets and also provides a void behind for wiring runs for cove and under cabinet lighting. With this setup, if you used 15" uppers the distance from counter front to uppers would be 10 inches with the 3" build out. If you used 12" deep cabinetry the distance would be 13" evidently enough. For smaller customers we tend to focus on less upper cabinetry and look toward floor to ceiling pull out pantries and other such storage arrangements as are easier to access. I am myself a towering 5'7". Lets say that in high school soccer and track were a better choice for me than basketball. **Q: Code for bath near a window** *(in Design Dilemma)* I have a plumbing inspector complaining because I'm putting a free-standing tub in front of a window, and he thinks that's a slip (and fall out the window) hazard -- he wants the window bricked up! Can anybody explain the part of code that's relevant here? I mean, we see tubs near windows all the time, so I can't tell whether the problem is the nearness of a shower on the other side, or the absolute distance between tub and window/wall, or what. Without being clear on this, I don't know how to go about fixing the layout (if I even can) so that it's code-compliant and still makes me happy on the design front. I suspect I'm missing a subtle point in his explanation, or maybe it was just the steam coming out of my ears that blocked my hearing, heh. Anyway, thought if I could chew over the code at leisure, it might all clarify in my head. Appreciate any guidance! A: There is no reason why you can not solve the problem with tempered or other version of safety glass. **Q: Is there a stain on the decking?** *(in Photo Questions)* A: Yes Duckback Superdeck a Sherwin Williams Product Redwood **Q: Rug padding** *(in Other)* What kind of area rug padding is better on hardwood floors A: This is a good question. I am not sure whether there are recommended products, but have definitely seen old padding stick to and leave a film on finished floors when it is taken up. **Q: My brick is ugly and I can't decide what color to paint the trim** *(in Design Dilemma)* Help please! My trim badly needs repair and painting, but I'm stuck on what colors to choose. Nothing looks good to me. What would you do? Here's a view from the side. It's taken at night, but you can see the shape a little better. And here you can see the colors more clearly. A: http://www.appliedtechnologies.com/home/a-tech\_masonry\_brick\_sealer\_5\_gallon\_pail.html. Link is to a breathable sealer. It should be possible to pigment this sealer using water based aniline dyes. The effect would be to mute the color variation of the brick. **Q: Hickory flooring questions** *(in Design Dilemma)* We like hickory flooring, and want to achieve a look (particularly color) similar to these: https://www.houzz.com/photos/custom-dark-stained-hickory-flooring-traditional-bedroom-phvw-vp~3977713 https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-modern-kitchen-cincinnati-phvw-vp~1189654 I have a few questions I hope the community here can assist with: 1\. We want to keep a contemporary look and don't want large knots, so we don't want character grade hickory. Would we be better served by \#1 Common or Select grade? I can't seem to find examples of photos with select grade hickory on Houzz, particularly with a darker stain. We like the color and grain variation hickory naturally has, but don't want large knots. Will select grade kill much of that variation and look comparatively boring, especially with a dark stain? Any photo examples? 2\. We figure we'll do an onsite custom stain. Are the colors in these photos hard to achieve with commonly available stains? Any tips on how to get close? To achieve this look, do we need to go with an oil-based polyurethane, or can it be done with water-based? I'm concerned with yellowing over the years if we go oil-based (I really dislike yellow / orange tints in wood floors), but then again perhaps with this dark of a stain it's not a concern? Thanks for any input! A: I think that the main difference lies in the time involved for the initial application and the problem of finding a specialty finisher who is comfortable with the process. The best quality oil finishes are as durable as most polyurethane top coats. To really make a difference in durability one would have to look towards engineered clear catalyzed resins. These tend however to have a heavily coated bar top look and make more sense in commercial environments. Oils have, In my view, the advantage of being easier to repair in the case of a severe scratch or other localized damage. A new coat of oil can be added as required without sanding and scraping the floor. I keep the old (soft) pine floor oiled and waxed in a rental that I maintain for this reason, once all that work that I described is done, then I can stain out the scratches and buff up the floor between tenants in a few hours and it all looks newly finished and is ready to walk on the same day. Even waterborn acrylics would require a longer turnaround time. From this vantage point and if the homeowner is comfortable with some basic maintenance tasks the approach that I described is a lifetime finish. Properly cared for, a floor done this way will look better in ten years than it does on the first day. Because oils deeply bond and saturate there is no issue of peeling or flaking which is a common problem with poly, especially when applied over stains, and again especially if the finisher does not give multiple coats of stain adequate drying time. Top coat of varnish (polyurethane) and acrylics (waterborne) degrade slowly and eventually fail (admittedly, if the work is properly done after many years) and require a complete re-sanding. Over many years this means that the wood floor itself is ground through. So after two or three drum sandings the whole floor gets ripped up and replaced. If I did this to my rental--a mid nineteenth century Victorian, then in a decade the antique floor would be completely destroyed, instead the oil and wax fill cracks and voids and help keep the floor, hopefully for the next generation. Wax coats must be maintained but they are superficial as relative to the oils so there is no sanding and the maintenance can be performed room by room without needing to vacate the house. They dry in minutes and are never "wet." High traffic areas, such as entries and hallways can be rebuffed and low traffic areas let go much longer. Buffing a wax floor is a little less work than steam cleaning a carpet and a bit more than vacuuming. But there is no argument or judgement coming from me. This approach is for a certain customer, with a certain home, specific needs, and perhaps even a certain time of life. I do all sorts of fancy things for my clients, but... I come home to a small, less than 1000 square foot, rustic log cabin with very simple finishes. Whatever you choose to do, post a photo when its done and I hope that you enjoy your home and the life within it to the fullest. --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-08-09.*