How I Got Started

Well what can I tell you. I originally got my start by hanging rock (wallboard) and mudding screws for Yellow River Drywall that was ran by Don Wick when I was 18 years old. I was introduced to him by my dad. They used to play softball together.

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I learned a lot of the basics back then. Eventually I was worked into taping and painting. Working with Don wasn’t just about work. He was one of the most well liked and funniest guy in Cadott. Everyone loved him. Sometimes he would be singing and the homeowners got a kick out of it.

After a while I branched out on my own. Before I did, Don helped me on a job. He picked on me a little about something, maybe the heights of a cathedral ceiling. He picked on me because I was always saying something about his jobs, how cold it was in the winter hanging a basement, etc… you know it seems there’s always some kind of challenge for every job. Rarely does it go completely smooth, some things are just par for the course.

At first I didn’t have the money to buy stilts, so I made some out of 5 gallon buckets, which was very dangerous. Although not very smart, the desire was definitely there. At that time I also had a whitewashing business. Eventually I let go of the whitewashing because things got too busy and just stuck w/the drywall & paint.

Fast Forward To Today

Today we work for the largest residential contractor in Eau Claire, C&M Construction. We have done the drywall and paint on most of the houses where the 53 bypass crosses over Prairie River Drive (Altoona exit). For 3 years we did either a twin-home or SFH, about one every 3 weeks… that’s a lot of houses!

We also have other contractors and customers that we do work for. We do good work at fair price and we do work pretty fast. We can get a twin home, including hanging the rock through to paint and cleanup done in 3 weeks (15 business days).

When we do a remodel or patch job we try to cover things up so as to keep floors/carpet clean. Any patch work we can match texture pretty good. One nice thing about us is… You don’t have to hire a hanger, taper and painter separate because we do it all. Although I usually sub out the hanging, that’s one less thing for the customer to deal with.

Strengths

Our strengths are Hang, Tape, Text, Prime, Paint

We rosin floors & cover windows, doors, bathtubs, fireplace, etc

We uncover, clean up & sweep.

We can do large or small projects.

We can do new construction or patchwork.

We Also Do

Roofing and build decks. I’ve done 2 asphalt roofs where we had to do tear off, valleys, hips, etc. And recently we did our own house w/steel. On all 3 roofs I did have an experienced roofer or two to help out with the trickier stuff. All roofs turned out good w/no leaks. And our price is really good compared to most.

Important Lessons

If I were to pass on some words of wisdom it would be… If you get too busy, learn when to say no and keep the gravy jobs or get help to keep up. Once you get a customer, keep him because repeat business is gold. Do more than what you’re getting paid for… If you do this, you will always be in high demand. Do good work, have high standards. Always get it done as fast as you can, don’t hurry. Safety first & always. I.e Watch for mud, texture, the slippery stuff, especially when you’re up high or on stairs… remove/wipe it up, sooner the better. Also respect your stilts, watch out for floor drains, wires, extension chords… it don’t take much to send you sailing, make you do the splits, knee surgery or take you out of the game completely.

The Customer Is Always Right?

…Unless you specify in the contract, within reason/being fair.

Henry Ford once said: “The customer can have whatever color he wants, as long as it’s black”

 

You Can Reach Us Anytime

email: kelly@propaintdrywall.com

phone: (715) 575-9353