I am husband to Shannon of 10 years, and father to Russell born in 2018 and Christine born in 2021. I grew up on a local sawmill west of the twin cities called Timm’s lumber and Sawing several pieces of the equipment were designed and built by my grandfather Russ, my father Steve ran that company for nearly 40 years, and my brother Jeff now owns and operates it. To say this has shaped me would be the understatement of a lifetime, the addition to my parents home is a timber frame (picture European church or early american barns) and it was raised like a barn when I was 10 years old, uncles, neighbors and friends all chipped in and lent a hand. I didn’t really understand the significance of growing up in an environment where I learned how to go from tree to finished product at such an early age. but by my early twenties after working for a church for a few years as a youth and worship director for a couple years for a small town church in Iowa I was sure working with my hands was when I was at my best.
Right out of high school I went to work for a remodeling company called Thompson remodeling to this day they are probably the best employer I have ever worked for. They were patient with me and were persistent teachers, they made work fun and a challenge. They paid me well and bought me my first tool belt which I still wear today 15 years later, they also helped me make the leap into small business ownership as an LLC called Timm woodworking. Most notably they taught me how to overcome the challenges of working with existing structures and how to think about how things are put together so as to honor the builders before us and make the new and extension of the old rather than after thought. I worked with them from 2006-12 with a few things in the middle like that church stint and a few trips to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, but that's a story for another time. I should note that Thompson remodeling Is still around and doing great work, they go By Thompson design build now.
It was around this time that I was doing a bit of this and that because of the Market collapse of 09, I did a brief stint of new home building in Williston ND, I worked for about a half year doing panel framing (pre assembled walls craned into place) on multifamily and apartment buildings. After that I ended up working with a cabinet maker and remodelers based out of Golden Valley and then Forest Lake. It was a good next step as it started to pull my love of shop work and even furniture building into onsite carpentry. I learned a ton about the older homes in Minneapolis and St paul and started to grow an affection for these 100ish year old homes that often have a higher level craft in and outside of the home but also have weathered the test of time better than many of the homes built in the early 80’s and into the 2010’s. I also began to find myself in the position of lead carpenter and eventually Project manager on these jobs, as I had enough experience and the opportunity to do things on my own and also to lead a small team of carpenters. Some days we were fixing up bathroom apartments, or building decks, other days we were ripping off roofs and adding a whole story, or fully remodeling long neglected homes of the twin cities. Not to mention the long days building cabinets in garage shops and late nights nerding out about architecture or the proper method for the challenge that laid ahead the next days, weeks or months.
But my love of shop work pulled me hard back into my family's business, at first I was sharing shop space and taking on my own projects until I eventually bought the company with my brother Jeff and took on the challenge of making a business that had fed one family and turning into something that could support several families. We built some awesome stuff that I am very proud of to this day, and I am certain that they will be making lifetime quality products out of wood for many years to come. As some of you know, working with family has its challenges and it wasn't the right fit for me so I handed the business over to Jeff and Started looking for the next thing.
By this point my wife and I had our first son Russell and we were about to have our daughter Christine and we had owned our house in North Minneapolis for about 4 years. I had torn apart the upstairs of our home in order to make it an owner's suite and was really feeling the squeeze between my idealism and our budget (this is still an ongoing process). They say a cobbler family always has the worst shoes. It was in the midst of the journey of taking a 1933 cottage style stucco home and making it work for the modern world without destroying its charm that I stumbled into the world of building science. Which now consumes much of my free time, ask me about best building practices or alternative mechanicals and new building products and I will literally talk your ear off.
I started Working for a small Northeast Minneapolis based exterior restoration company in 2021 that really helped fill in my experience with these old homes and how modern products and techniques help preserve and protect old buildings. But also how to make them comfortable and care for our environment along the way. We don’t live the way we did when these homes were built so it's a fun challenge to make them able to serve modern living. I also met some excellent carpenters in this season and life long friends.
Over the next couple of years I dreamed about what might be next for me as I knew working for someone else was only interim and in 2022 we launched Better Builds. Although I love shop work, the need for contractors has never been greater and especially those who care about the details, customer service and experience, and who can help guide clients towards making better decisions for the environment and their budget. I also want to ensure the skills and knowledge I have grow and be passed onto the next generation of builders and trades people. The best way I know how to do that is by creating jobs for people to learn while making a living wage. With our team of local trades people we look forward to making your house into the home you imagine it can be.