Many resumes arrive to our office each week. Recently we were in need of hiring rough carpenters for a new project in San Diego. Out of 386 resume reviewed for the position, only 3 seamed most qualified with great references and were hired the next day. Within 2 days they were fired due to lack of competency. Our loyal superintendent told reported that the fundamentals of construction was simply absent from the applicants and that letting them go is justified. It doesn’t take much convincing to recognize the level of competency and experience. It is simply observed by the way a carpenter holds his hammer, to some extent.

I like to think that we in the south west particularly in San San Diego have the competence levels within the likes of our predecessors prior to 1950 but I’m not going to kid myself.  We have few builder/contractor competence here in southern California and I think it’s because of mass building of track housing aimed to make fast cash for the developers. The cheaper and faster they can build them, the fatter the bottom line. This has been going on for decades. This way of thinking produced countless of trade illiteracy work force in our business and countless of badly built homes and building.

I usually don’t like to point out a piece of work and label it as anything at all, let alone label it as ‘bad’. But let’s not keep our mouth shut. In my humble opinion, most builders of today think more is better and dismiss traditional craftsmanship prior to 1950. I must also mention the lack of literacy in today’s architects. Many architects dismiss traditional architecture of the Irving Gill’s and Frank Lloyd Wright’s and the Green & Green’s.

It is of great fortune that we’ve managed to stay busy simply because of our reputation. Word of mouth is most powerful. We strive to follow in the footsteps of the greats in our business and I feel very fortunate to know a few of them.  Keeping the standards high and preserve the fundamentals and the literacy of building construction is our life time goal.

One of the new things we’ve done is create a blog so we can keep you updated on recent construction projects. We’ll write about them and post pictures as we go along, and also add some of our best work into the Projects Gallery.

Thanks for joining us here. If you have any questions we can answer for you, you can fill out the contact form to the right to get in touch with me.

Michel: Thanks so much for keeping us informed on your daily plans. It is a distinct advantage to know what is going on each day on the project. That is so much appreciated.

Pitt – Rancho Santa Fe, CA

We are definitely hiring your company again to do other work on our home. Michel, you and your team have done a superb job with our new addition. It was over the top!

O’Leary – La Jolla, CA

I finally got what I paid for in a remodeling job. What a difference in the job you did on my new Art Deco bathroom. Thanks Michel.

Hall – El Cajon, CA

We had our first dinner party in our newly remodeled kitchen and dinning room and I want to send you this to tell you in writing how pleased we are with your excellent work. We received many compliments from our guests. Many thanks & best wishes.

Cook – San Diego, CA

Thanks again for the outstanding professional service you did on our home. With out a doubt, your team effort and your leadership is outstanding.

Howard – Hillcrest / San Diego, CA

Michel Khozam is a true artisan. He took an idea from us and transformed it into something that exceeded our expectation. Life is full of character building, wallet-lightening challenges, and you’ve helped us significantly with this hurdle! We definitely appreciate your vast array of skills. We really value our relationship with you!

Fee resident, San Diego, CA.

Dear Michel,
I’m loving the back yard patio you build for us…. Thanks for using your sense of sight, balance and beauty. I’m looking forward to having you build our garage.

Davidson – La Mesa, CA