Victor Mosim (413) 627-6464. He did a good job on both our fridge and d/w. Worked at Henry's and is cheaper than they are. (12/12) Might take an old refrig for parts. (7/15)
DURING PANDEMIC: Because of the national shortage of appliances, we purchased from AJ Madison (www.ajmadison.com). They deliver out-of-state, install, and remove old appliances in Egremont. (10/20)
Always Fair Appliance Repair, 413-441-9430. We used them twice and were pleased with their service. Came to the rescue quickly and efficiently. (7/21) A second report wasn't positive: Matt did a "cheaper" fix (it still cost a couple hundred), and when the leak reappeared a week later, he could not be reached. (8/21)
Dick's TV and Appliance, Torrington, CT. Repair technician José was great. (Not sure if they service in Egremont) (5/23)
Sean Pattison, 860-671-9052, www.northern-appliance.com, service@northern-appliance.com. Lovely guy, high rec! (6/23)
AJMadison, Brooklyn, www.ajmadison.com. Good deals and free delivery. (11/23)
Mike's Maytag, Pittsfield, www.mikesmaytag.com. Recommended. (11/23)
Henry's Electric, Lee. 243-0690. Many satisfied customers! (most recent: 11/23)
Sears Home Service: 800‑4‑MY‑HOME, https://www.searshomeservices.com/repair. Went online Wed & scheduled an appointment for Sat. They were super organized & communicated updates from the time of booking until the tech arrived. Cost was completely acceptable & washer is now fixed, rather than having to wait 2 more weeks for any of the others. (7/18) They service all brands and have changed their system so that the response time is pretty fast. (11/23)
Ackerman's Appliance, Hudson, 518-828-7339, https://ackermansappliance.com/. Great for repairs! (most recent: 11/23)
Decker and Beebe in Canaan, CT. 860-824-5467. Next-day service in an emergency. Possibly doing repairs only on appliances they sold. Use for Miele. (most recent: 11/24)
Berkshire Appliance in Lee, 413-243-0307. Extremely positive experience. Dave Brown is an excellent diagnostician and saved me a lot of money. Rave review! I'm singing their praises! Wonderful, on time, honest, very professional, and knows his stuff. (most recent: 5/25)
Northern Appliance, Canaan, www.northern-appliance.com, 860-671-9052. Repair guy (Sean) is great, used to work for Decker & Beebe. Very nice, very reasonable, and worth the wait! (latest: 7/25)
Earl B. Feiden Appliance, Albany, www.earlbfeiden.com. Great showroom, quality, good prices and great follow up. Recommended for Miele. (5/19, 11/23, 7/25)
(Discarded "white" appliances -- without refrigerant -- can be dropped into the metal-recycling bin at the Transfer Station.)
Berkshire Bike & Board, of course. https://berkshirebikeandboard.com/
Dale Finkle, 413-854-5182 or 528-2703, has a bike shop in GB. He was THE bike guy at Foster's for decades. (6/18)
Kurt's Auto Spa, Grove St, GB, www.facebook.com/Kurts-Auto-Spa-106578007423646, 413-429-1195. Kurt was so kind and punctual, and he did a fantastic job at half the price of others. I strongly recommend him. (11/20)
Frank Camacho, Hillsdale, 877-211-0833, Countrysidecarservice.com. (9/21)
C&D detailing, New Marlborough, 413-274-5031. Did a great job. Will come to your driveway. (10/21)
Affordable Mobile Detailing, 413-441-5770. House-calls and also on site in Pittsfield. Did a good job. (8/22)
Jonathan Peck, 413-329-0666. He'll pick up at your location and return it. (7/23)
Berkshire Auto Detail (Jahdiel Martinez -- an ARTIST!), Sheffield, 413-644-6103, www.berkshireautodetail.com. A bit more expensive than Larkin, but he'll come to your site. Interior-only detail around $120. [Make sure this is current, as always.] Really impressed with results. (latest: 8/24)
Larkin in GB: 528-8908, http://larkinltd.com/ (latest: 8/24)
Ruben Garcia, 413-717-5699. Extremely thorough and meticulous. He detailed both our cars in our driveway. He brought all the equipment and did a great job. Also: He detailed 3 vehicles for us and did an outstanding job. Worked steadily for 8 hours and the cars looked better than when we bought them. Can’t recommend highly enough. Competitive pricing as well. (latest: 7/25)
(Everyone has a story ... no one repair shop is perfect for all people. However, the following have had particularly sterling reports and have many loyal users.)
Dominic at Autobahn Service, Rte 7 South in GB. Great for newer Volvos. Perhaps not happy about working on older cars. 413-528-2227 (many recs)
Chuck Larson of Larson European Auto in Lee. 413-243-4040 (many recs)
Danny Watson, Rte 7 in north Sheffield, 413-229-6613 (many recs, latest 9/23)
Stockbridge Motorcar, 413-298-4040, www.stockbridgemotorcar.net. Matt Sutton and his assistant Larry (Subaru specialist) are experts and great guys. (10/19)
Ruge's Subaru in Rhinebeck, www.rugessubaru.com. They do a great job and their prices are always fair. Been going to them for over a decade. (10/19 - 5/23)
Decker's Auto Body (and Repair), www.deckersautobody.com, 528-1432. Billy is helpful, pleasant, and honest. They do tires, too. (12/20)
Steve Daniel at Steve's Auto Repair, State Road, GB, 528-9833. I've used him for 30 years. My go-to mechanic for all my vehicles. (12/21)
Marvin Casivant, Casivant Repair, Ashley Falls, 413-229-8087. Car Talk review: www.cartalk.com/ma/ashley-falls/130575/casivant-repair. Great mechanic, honest man, best prices. Skilled at Subarus. (3/22)
Dave's Tire & Auto Repair, Canaan, CT, 860-824-7063. Easy to schedule and fast service. (7/22)
Haddad Subaru, Pittsfield, https://www.haddadsubaru.com/. Wonderful service department. (7/22)
Ormsbee's Garage in Mill River, 229-2515. Subaru, VW, Mazda, Pontiac, Chevy Tracker. Paul Marcel is a terrific guy, a talented mechanic! And quite reasonably priced. Happy to help with older cars. (6/17 - 7/23)
Bob at Apex, 9 Crissey Rd 413-645-3025, 298-0022 (many recs, latest 7/24)
Steve at Auto Shop in Salisbury, CT, 860-435-0378. The best for older Volvos. (7/25)
Decker's Auto Body, GB, www.deckersautobody.com. I was very happy - reasonably priced, good & rapid service. (10/21)
Precision Autocraft, Sheffield, 528-1457, www.precision-auto.com. Highly recommended. An amazing job at a very fair price (another report: expensive). We were more than pleased with their work. (many recs, 8/16 thru 12/22)
Van Alphen, Rte 23, Hillsdale, 518-325-3343, www.vanalphenautobody.com. Top-notch. Cheaper than Precision. (latest: 8/23)
Arnold's Auto Body, 860-824-4224, at 2 North Elm, in Canaan, CT. Ask for Gary Ovitt. Terrific and very honest. (11/18, 12/22, 6/24)
Jim’s Body Shop, run by Jim Walton, Copake, NY, 518-329-7301. It's a good body shop! (6/24)
To install a trailer hitch, try Crane's Outdoor Power Equipment, 860-824-7276. Just over the border in CT. High rec, but expensive. (2/24)
NB: The following was a self-referral. It looks interesting enough to include it:
Greg Wilson, longtime resident of Mill River, 413-441-5717. I have been doing auto body repair for 43 years, and paintless dent repair for 12 years. My process manipulates small dings and dents without major bodywork or painting. I usually work, weather permitting, at your location. Free estimates. (5/23)
Danny Watson at Watson Automotive, 229-6613, Rte 7, north end of Sheffield. (Local travel only.) (5/19)
Enterprise in Pittsfield. They deliver. (5/19)
RW’s Auto in Lee, 413-243-0946. Absolutely the best local car rental rates around. (9/19)
Larkin in GB: 528-8908, http://larkinltd.com/. Great people. (6/20)
See Babysitters and Other Helpers
Big Y -- Tesla only
Mass Pike -- fast chargers?
Hillsdale town hall parking lot: https://chargehub.com/en/stations/ny/hillsdale/town-hall.html?locId=60269. Slow, not free.
Berkshire Co-op: slow but free (as of 12/21)
Norman Rockwell Museum: ChargePoint.
Norm & Tom Brooks, Hot Oil Treatment, Newfane, VT, 802-365-7619. Make an appointment and plan to stay overnight in Newfane. Highly recommended to protect against our salt. (11/16)
Matthias, Hillsdale, 518-368-0939. Does undercoating to prevent rust. $250. Recommended! (1/24)
American Auto Transport, Canton, MA, 781-821-4660. Or call Chris at 954-278-3865. (8/16)
Ship A Car Direct, www.shipacardirect.com/index.php. A very positive experience. (10/21)
Max at Precision Auto, 528-1457. Meticulous and they have the best equipment in the area. (9/16)
Dave's Tire & Auto Repair, Canaan, CT, 860-824-7063. No long wait for an appointment and they get you in and out quickly. (11/21, 1/25)
Pete's Sales and Service, Route 7 in Sheffield, 413-229-8503. Good experience with tires. (1/25)
Bachetti's, north end of Sheffield, 413-528-6410. Very good experience with tires. (1/25)
Seward's, now called City Tire, 528-3168, www.city-tire.com. [Seward's was sold in 2024.] Still the best! Still the same team. 100% satisfaction. (Latest, 1/25)
Route 102 Auto Sales, Lee. Peter Rathbun. 413-243-2929. A great place to get the car you want! Peter is trustable and terrific! (2/16, 6/20)
Danny Watson at Watson Automotive, 229-6613, Rte 7, north end of Sheffield. Danny sometimes gets cars from Florida -- rust-free! (5/19)
West Side Clocks in Pittsfield, 413-442-5484. (2/25)
Berkshire Clockworks, Curtis Jones, curtis@berkshireclockworks.com, 917-908-2700 or 413-212-9236, www.berkshireclockworks.com/#. Above Tom's Toys in GB. Including antique clocks. House calls in Berkshire County and NYC. (8/21, 9/23, 2/25)
Jack Betterly, Eagle Mills, NY, www.jackthejeweler.com/clockrepair.html, 518-791-2686. About an hour from Egremont. Terrific and reasonable. (2/25)
Paul Borst, 518-794-0567. He was great!! (1/18)
Howard Swanson, 413-229-8083. He cared for our antique long-case clock for many years. (1/18)
I watched tech comparison videos, and read Consumer reports and reports from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and MASSPIRG.
In addition to not having to buy and mess with fuel or maintain an engine, and the fact that they’re quieter, switching to a battery leaf blower has a huge environmental impact. That’s because 2-stroke gas engines, phased out in cars, boats, etc., but still allowed for lawn equipment, are an old, super-polluting technology. One hour of gas blowing is worse than driving 1100 miles, and it spews 23 times the carbon dioxide, and 300 times more non-methane hydrocarbons. In 2020, US lawn equipment spewed as much particulate matter as 234 million cars.
Switching from lawn to meadow is another thing I’m looking to do. But meanwhile, I decided to get a battery blower.
Battery blowers aren’t as powerful as the best walk-behinds or even the best backpack versions. (The Husquevarna backpack backpack blows at 270MPH; the most powerful ECO blows at 200MPH or, with the attachment that makes the blower narrow and wide, about 220. But that beats many cheaper backpack versions, including some good name brands. If your area isn’t huge, a battery blower may be a good option.
This EGO <https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/outdoor-power-equipment/leaf-blowers/7026058> won every comparison. Most powerful; longest running time; one of the two lightest. I went with the RYOBI <https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Brushless-Cordless-Battery-Included/dp/B09VWKMX6N/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1H6MBO6P7NTTK&keywords=ryobi+leaf+blower&qid=1700239161&sprefix=ryobi+leaf+blower,aps,100&sr=8-5>, which was in everybody’s top three, is the other lightest one, and is quieter. It blows at 190MPH and has 75% of the running time, but since I already have 2 Ryobi batteries, I bought this one because the machine alone w/o battery was about $100 bucks cheaper.
If one person reads this and swaps, I’ll have done some good so thanks for reading.
Also, once someone has the Ryobi batteries, Ryobi also sells lanterns, flashlights, and inverters powered by the same batteries. Very helpful during power outages. While the inverter and the battery won't power high wattage draw appliances, it will power lamps, phone chargers, and even the fan connected to some wood stoves.
Aatlantic Fitness, https://aatlanticfitness.com/. They come to your house and repair treadmills, etc. (11/22)
Olde Towne Window Treatments, Pittsfield, 413-443-2488. Have repaired any brand for years. (10/19)
Pumpkin Patch Quilts, Lee, pumpkinpatchquilts.com, 413-243-1635. (5/25)
West's Farm Equipment (Sheffield). 413-229-2017. Use for Stihl.
Bob Boyer, Southern Berkshire Power, GB. 528-9223. Use for most brands, but not Stihl.
Accessibility for New England, residential elevators and electric stair lifts, 888-963-5438. Brian Lake, project manager and sales rep, is very knowledgeable and responsive. (11/23)
Independent Mobility, Pittsfield, www.imscooters.com. Very satisfied with the installation and after-care of the stair lift. (11/23)
For an overhaul of an old typewriter, use this company: http://gramercytypewriter.com/
Kent's Vacuum Center 528-0690. Member gave highest praise for his upright vacuum by Sebo. (1/15, 5/19)
For central vacuum systems, Grand Central Vac, Springfield, www.grandcentralvac.com. The closest place that sells and services central vac systems. (11/23)