Curriculum Verdi

I began my life in the building business with E P Maddren & Sons in Auckland, New Zealand in 1980 as an apprentice Carpenter.

My apprenticeship was an 8000 hour commitment in which I spent 6 months at Carrington technical institute learning among other things calculus and theory of design, the balance of my time was spent on projects working under certified tradesmen carpenters. I completed my apprenticeship with the presentation of my New Zealand trade certification.

At 20 years of age I became self-employed, working in and around my home city of Auckland, I took on projects from small renovations, deck additions, farm buildings, homes and even a small resort by the name of The Royal Sunset on a tiny island off the coast on Tonga.

Relocating to the United States…

At 26 I set course for the U.S and made land fall in Charleston, South Carolina, two weeks before Hurricane Hugo. This event supplied me with an introduction into the building scene in the south. I spent two years in Charleston mainly on the south end of Sullivan’s Island. In 1991 I moved to Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. I started a company, Southern Cross Builders. I proceeded to spend the next 14 years building waterfront homes around the Piankitank and Rappahannock rivers with a couple of forays into Richmond, one of which I built a 16,000 square foot French country style home, based on a Stern design.

After visiting the Vail valley yearly since 1993, I took a summer trip in 2003, landed in DIA and rented a convertible and drove to the high country, from there common sense took over and I moved lock, stock and barrel by the first of February 2004. Since that fortunate move I have built three complete homes in the valley and Cordillera, renovated seven condos and numerous other smaller remodels.