Archive: Around Town

How many times have we heard complaints about un-handy handymen or fix-it folks who broke more than they repaired?  They're usually uninsured, and seemingly don't care about their reputation.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a construction company that did great work on small jobs, with super-qualified workers, for a very reasonable price?  Wouldn't it be nice to know they have a solid gold reputation in the community, and that all their workers are not only fully-insured, they also have health insurance?  Wouldn't it be extra-great if they were green-oriented builders who could give me the best latest advice on energy conservation and green products and practices? And wouldn't it be something if the profits went to supporting a non-profit that worked on important issues?  Like Newman's Own, if you're going to buy salad dressing, the money may as well go to a good cause.  If I'm going to remodel my home, add on, or simply repair what's there, wouldn't it be nice to also support affordable housing, or green housing, or housing for poor people worldwide?  Wouldn't that be Too Good To Be True?

Well, it's true.

Community Building Works!  Inc., (CBW) a four-year old 501 (c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to build green affordable housing locally and internationally.  While they were between jobs building new homes, people from all walks of life asked if they'd also be able to do small jobs, ranging from kitchens, decks, bathrooms, chimneys, roofs, stairways, shelves, refinishing floors, repainting and refinishing.  To keep the crew going between larger projects, they took on these jobs, and discovered a huge niche -- someone who is reliable, capable, knowledgeable, and honest.

"The fact that the so-called 'profit' on these jobs went to support CBW's mission-related work just seemed to be icing on the cake for our clients," said Jack Jensen, CBW's Executive Director.  "Although we don't use volunteers on these types of projects, we found our schedule to be completely full with requests to do smaller projects.  So, even in the midst of an economic downturn in our industry, we've been busier than we can handle, and have spun off a complete crew specializing in smaller projects."

They called their new division the "2Good2BeTru Crew," based on a note left on her new countertops by a satisified customer Mica French.

Part of their success is due to their good natures.  All three either formed or joined CBW because they enjoyed working with volunteers, which translates into good customer relations.

"I'm the gruffest of the three -- but you want a cold hard eye sizing up the problem," said Jensen.  "But the two younger (30-ish) guys were hired as much because of their people skills as their construction experience.  Now, having built a few CBW houses, their skill level is very high -- they can and have done everything in a house from foundation to hanging the bathroom mirrors."

Gideon Stone, an experienced carpenter and graduate of Cornell's College of Architecture, and Nate Litwin, a former lawyer turned carpenter so he could have a green impact on the world, handle the bulk of the on-site work, along with CBW's usual subcontractors for plumbing and electrical specializations. 

"One notion we have to dispel with clients has been that volunteers will be working on their house.  That's not the case -- we don't use volunteers on 2Good2BTRU Crew projects."

The trouble-shooting, design, estimation, and supervision is by Jensen, who has 39 years experience as first a union carpenter, then a Cornell architect, a designer/builder, a non-profit construction manager, developer, and for the last 15 years as a national consultant, trainer and curriculum development on construction, development, and green building for governmental organizations and non-profits.  He also designs and builds the new CBW homes projects, using volunteers on those projects.

"When you're renovating somebody's kitchen, for example, we're in your house for a couple of weeks," Jensen noted.  "If you aren't pleasant to be around, as well as getting their job done efficiently, you're going to have problems.  So far we have 100% approval from all our customers."

"It seems that every job we do, our customers tell us horror stories of some other contractor they've hired.  We're not above making mistakes, but as a community-based organization, you know that our biggest priority is our reputation," said Stone.  "So we keep the job neat, we think things through, and we take pride in a great job at a great price."

They're all long-time members of the Ithaca Green Building Alliance; Stone was highly instrumental in Cornell's 2008 Solar Decathalon entry, and Jensen built his first solar-powered home in 1978.  All of CBW's homes are super-insulated, solar-powered, and use the greenest building materials possible, and are sold to families earning less than 80% of the area median income.

"At the end of the day, you're not only helping the environment, the local affordable housing problem, but you're also making an effort towards international peace, simply by hiring us to fix your home -- money you were going to spend anyway," Jensen said.

Three CBW-ers are going to Pucara, Ecuador in April to help build a home in for a needy villager.

"You can sign up to volunteer on projects, arrange to go overseas with us, or hire us to do work, by visiting our website," Jensen noted.

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