My Craft

Eric

Site-Supervisor

How long have you worked with Jade Mountain Builders?

Almost 4 years.

What is your craft?

For most of my career I’ve been a carpenter doing things from trim, traditional timber framing to typical stick framing. So, roughly a year ago I would have said my craft was making beautiful structures with wood. However, with Jade I have been able to move into more of a management position, as a site-supervisor which has allowed my professional craft to grow (I still make beautiful things with wood at home).

Currently my craft is all about turning a vision into a tangible object. The skills I learned as a carpenter, handling one aspect of the building process, has now expanded to the whole of a building. I study design documents to understand the intent of the designers and clients. My job is to manage the immense task that brings that intent into reality. If I’ve done it well, then the client has a space that resonates with their center, a place to call home.

I think of craft as a high-minded ideal that I try to bring to everything I do. More specifically, day to day, I address problems before they manifest on site. I study details in the build and communicate them to the people actually doing the work. I work with those people and develop a plan to implement the vision on paper. I ensure material is there before we need it so it doesn’t slow progress. I answer the inevitable questions that come up on site. I act as a hub between the people building and the people designing. And I keep the schedule so that people know when to show up for their tasks on the build.

What makes Jade Mountain Builder’s approach to homebuilding different?

We build some really cool projects. As a builder it is exciting to work on the types of projects we create. In my experience this is not actually all that unique. I’ve worked for other builders and developed pretty cool projects in the past, but what sets Jade apart is how they deal with people, both employees, subs and clients. I have never been part of a company that is as serious about improving the quality of life of their employees. It is one of our top priorities. I’ve worked for many other companies that talked the talk about taking care of people and this company is by far and away the best at backing that up. From the culture of the company, to the tangible benefits, its the best company I’ve ever worked for. That culture of respect and integrity is passed on directly to how we deal with clients and subcontractors. It goes a long way to creating a team of people who enjoy working together for this goal of creating a home for clients and not just focused on the bottom line.

It’s the culture which attracts and retains some of the best people in the business. The company does a lot to support its people and that is reciprocated by our team’s support of the company and the craftsmanship and quality valued at Jade. As a company we expect a lot from the people working here so if you make it here long enough you want to stay. Those that end up staying with Jade long term are people that share these values.

How do you define craftsmanship?

Craftsmanship is another one of those high-minded ideals that encompasses integrity, quality and dedication.

Integrity because you aren’t trying to hide your mistakes behind other peoples work. We all make mistakes. The true test of integrity is how you fix them. Do you leave it for the next guy to fix or do you work to fix it yourself. If you are a true craftsperson that is an easy answer.

Quality because you need to stand behind everything you do.

Dedication because being truly skilled at something takes a lot of time and effort. It takes work and dedication to keep these ideals in mind when you are having a bad day and feel tempted to cut corners.

What’s your favorite Jade Mountain project?

This is another hard one for me. I’ll give you three. I really like each of these for different reasons.

I really enjoy the project I am working on now. It’s not up on the website yet because it’s in progress. We are working with a world renowned architect in a beautiful Madison county setting building some of the coolest structures of my career.

The Mithoefer project was a lot of fun because it was a cool build and the clients were awesome.

The first project I was part of with Jade is on the website as Magical Retreat. It was this really cool blending of traditional wood joinery timber frame (which I love), log work, modern stick framing and super efficient SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels). The result was this home that looked old and traditional but was actually super efficient and modern in its construction. The melding of those two was pretty cool to me.

What’s your favorite aspect of your craft?

I once had a boss who told me that the best job you can get is the one where they pay you to learn a new skill. I have come to really value the opportunity to learn in my craft. I am constantly learning on a daily basis. It is really important to me to continually improve on myself and how I interact with the world around me wether that is at work or home with my family.