The Cornerstone Builder: Ace Lavanovich’s Carpentry, Landscaping & Handyman Service

Every ski town has someone like Ace Lavanovich — the patroller who spends winters keeping the mountain safe and summers keeping the town standing. In Ludlow, that guy runs The Cornerstone Builder, a custom handyman, carpentry, and landscaping service for Ludlow and the surrounding area. In his own words: "Just a ski patroller trying to make money in the summer months!"

Don't let the modesty fool you. Ace brings over 15 years of experience to the work, he's fully insured, and he has referrals available on request. His Facebook page sums up the offering in one line: "Custom Landscape, Carpentry, Gardening and unique projects by Ace!" It's the kind of business card that tells you exactly what you're getting — a skilled local who does a little bit of everything, and does it well.

Start with the carpentry, because that's where the photos do the talking. One recent job: a 26-foot staircase built for lake access in Ludlow, all fresh pressure-treated lumber and clean lines running down to the water. Any Vermonter with a camp on a slope knows what a project like that means — safe footing where there used to be a sketchy scramble, built to stand up to weather and winters. The build photos show careful, confident work.

Then there are floors. On a "Demo Day" job in North Springfield, Ace tore out and installed new flooring, joking on his page: "Call us 'Floors R-Us!' Just kidding, but we do really love new floor installations." Anyone who's lived through a floor replacement knows it's one of the most disruptive projects a house can have — dust everywhere, rooms unusable, the whole household tipped sideways. The client's verdict came in the comments — Joanne Baltz wrote, "Fantastic and thank you!!" That's the whole business model in miniature: show up, do the work right, leave a happy homeowner who'd hire you again.

Come spring, it's garden season. "Multch Day!" — his spelling, and honestly it fits the vibe — marked a stretch of mulch, planting, and weeding jobs, with Ace noting he was "welcoming new clients in need of garden work this season." Around here, the window between mud season and summer is short and everybody needs help at once; having a local who does garden work alongside the carpentry is exactly the kind of versatility second-home owners are always hunting for.

And then there are the "unique projects" — the jobs that don't fit a category but show what a builder can really do. Exhibit A: a scrap-wood coffee table, finished up "just in time for football Sunday," as Ace put it, with the build photos showing it coming together piece by piece. It's the kind of piece you can't buy: reclaimed material, built by hand, with a story in every board. Client Cheryl Pollard Morse summed it up in the comments: "Nice work Ace." Every good handyman has a few of these in the portfolio — the jobs taken on for the love of making something, not just the paycheck.

The throughline in all of it is that this is one person, accountable for everything with his name on it. The Cornerstone Builder isn't a crew of subcontractors or a franchise — it's Ace, a contractor-category local business with a mid-range price point, the kind of operator who answers his own phone and shows up himself. When something needs tweaking after the job, you know exactly who to call, and he knows exactly which house you're talking about. In a region full of second homes managed from three states away, that direct line matters enormously.

The reviews back that up. The business holds a 5.0 out of 5 rating across its client reviews, and the comment sections on his job posts read like a neighborhood bulletin board of satisfied customers. Donna Pearsons, reacting to the garden work: "Nice!" Short, sweet, and exactly what you want to hear about the person working on your property.

Service-wise, his footprint covers the heart of the Okemo Valley and beyond — recent jobs tagged in Ludlow and North Springfield, with the business page itself titled "CornerStone Builder | Londonderry VT." If you're in the surrounding towns with a project list that's been growing since spring — the stairs that didn't survive the winter, the garden that's gotten away from you, the floors you've been meaning to replace for two years — he's in your neighborhood and he's taking on work.

What makes a business like this worth featuring is simple: trust. Letting someone onto your property, into your camp, onto your roof or under your floorboards requires it, and trust is built exactly the way Ace is building it — fifteen years of experience, insurance in place, referrals on request, and a public record of finished work with happy clients attached to every post.

Getting in touch is easy. Call or text Ace directly at (802) 353-6957 to talk through your project, find The Cornerstone Builder on Facebook for photos of recent work, or follow along on Instagram at cornerstonebuilder. There's no booking portal or phone tree — just a local builder who picks up.

Summer in ski country runs on people like this: the ones who keep the lifts running all winter and the houses standing all summer. If your stairs need rebuilding, your floors need replacing, your gardens need rescuing, or you've got a "unique project" in mind, you'll find Ace's full featured listing at The Cornerstone Builder right here in our guide — and tell him Green Mountain Guide sent you.