What People Say
A Google review:
Although the delays of a breakdown and a scheduling mistake were frustrating, the work was tackled June 23 on a beautiful day for milling. I will do my best to convey how nice it is to work alongside Brian Tremble[y], his efforts to keep work flow productive and steady, even when a lifting arm on the machine broke. We were fortunate to catch a neighbor home who had a welder who helped get it fixed and we were back in production in 90 minutes. Brian stayed late till 8:30 PM, putting in a 13 hour day to keep his word and finish the job slicing and dicing 16 logs, 5 fir and 11 cedar 12 feet long, and one 30 inch X 6 foot cedar into some table top slabs that would make a wood worker drool with envy. 100% clear.
Highly recommend anybody needing portable millwork done to watch Stick’s Milling videos and pay attention to how much area around the mill is needed. Prepare your stacking area within 5 or 6 steps if you don’t have a machine with forks to load to. Have an area for garbage wood to be tossed onto some dunnage for later removal because there may be a lot of it. Next, be ready to learn. Brian taught me a lot about drying wood properly, how and why it may curve or twist and how to reduce it from happening. Be ready to work hard, Brian will outwork you, but rightfully expects solid effort and no slacking. Another valuable trait, he talks about each log, what you want out of it, how to get the most out of it, and top of his list, he wants you to be satisfied with each finished log. My experience with area contractors is they take shortcuts and “close enoughs” way to often. Not here. Finally on to [Kayleen], if I wasn’t already blessed with a wonderful wife, I would be jealous how he scored with this lady. Brief phone calls with [Kayleen] is better than talking with my own sister, she is amazing[,] warm and funny, knows her job and the business, and watches over her man. The old adage behind every good man, should include, should be a [Kayleen] caliber woman. Close with this. Get your mill work done by Sticks before he has to close shop in a few years. Don’t miss out on the opportunity and experience.
—Rick Yearout
“Brian Trembley, the master sawyer of Sticks Milling is a man of his word; even down to his motto: I was so happy with his service that I did feel guilty for not paying him more. Brian spent two days at our place last year milling a 200-foot-tall white oak for an ongoing pet project. This time I needed to rip two 6’X7″X7” beams along their diagonals from said last year’s white oak job. Kayleen[,] his wife and manager[,] said “no problem” and she tacked my measly request onto where he was working nearby three days later. Did I mention that Kayleen is a delight to work with as well? Long story short, Brian, the log whisperer, made the perfect (only one shot) cuts “no problem”. I will now have four perfect corner posts for my new wood shop. Thanks, Brian and Kayleen!”
—Michael Silberbach
“Wanted to send you pics of the house progress with all of the great looking material installed.”
—Jason and Laura Jacobson
A Facebook post on our business page:
“Excellent Work! I was enthralled by the deft use of [the] mill and what it could do. Brian’s skill was superb and his guidance was greatly appreciated. He came 100+ miles when local sawyers wouldn’t go five. His integrity is high and his work ethic is phenomenal. I can give no higher marks to a person or his work.”
“Brian is a man of exceptional character and work ethic.”
–Keith Morgavi
“We put some of your beautiful siding to work up here and have nearly completed our most important building…the outhouse.”
—David Gano
“…I would like to thank you for the quality of work that you have done for me. From the start to finish you and your wife have been pleasures to deal with. I enjoyed our conversation and not to mention your extremely low price!”
—Sasan Shahbazi
A Facebook post on our business page:
“Very knowledgeable, timely, and affordable…Awesome work, almost zero waste. Sticks milled these gorgeous cherry slabs. He definitely is a master of his craft.”
—Don Neely
I received a call from a potential customer. He had been calling around, asking about sawyers and their prices and recommendations. Here’s a little how our conversation went:
Me (Brian): “Well, how do I compare to other sawyers? I’d like to know your findings. Are my prices comparable? Are they portable? What’s their mill’s capacity? Are they as handsome as I am?”
Potential customer: “Well, of the three different people I spoke with, you were the only sawyer they mentioned and fervently referred.”
Well THAT brought a smile to my face! A HUGE thank you to Mary Meeker, Scott Pederson, and Richard Kester for being those customers.
“Your fine milling can be seen in that fine post and beam. Three posts and three beams support the covering on our back deck. Thanks again for your fine work.”
—John Morrow
A Google review:
“★★★★★! I have had Brian cut for me several times and he’s the best!”
—Jason McClure
“After the first job we invited Sticks back for a second job. We will invite Sticks back again if the opportunity presents itself.”
—Lloyd & Sharon, Brush Prairie
A Facebook review:
“★★★★★! Outstanding, we had two trees milled and used the wood for siding and new floors in our master. Thank you for providing this service, Brian is amazing and extremely [knowledgeable]. So glad we found you!”
—Mary Shupe, Vancouver
“Your motto on your home page is very true; after you cut boards for me last time I was almost feeling guilty about the price you charged me considering all that is involved in the milling. I have recommended your services to several in the past couple of years.”
—Tony Bequette II
“Brian, thanks again for everything and we’ll see you at the housewarming.”
–F.J. Maloney
A Facebook comment on one of our pictures when our new website was launched:
“Seeing as how we’ve witnessed firsthand your incredible cutting skills, we fully believe in [you]…”
–Kat Lilore, Vancouver
“I’ve had Brian out for two milling jobs on my property and was deeply impressed by his knowledge, work ethic and honesty. He saved me some serious money by maximizing each log for the best possible cut. Not only was it very affordable, it was also deeply satisfying to see my fallen trees get a second life as lumber I used to build a hay barn, tool shed, and writing shack.”
—Peter Illyn, La Center
“Thanks again it came out beautiful and it was great working with the both of you.”
–Seanette Corkill
“I highly recommend Brian. Having known [him] closely since our time together in college, I can tell you that he is a person that I would trust with my business.”
–Walter Gosciewski
A Facebook review:
“★★★★★! I’m sure there are other guys out there with mills, but who needs them [when] you have Brian at the slicer?”
–Chris Moore
A handwritten letter:
“Brian,
Thank you so much for all your hard work getting us the lumber. You were a great find! Rob spoke highly of you and I found out exactly why. We loved the whole process of getting the wood. The boys experienced a new type of work and all three thoroughly enjoyed them[selves] working along side of you. I made a friend. Looks like we already have a customer for a slab. I’ll let you know and I’ll certainly pass your name to others as they inquire about where I got my wood…Take care and drop in at any time…”
–Barry Young
A Facebook image and comment in response to Sticks Milling‘s post about working in the Washington rain:
“It truly was the worst day of the year but it was an amazing experience. Brian is a true professional and really over-delivered. He really is helping my dream project turn into reality [and] I will absolutely be a repeat customer!”
–Kendall Shapiro
One of our favorite preschool sends us a letter or posts about us occasionally!
If you have any comments or compliments you would like to send to us, we would happily post them on this page!