Building a Dream: During my high school and college years, I was continually learning carpentry, drywall, plumbing and electrical skills on small projects. Having a strong background in mechanical drawing, I worked for several years in consulting engineering as a civil and plumbing designer. My father-in-law was a custom builder who gave me the opportunity to use and develop my building skills on a variety of challenging projects. Eventually, I gained the experience and confidence to start my own business.
Custom Learning Experience: If you want to stay in business, you don’t make the same mistake twice. Custom building is a constant process of re-inventing the wheel with new clients, unique designs on challenging sites, endless selections and continually learning and refining the process. Developing procedures to organize selections, decisions and work schedules will help you sleep better. You eventually have to figure out what works and what doesn’t in order to efficiently make use of time and talent. You also have to learn to be flexible to deal with situations that will arise that are beyond your control.
Becoming a Craftsman: I normally invest a lot of time planning the work sequence and trying to anticipate where the potential issues are before the job starts. I also learned early on to find and keep suppliers and subcontractors who are reputable, reliable and who share my commitment to superior quality. I can be found nearly every day at the jobsite working in my field office or doing physical work. An organized and properly managed jobsite is essential to ensure good morale, staying on schedule and achieving outstanding workmanship from our building team.
Sharing the Passion: I have always enjoyed sharing my construction experience, ideas, opinions and enthusiasm with our clients as we work through each phase of the build. What keeps me wanting to drive to the jobsite every morning has evolved with age. During the early years, it was the satisfaction of framing the structure from the ground up and then being involved with the finished work. As I grew older and the work increased in size and complexity, my focus and passion changed. It is very rewarding to be able to work out difficult details and to orchestrate the total building process from plans to completion.
