Thank you, Paragon Construction, for helping to heal us. About ten years ago we had our downstairs bathroom remodeled by an incompetent company that just about drove us insane. As I wrote in our 1996 Christmas Letter:
Laurel…was able to maintain her equilibrium during a seemingly endless series of delays, mixups, and screwups by using a time tested therapeutic tool for stress reduction: almost daily, she would calmly step into the center of the yet unfinished remodeling project, making a sacred space by pushing aside the myriad tools and pieces of sheet rock that littered the floor, then fold her hands in front of her while taking a vital breath of life, and utter a powerful healing mantra: "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!"
What a difference a decade and, more importantly, a different company makes. Recently John Eibert of Salem's Paragon Construction finished some earthquake renovation work that was recommended after we had a seismic survey done by a structural engineer.
Our house was built in 1974, before stricter earthquake codes went into effect. We had wood posts supporting the main floor beams that weren't rigidly connected to either the beams or the concrete pads on which they sit. Our carport was equally shaky. And a large roof beam in our living room wasn't firmly connected to a supporting column.
John and his co-worker did a great job. Plus, they love dogs. And were pleasant company during the time they worked on our house. (John is on the left; the photo shows one of his newly installed unpainted carport support structures).
Paragon Construction doesn't do much work for individual home owners, so we felt grateful that John took our project on. I kidded him about not having any direct presence on the web. Or even an email address. Maybe this bit of blog praise will raise his Internet visibility.
I recall John saying that he was raised in Minnesota. I can believe it. He's got that solid, no-nonsense, straightforward, honest way about him that I associate with the upper Midwest. When he'd sit down with us and talk for a spell, I'd almost forget that he was our contractor. Friend seemed more like it.
"Paragon: model of excellence or perfection of a kind." Yes, John picked a fitting name for his company.
As someone who makes his living in the business I am glad you had a nice experience. It makes some of us look better to the general public.
Posted by: Chuck Butcher | February 25, 2007 at 01:09 AM