TIMBERPEG^® INDEPENDENT REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS CARTER PILOTS OWNERS THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS WITH PRACTICAL WISDOM AND PERSONAL CHARM.

Carter family’s Timberpeg ^® home and model.

As Timberpeg^® owners, Chris and Jan are well-versed in the fine details of timber frame construction. In fact, they credit their decision to become Independent Representatives to their positive experiences with the company.

“I was in the middle of getting my MBA degree,” says Chris. “We were looking to build a new timber frame home and I was looking to start my own company. Timberpeg^® turned out to be the answer in both cases.

“It was Jan who suggested we become Timberpeg^® Independent Representatives,” says Chris. “After we looked at their homes, I met with Hans Rose, president of Timberpeg South, near Asheville, North Carolina, and we researched the potential for Timberpeg^® homes in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area.”

Of course, Chris was no stranger to the trade. He points out that his father and grandfather are both in commercial construction in a company his grandfather founded in 1934. Chris, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm with business aspirations, didn’t necessarily expect to go into the building industry, but says the “invisible string” pulled him back.

Hans Rose recalls his first encounter with Chris. “He made a great first impression. Chris is a bright guy – a former Navy pilot – and he was ready to transition into a new business venture. He and his family were also ready to build their second timber frame home – a Timberpeg^® this time.”

Since then, Rose has discovered that many Timberpeg^® clients look to Chris as a role model. “He lives the kind of lifestyle our customers tend to enjoy. He’s a real lake guy. He and his family are avid water skiers,” says Rose, “and he’s got a real talent for getting people excited about the process.”

As Chris explains it, part of that talent stems from his personal philosophy about home building – a philosophy he shares with his customers. “I believe that building a home is a chapter change in a person’s life. Getting the customer to realize they can’t bring everything from the past with them is important.”

Another way he builds success into every project is to focus on cost control from the get-go. “I try to talk the project through from the very beginning,” says Chris. “When people are trying to build too much, or build beyond their budgets, the last two months can be very stressful. The earlier my customers are involved in the design, the better.”

“Chris is very positive,” says Hans Rose. “He’s friendly and confident, so he builds his clients’ confidence as well.”

One of the first Timberpeg^® projects Timber Concepts & Construction tackled was in Arkansas. With the aid of the same crew that had recently built his own Timberpeg^® in Knoxville, Chris completed the home, which included a four-story greatroom. He recalls, “It was 32 feet from the floor to the ridge. We had to bring in a crane just to raise the post!” Years later, Chris still uses one of the lead men from that original construction crew.

One of his favorite projects was a Timberpeg^® hearth room for a mansion in Knoxville. Chris says, “It is an ornate hammerbeam room, with tongue and groove throughout the room, all in eastern white pine.”

Chris’s wife, Jan, plays an active role in the business. As Chris explains, “Jan is good at doing shows, advertising, helping with quality control and all the details.” Jan also takes photos and maintains a big book of project shots, and takes the time to color and shade the designs that Chris sketches to give clients a better sense of the finished home.

Today, Chris, who often flies his Cessna 182 to out-of-the-way sites, is noticing some trends. “I build a lot of second homes,” he says, “and they’re smaller, but higher in quality. Some of the primary homes I’m building are following the same trend, small footprints, but very nice. People are also spending more on the public areas in their homes.”

Whatever the trend, Chris’s blend of business savvy and intuition for his customers’ needs will continue to serve him, and Timberpeg^®, well. When customers begin to worry about minute details, Chris quotes Winston Churchill to reassure them that in no time their new Timberpeg^® will feel like home. As Churchill said, “People form buildings, then buildings form people.”