Ever since I was a kid I’ve been obsessed with building. Having an architect for a father, and a self-described “freaky art major” for a mother, definitely helped. My dad was a carpenter before he started his own company as an architect and he taught me the basics of how use tools with respect and safety in mind. I started making simple wooden airplanes as well as a shelf for my mom’s jewelry when I was 9. She still has it hanging next to her vanity 30 years later.
I remember working on projects with my dad growing up. One of my favorite memories is from when my parents decided to rebuild the back deck. My dad had a couple buddies come over to help and even though I was only about 6 he let me help. Granted, I was probably in the way more than I was helping, but he let me hangout, hammer some nails, and move some wood. For me, that was enough to get me hooked.
In 2004 some friends of mine started a small finish carpentry company in sunny southern California. We started with installing moldings throughout houses and worked our way up to building custom kitchens from scratch as well as remodeling entire houses. Then the market crashed. Sadly, the company slowly dissolved and disappeared as work was scarce and forced us all to go our separate ways.
I began working for a larger construction company as a finish carpenter’s assistant. This company built custom homes, many of which were designed by my dad. This was a great opportunity to learn from very experienced tradesmen who had been in the industry for long enough that they were capable and knowledgable enough to withstand the housing market crash of ’08.
When the big construction company slowed down to where they couldn’t keep me busy consistently, I began working for a grocery store. Soon after, I got a call from an old friend that I worked with who had gotten his general contractor’s license and was starting to pick up smaller projects here and there. He needed help with juggling his smaller jobs and I jumped at the chance to get into the company early.
The small general construction company grew, and I, with it. I became the “Man on the Ground” for the company while my friend took care of the business matters, permits, scheduling, etc. I was able to focus on my favorite part of the work, which has always been the actual building. This carried on for about 3 years until 2010, my work relationship with my old friend was strained and we parted ways.
After I left that job, I worked full-time as a grocery store worker. My passion for woodworking was always burning in me, looking for any chance to get out. I would work on friend’s and family’s houses. I would remodel fireplaces, install moldings, replace decks and patio covers. Anything that I could get my hands on in my free time that allowed me to keep building my skill sets.
Fast forward 2 years and my wife and I moved to North Carolina. After leaving California, this was a chance to really establish ourselves and discover a whole new part of the country. We immediately loved the Carolinas. Even though we told ourselves we would wait a year before looking into buying a house, we only made it 6 months before we found our first house.
I was able to start doing building projects on my own home! What a treat to get to enjoy the fruits of my own labor in the house that I owned. We had bought a short sale home so it was sold as-is and boy did it show. The house had some structural issues from previous owners who apparently watched too much HGTV and thought they were suddenly experts. I loved every moment of fixing that house. It truly was a labor of love.
In 2014, my wife and I saw a documentary on tiny houses. Immediately we knew we had found our next adventure to pursue. We began researching all the different types and styles of tiny living. Finally, we decided to build a Skoolie. A Skoolie is more descriptively known as a school bus conversion. Starting in 2015, we bought a school bus and proceeded to build Bearzania. It was a whirlwind of projects. I was allowed to combine my two favorite hobbies, carpentry and working on vehicles. This project was, and still is, my favorite.
In 2018, my wife and I sold everything and moved into the bus full-time to experience bus life. To get to live in a space that you and your best friend have designed from the ground up is indescribable. We loved it. However, sadly after 3 months of living full time in the bus, I had a medical emergency that left me unable to drive for 6 months. This ended our plan to drive cross-country to visit family in our new adventure vehicle to California.
My wife, like a real life Wonder Woman, jumped into action. She pretty much single handedly orchestrated our move back to Charlotte, got her old job back, bought a house, and got us moved in. My recovery from a broken back, as well as other ailments, continued for the following months.
After years of my amazing wife, family, and friends telling me that I need to start a company that could utilize my passion for construction and building, I finally listened.
So this is my history that has gotten me to this point. I have had over 20+ years of experience in the construction industry. I am using these experiences of working with numerous contractors, surviving business pitfalls, and seeing how the other contractors succeeded and failed to guide me on a path to success. My time in retail helped me to understand customer service and how to properly work with customers and keep everyone on the same page.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for taking the time to learn about us. If you’re looking to get a project done, don’t wait. Go ahead and send me an email and lets get your project done the way you want it.