Our Commitment
Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality craftsmanship and we are dedicated to customer service and satisfaction. Our motto is: Your vision is Our Mission!
We are Tom & Linda Hemphill, founders of Emerald Seas International, Ltd. and Hemphill Iron Works. Tom’s career as a welder began in the Portland shipyards. Scuba diving was his primary recreation. His career made a transition from metal fabrication to teaching recreational diving, and commercial diving, including underwater welding.In 1989 we started a diving business in Friday Harbor, WA. Linda managed the retail store and charter reservations. Tom taught diving classes, managed the commercial diving services, and was the charter vessel Captain. We sold the diving business in 1999 and started the Hemphill Iron Works Company.
In 2003 we moved back to Vancouver, WA to be close to the kids and grandkids and established our small Blacksmith Shop.
Our specialty is Custom Designed, Artistic Ornamental Iron products, and we also offer metal fabrication and general welding services. We work with mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Most of our work is done in the Blacksmith Shop, but we also have portable welding machines and equipment for on-site projects.
Linda is the design expert. She has managed several home renovation projects, including a 1910 Church in SE Portland that was converted to a single-family residence. Linda has a great vision for home design concepts and colors.
Here are a few of the most common questions that our customers ask:
Why is Ornamental Iron so popular?It’s attractive, so it will compliment all other building materials, such as wood, plaster, rock and tile. The numerous architectural designs help to create a personality for your home.
It’s durable, even in the moist environment that we have here in the Northwest. New Orleans is a great example here in the United States where most of the buildings incorporate ornamental iron into the architecture and many are more than a hundred years old.
It’s very strong, yet not overbearing in size. Once a welded, forged iron railing or fence or screen is secured in place, it will withstand the normal pressures of everyday use without compromising its purpose and appearance.
What about rust?
Iron is subject to rust when not protected. To prevent corrosion, we use an electrostatic powder coating finish that is baked on at 350 degrees. Powder coating will provide years of protection with very minimal touch-up required. We can also build products with stainless steel, which is desired at the coast where there is a lot of salt spray and wind, and we can use aluminum as well, which is not subject to rust.
What about the cost?
We will provide you with a general price range for budget purposes. For instance, a custom forged, artistic and welded iron balcony or deck guardrail will range in cost from $75 to $110 per foot. That is the finished product, installed. We like to establish a budget with you up front, and then work up a design that will fit into your budget.
How do we come up with a design?
The first thing we do is review with you the personality or image that you want to show off. You may choose from the following design themes:
| Traditional | Simple designs with a little personality |
| Spanish | Lots of ornate scrolling and rosettes | Mediterranean | A Tuscan flair with leaves, grapes & flowers | Contemporary | Modern, Frank Lloyd Wright appeal | English Garden | Large Scrolls and Fleur-de-lis | Asian | Circles and geometric designs | Western | Horizontal lines and wagon wheels | Waterfront View | Cable rail and minimum artistic design | Personal | Custom cutouts to make your personal statement |
If you are not certain what theme fits best, Linda will review your house design and fixtures for inside décor, and your landscaping plans for the outside appearance, and then discuss some ideas with you. We have lots of photos of projects that we have completed and books that have photos and drawings with some other ideas.
The pictures give us great ideas, but do not really represent the quality of the actual components. Therefore, we will look at samples of balusters, scrolls, pickets, rosettes, castings and other products so that you can see the actual forged iron and cast aluminum components.
More Questions?Give us a call or send an email:
360-574-1963 – 360-609-5477
Tom@HemphillIronWorks.com