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By David Greenberg

Bruce Schafer's journey to great building began with a single premise. Do what you need to do to meet your customer's needs. He did not settle on a career in construction in North Dakota, and he did not settle on jobs where he could not contribute his ideas. The result is Schafer Construction of Gainesville — a full-service, custom home builder determined to successfully meet the needs of its customers.

Like many other builders, Schafer got his start through a family connection. In the late 1970s, he was just out of high school in Grand Forks, ND, and his older brother, Mark, helped get him a job with a contractor.

"He said bring a tool belt, hammer, square, nail set and a pencil," said Schafer. "I started training trimming high-end, custom homes."

And it was some serious training. Among other things, Schafer learned to build cabinets and trim on site.

"There were also no pre-hung doors," he said. "We did it all on the construction site. There were the door slabs and other material. We put it all together right there."

During those early days Schafer learned to deal in both residential and commercial projects.

"When we got to the site, it was dirt," he said. "When we left the building was done. We did pretty much everything except the plumbing and electric. There were few subcontractors on each job. It was a great start for me. I learned how to do everything.

Building Edge Magazine™ is the best source in the North Central Florida area for information on the latest trends, products and techniques in homebuilding. Because we are part of the national Building Edge family of magazines, we not only showcase area builders, suppliers and contractors, and their commitment to provide the best possible construction through our feature stories, we can also offer timely articles about national trends in building quality, technique, financial information, legal issues, educational opportunities, events and ethics, as well as insight into the industry in general.