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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."

Photo by David Johnston. One of the most distinctive features of this Schafer home on a horse farm in Jonesville is the accented, copper-metal roof.

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.

"After a few years, I needed to get into a warmer climate," he said. "One year we got lucky, and had an inside job. In fact, it was a mild winter with temperatures often reaching the mid 30s. Ironically, the job involved adding an insulated, raised subfloor and duct work to heat a concrete floor inside a five-story-tall freezer, and the temperature was maintained at minus five."

Following in his dad's footsteps, Schafer decided to enlist in the military. Schafer joined the U.S. Navy. He says it is a date he will never forget because it was leap day — Feb. 29, 1980.

"My father served in the Army," he said. "I considered all branches including the Air Force which had a local base. I ultimately joined the Navy to be closer to the water."

Schafer spent six years on submarines, and living near the Navy base in New London, CT. A friend had an excavation business, so in his off hours, Schafer ran a backhoe for him, and helped him build stone walls.

He left the Navy in 1986, and went to the University of Rhode Island to study civil engineering. He graduated at the top of his class and came to the University of Florida to earn a master's degree in structural engineering.

"I was offered an assistantship to UT Austin and the University of Florida," said Schafer. "My future wife, Rana, who was a student at UF, convinced me to move to Gainesville, so I accepted the offer from UF."

What Schafer did not yet realize was the one constant in his journey was construction. Whatever he was doing, he was always in and out of construction work.

After earning his graduate degree, Schafer went to work for Exxon in New Orleans, where he was part of the offshore production group, supervising the design and installation of oil rigs.

"Exxon was a great experience but I realized that I preferred a more intimate environment, and I really wanted to do structural design," he said.

But Schafer still had one more stop to make on his journey back to Gainesville.

"I had interviewed earlier with a small structural design firm in Tallahassee," he said. "I heard from them, and two weeks later, I made my way there."

Schafer spent a few years in Tallahassee doing structural engineering work for architectural projects there. But by this time, he knew that he wanted to be in Gainesville.

"Rana and I were still dating, and she stayed in Gainesville the whole time," he said. "I moved back here in January 1994."

Photo by David Johnston. Each home is different with Schafer Construction. In this case, the homeowner wanted a lot of frontage and windows.

One night, he and Rana went to dinner with a local commercial contractor. He was looking for project managers, and offered Schafer a job.

Schafer enjoyed working on large projects such as the Brain Institute and the Physics buildings on UF campus.

That allowed Schafer to come full circle back to construction, but bring with him years of experience — both traditional and non-traditional. While working with the contractor, Schafer obtained his general contractor's license, and shortly after his son was born, he started Schafer Construction of Gainesville in January 1997.

"I started with three lots at Haile Plantation," he said. "While I was building my first spec home, I had the opportunity to start a complete custom home on my second lot in Haile, and realized that is what I really wanted to do."

Schafer has focused on building custom homes. He also enjoyed working on some additions to existing houses.

"The majority of our business comes from referrals and real estate agents," he said.

Building a home with Schafer Construction of Gainesville is like working in a onestop shop.

"You can come in here with an idea or concept, and we can design the floor plan and build it," he said. "These are true custom homes, based on what the customer wants."

Schafer has built anywhere from 1,250 to 5,500 square feet. But it is the customer's budget and desires that dictate the size home to build. He builds anywhere from four to eight homes a year.

"We give homeowners a lot of leeway in design," he said. "Most of our customers do their own interior decorating. I help when they want it. At the end of the day, it has to be two things — a job I enjoy working on, and a home in which they will enjoy living."

Schafer likes to utilize his engineering background. When he and the customer are working on design, he can picture how to build that home in a structurally sound and cost-effective fashion.

Also, Schafer is the superintendent on all his jobs.

"When you are talking to someone at Schafer Construction about your home, you are talking to the builder," he said. "I try to get to every job every day. And if need be, I can still pick my hammer up, and do what needs to be done."

And again with his engineering background, when Schafer is inspecting something, he knows when the job is done right, and when it is not.

"I wear every hat," he said. "I am the sales person, designer, superintendent, warranty person and sometime marriage counselor."

Schafer built a 3,800-square-foot home in Archer for Lisa and Chuck Childs. She says that the best thing about the process was the way Schafer communicated with them.

Photo by David Johnston. The towering, brick fireplace is clearly the focal point of this living room, which also has a symmetrical look because of the balance created by the windows.

"We came from Atlanta, and didn't know the area or the people," she said. "Our banker recommended Bruce. He made me feel good from the very beginning. He was easy to work with, and that was very important because we had never built before. He listened to the things we wanted. I had two plans in mind. He said he could combine the two plans, and we loved the result."

Chuck Childs is an engineer, and, as a result, Lisa Childs says they were able to communicate effectively.

"There were no surprises," she said. "Chuck really liked the fact that Bruce was not just a manager of contractors, but he understood building, and could build himself. They talked the same language. Everything was straight forward — from the budget to the timeline. I would use him again, and recommend him."

Schafer designed and built a 3,700-square-foot home in northwest Gainesville for Steve and Carol Gillis in 2005. "We came to him with some drawing we had done on notebook paper," said Steve Gillis. "We asked him if he can make this happen. Through meetings back and forth, and his expertise, we got what we wanted."

Building a home in late 2004 and early 2005 was an even greater challenge than normal because of tropical weather, said Gillis.

"It was a unique time to build because of the hurricanes," he said. "The two that hit our area really impacted us. They put our building process in flux. Bruce put us back on schedule. He communicated with us constantly, and kept us in the information loop. For that reason alone, I have recommended him to others. And assuming I ever build again, he would be our first choice."

Regarding warranty, Schafer does what it takes, no matter what it says on a piece of paper. In one home, a leak did not appear until two years after the fact.

"We fixed the leak," he said. "We took off the acrocrete, and removed the insulation. The area was allowed to thoroughly dry and we refinished it as if we were never there. The bottom line is if it is something we did, we will fix it."

Photo by David Johnston. The bathroom in this recently completed home in Saddlebrook Farms features an oversized jetted tub, extensive tile work and a ceiling fan.

Rana Schafer, who is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, M.M. Parrish Realtors, said she watched her husband take this journey, sometimes long distance, and knows that it was a process he had to take to get to where he wants to be. She remains very involved in all aspects of the company and homeowners.

"With his engineering background, Bruce brings a unique perspective," she said. "He knows during design where a beam should go. That doesn't have to be figured out later, and that keeps costs down. He tries very hard to keep his homeowners within budget or very close to it."

She says that Schafer brings flexibility to the homebuilding process as well.

"His customers generally work full time," she said. "That means they may need to meet nights or weekends to make it work. He can and will do that. This is a family affair, and we are happy when our homeowners bring their children with them. Our kids enjoy interacting with other kids."

That does not mean family does not come first in the Schafer household — because it does. It has to with two children — Alex, 12 and Geena, 9.

"When he was working for the commercial contractor, we had just started our family," she said. "He wanted to work for himself, so he started Schafer Construction. Working from home, it gave him something that fathers don't often get — time to bond with a new son. Everything fell into place. Work may be 24/7, but family comes first around here."

For both parents, the work schedule is flexible, and is often structured around children activities, and volunteering at school.

When it is not work or family, Schafer finds a little time for his other passion, which — not surprisingly — involves using his hands. He enjoys rebuilding cars. In his garage, there is a 1972 Pontiac that he rebuilt, and a 1964 Nova that he is just about to start.

"I did everything but the paint on the Pontiac," he said.

So from a cold start, and with many interesting and unusual stops along the way, it has been an interesting journey for Schafer, and now he gets to do what he wants — build custom homes.

To learn more about Schafer Construction of Gainesville, Inc., call Bruce at (352) 376-5608 or visit his website at www.schaferconstruction.com.