My name is Jake, I am a builder, and Chemical Engineer. I enjoy learning, and creating.
I have been involved in construction since I was 12 working for my parents while we built our own home. I found I had finish carpentry skills and a good eye. I went on to work with my Grandfather and he taught me all about the construction industry as he was a successful General Contractor and Architect. Since then I worked for a windows and doors business, a framing company, a commercial construction company, and many of my own jobs. It provided me with summer jobs through most of my college degree. I now continue to build and I have built many of my own projects along the way that are much more fun to share than the remodels, flooring, etc. that I have done.
I grew up doing projects and will continue to start more and learn new things for the rest of my life. I started my projects journey holding the flashlight for my Dad while he changed the brakes on our car and other routine maintenance. That is what led to my interest in cars. Now I enjoy working on them and driving classic cars. Wrenching on cars is one of the things that I enjoy as long as it is not on the side of the road. I find it fun to take something old, worn-out, broken, and not running and turn it into something beautiful and functional. I have gotten a lot of satisfaction out of keeping my ’76 El Camino alive and running well.
In high school I thrived in wood shop class and built a 12 foot dining table for my Mom and the kitchen cabinets for our new home. I am naturally detail oriented and organized. This has led to me finding I am better at doing the jobs that require that they be done right. I was never as good a framer as a finish carpenter simply because a framer is not supposed to do a good job. They are supposed to get the job done and move on. Who cares what it looks like – it’s going to get covered up!
Many of the projects that I like require an eye for detail. I find that a lot of things have to be done right and there’s not many ways to shortcut it. Sometimes you just work till the job is done. I still balance this however and many things that I do I have to remind myself that they don’t have to be perfect. Just done right.
In college I enjoyed learning Chemistry and the problem solving aspect of Chemical Engineering is what led me to graduate in that. I got an odd sense of enjoyment out of sitting in front of a homework problem that I did not know how to do, and then staring at it, thinking about it, and trying different things I was able to come up with the solution. I like to think outside the box and be creative.
I hope you get some enjoyment out of seeing the things I’ve built and I will continue to add to it because I have some very good project ideas for in the future!
