Our Story

My story starts when I was a young boy with scraps of material around the house in Bothell, Washington, disassembling old toys to engineer new creations. It ends with a mission to restore confidence in the building/remodeling industry, focusing work at the highest caliber of quality with elegant and creative solutions to challenging problems.

My Story

At the age of 15, my parents decided to do a remodel and addition to our home. They hired my great-uncle, who had been a general contractor, electrician, and plumber for 40 years, to do the work which allowed me to be his “gopher”. Working with him exposed me to the whole building process, and after a short stint with him after the remodel, I learned to flex my newly-found skills in the backyard building decks and a bridge (pictured above).

I went to work for a cousin who owned a construction business where I spent four years primarily framing new houses in Shelton, Washington. Then the recession hit. Shelton, like a lot of small towns, was hit especially hard. I called my great-uncle to find out if anyone needed a framer in the north end of the Puget sound. Through his network of contacts I went to work for a builder on Camano Island who gave me a set of plans and said “let’s see what you can do.” These were the first houses I primarily framed by myself. I completed several more projects for the same builder before he connected me with one of my favorite contractors that I greatly enjoyed working alongside. We built several large houses together. He also led me to work for a company doing remodels on military bases in Wyoming and California.

I came back to Washington where a contractor I had done several jobs for was just starting a very large remodel on a waterfront house in Edmonds. This was my first taste of high-end/custom finishes and I came to realize that was the kind of work I enjoy the most. I went on to work for a high-end Design and Build company. It was there that I solidified my experience in extremely high-end finishes, working with an award-winning kitchen and bath designer husband and wife team. It was also the most growth for me personally in project oversight and management. I even took part in an idea house of the year for the local 425 magazine. That company was enroute to moving operations to Belize to build a resort, but a serious hand injury cut my time with them short.

Once recovered, I set on a path looking to delve deeper into the business process of construction. I teamed up fellow contractor who was growing his business and needed someone that had a greater construction knowledge base to run the day-to-day operations. In turn, he helped me learn the business. There, I spent nearly five years running numerous projects while growing the company to a sustainable level. Through the process of helping him grow his company I realized that I was ready for my own.

That was the start of Keen Eye Build.

My Family’s Story

My family’s story starts with a strong work ethic. My father started his irrigation company when I was four years old. Some of my earliest memories are of my brother and me riding bikes around business parks while my dad worked during the weekend, which showed us how dedicated he was to his craft. Still to this day he is still one of the hardest working men I know and continues to show his work ethic which is something that I’ve always admired about him. My mother always showed us how dedicated she was to our family by supporting my dad’s business by doing the accounting while raising my brother and me with a strong moral compass. When she decided to homeschool us, she further instilled in us a freedom of creativity that still serves me today. She allowed me to do many projects for her on my childhood home that were not something the average parent would allow you to do. When I was working for my great uncle, it opened up my eyes to how much of my extended family are in the trades or own their own trade companies. That weighed on my desire to be in the trades because I felt it was part of who I am.

I met my future wife, Lynsey, through mutual friends when I was 24 and we instantly connected but didn’t know what was there. We crossed paths numerous times over several months at gatherings and finally decided to go on our first date when I invited her to go snowboarding at Steven’s pass. We found we connected on many levels including music, travel, adventures, and architecture. We spent nearly every day together for 6 months before I had to travel out of state for work. During which time we realized how much we trusted and cared for each other and after a year of dating, we decided to get married. After several years of supporting me in my ups and downs in construction, we decided it was time for Lynsey to quit her job at a grocery store and get her bachelor’s degree in design. Lynsey is currently mentoring with an established designer to further her expertise. Our long-term goal is to work together as a Design and Build firm. We have two beautiful daughters who are already showing signs of wonderful creativity. I hope to be able to pass down all the knowledge I have gained from my family to them.