# Tay River Builders & The Big Chill | Princeton-area builders, home performance and heat pumps > Tay River Builders and The Big Chill Heating & Cooling: remodeling, restoration, home performance and heat pump systems around Princeton, NJ, since 1999. Source: https://tayriverbuilders.com/ Princeton, NJ · Since 1999 # Your house is a system. We work on all of it. Tay River Builders has been remodeling, restoring and insulating homes around Princeton for more than twenty-five years. The Big Chill is our heating and cooling division, so one company works on the shell of your house and on the equipment that heats and cools it. [Start a project](https://tayriverbuilders.com/contact) [Heat pumps & HVAC](https://tayriverbuilders.com/heating-cooling) A bathroom designed to feel like a riverbed Dormers rebuilt in hand-milled cypress A winder stair in a heritage home **No heat or no cooling?** Call [(609) 279-0722](tel:+16092790722) or [book a service call online](https://book.housecallpro.com/book/Tay-River-Builders/fe92233109f64e64b6de28eb08c00581?v2=true). ## Building, remodeling & home performance We build kitchens, baths and additions, restore heritage trim and do custom carpentry. We also do energy audits, air sealing and insulation. Your house doesn’t have to look like a space-age bubble to be more energy efficient. [Building & remodeling](https://tayriverbuilders.com/building) [Home performance](https://tayriverbuilders.com/home-performance) The Big Chill Heating & Cooling ## Ethical heating, cooling & ventilation We design and install heat pump systems, and we repair and maintain all HVAC systems. We aim for cost-effective, environmentally sustainable solutions, sized for your house. [Heat pumps & HVAC](https://tayriverbuilders.com/heating-cooling) Why we do both ## Fix the house first. Then size the equipment to fit it. The parts of a house affect each other. Tighten the attic and the old furnace is suddenly oversized. Replace the furnace without fixing the ducts and the upstairs is still too hot. Too few contractors understand how the pieces relate, so we work on the shell, the ducts and the equipment together. 1. 01 ### Measure We start by testing: blower door, duct leakage, airflow and room-by-room temperatures. 2. 02 ### Tighten Air seal and insulate where it pays: attics, rim joists, ducts. In deep upgrades we often cut air leakage in half and triple insulation values. 3. 03 ### Right-size Then we design heating and cooling for the house you’ll have afterward. That usually means smaller equipment and, more often than not, lower bills. We run your numbers first. 4. 04 ### Follow up A year after we finish, we come back to review the design and the construction with you. 1999 Founded by brothers Jesse and Abel Smith 4.8★ On Google, from 16 reviews. [Read them](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tay+River+Builders/@40.2316257,-74.8332809,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c156feab0e8c23:0x5976c95c2a8b9887!8m2!3d40.2316257!4d-74.8332809!16s%2Fg%2F1thzpt58), including the mixed one. 11° to 2° Floor-to-ceiling wall temperature spread before and after an attic upgrade, measured by the homeowner 2,000+ Energy retrofits completed, by Jesse’s count Selected work ## Some of what we’ve built The photos are from the jobs themselves, and many were taken mid-construction. [BathroomsCentral New Jersey ### A Pebble Bathroom A primary bath designed to feel like a riverbed, with stone basins carved from solid rock.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/pebble-bathroom) [Restoration & CarpentryPrinceton area, NJ ### Restoring Dormers with Curved Fascia Rotted arched dormers rebuilt in cypress, with every trim profile milled by hand to match the original.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/dormer-restoration) [Restoration & CarpentryPrinceton area, NJ ### Custom Stairs in a Heritage Home A winder stair with a curved handrail, laid out to meet modern code.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/heritage-winder-stair) [BathroomsPrinceton area, NJ ### A Nakashima-Inspired Bathroom A cherry slab vanity mended with handmade butterfly keys, in a bathroom inspired by George Nakashima.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/nakashima-inspired-bath) [Kitchens & AdditionsLambertville, NJ ### Bright Kitchen Addition An addition that respects a Mansard-roofed heritage house without pretending to be part of it.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/lambertville-kitchen-addition) [Energy UpgradesPrinceton area, NJ ### Attic Air Sealing Spray foam and foam board to seal an attic, then a thick layer of cellulose over the top.](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work/attic-air-sealing) [See all 9 projects](https://tayriverbuilders.com/work) In their words [**4.8** on Google · 16 reviews](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tay+River+Builders/@40.2316257,-74.8332809,17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c156feab0e8c23:0x5976c95c2a8b9887!8m2!3d40.2316257!4d-74.8332809!16s%2Fg%2F1thzpt58) > “On a 90 degree day the window A/C’s can actually maintain a constant 75 degrees in the house. … For the comfort alone it is money well spent.” Homeowner, attic air sealing and insulation on a 44-year-old ranch, 2012 > “They took their time to do everything properly and went above and beyond as if they were doing this on their own house.” **Richard H.**, Google review, 2021 > “Not only are we enjoying lower utility bills, we are more comfortable in our home after Tay River’s work. Jesse was very receptive to our questions, and took time to explain everything.” **Alan S.**, Google review, 2013 > “Thanks again for all the fantastic work you and your crew did. My house is so much more comfortable from your efforts and we really appreciate everything, including how generous you were helping me understand a little bit of your very complicated business.” Homeowner, early-summer home performance project, 2011 The Big Chill Heating & Cooling ## Heat pumps, HVAC repair and ventilation Our heating and cooling division moves homes off fossil fuels and onto air-source heat pumps, and looks after the systems you already have. It works the same way the rest of us do: we measure before we recommend, and we tell you when sealing the house will do more than a bigger unit. [Explore The Big Chill](https://tayriverbuilders.com/heating-cooling) [info@thebigchillhvac.com](mailto:info@thebigchillhvac.com) - ### Heat pump design & installation One efficient system for heating and cooling, designed around your house and its ductwork instead of a rule of thumb. - ### Repair & maintenance of all HVAC Furnaces, boilers, air conditioners and heat pumps. We’ll service almost anything. - ### Ventilation & airflow Fresh air where it’s needed, and duct and return fixes for rooms that never seem to get comfortable. Jesse and Abel Smith Who you’ll work with ## Jesse and Abel Smith Tay River was founded in 1999 by brothers Jesse and Abel Smith. Abel is a highly skilled craftsman with the hands-on know-how to build things properly. Jesse is an avid researcher of building science. Between them they’ve restored and remodeled houses across central New Jersey, completed more than 2,000 energy retrofits, and spent years as an authorized contractor in New Jersey’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. Jesse also holds a New Jersey master HVAC license. Much of their work comes from referrals and repeat clients. > “Turns out people think you’ll be more successful improving performance if you actually measure stuff. Who knew!” > > Jesse Smith [Our story & approach](https://tayriverbuilders.com/about) Field notes ## We write about this stuff, too. Jesse has been writing about air sealing, ducts and HVAC since 2011, and he is not shy about his opinions. [Heating & cooling · May 2017 ### You can’t suck your way out of a distribution problem Why hot upstairs rooms usually need more supply air, not “hot air returns,” and how to test it before you spend a dime. Read](https://tayriverbuilders.com/notes/big-central-returns) [Home performance · July 2012 ### Blower-door-guided air sealing isn’t real Jesse likes blower doors, and finds them pretty much useless for directing air sealing. Read](https://tayriverbuilders.com/notes/blower-door-guided-air-sealing) [Home performance · July 2012 ### Everything is sort of bad, but at least one thing is awful Two mental models for improving an existing house, and why you sometimes have to listen to the people who live in it. Read](https://tayriverbuilders.com/notes/everything-is-sort-of-bad) Start a project ## Tell us about your house. Send us a note or call, and tell us what’s bothering you about the house. We’ll talk it through and tell you what we’d do first. [Request a visit](https://tayriverbuilders.com/contact) [(609) 279-0722](tel:+16092790722)