Wells Works Construction builds on diversification

Since moving their company from California to Ozark in 2003, Eric and Victoria Wells have made a name for Wells Works Construction as a source for everything from simple handyman jobs to full-scale remodels.

Victoria Wells said the couple knew they didn't want to raise any children they might have in California, and when they came to the Ozarks, they liked what they saw.

"We actually didn't know anybody when we came out here," she said.

The company performs handyman and maintenance service for residential and commercial customers, but its focus is residential remodeling and what she calls seamless additions.

"We really try to ... redo something so that if someone comes through and they've never been to your home, they think that's the floor plan you've had the whole time."

Something else that sets the company apart, she said, is its willingness to take out load-bearing walls.

"It is rather frightening, because a load-bearing wall actually supports the entire structure of the home, so if it's taken out incorrectly, what will happen is the house caves in on itself, pretty much," she said.

Removing those load-bearing walls is an extensive undertaking.

"You can actually take that whole load-bearing beam that runs the whole length of the home, and as long as you have enough attic space, you can take that out and put in (laminated veneer lumber)," Wells said. "This ... supports all of the load, and new brackets are put in, and you build temporary walls as you are taking out the main structure, insert this into the attic space and put it all back together with all the joists and the rafters."

Belt-tightening

The company's handyman and maintenance services are available for $35 to $45 an hour, and larger jobs vary by bid price. The company posted 2008 revenues of $1.2 million, up from $650,000 in 2007, Wells said, noting that the smaller maintenance and handyman jobs have helped keep crews busy between larger projects.

While the economy hasn't brought a steep drop in the number of jobs for Wells Works, Wells said the recession is affecting individual projects.

"We have seen people tighten their belts a little bit," she said. "Whereas they might have gone all the way for their dream kitchen, now they're like, 'We need the new kitchen, but we've got to pick more economically friendly product to be putting in.'"

Overall though, she said the business has been steady because people still realize that their homes are their biggest investment.

"They realize putting that money back into it, that the market is going to get better, and I've seen a lot more people remodeling rather than moving," she said.

Customer Jo Moon's extensive remodeling project was born of necessity after a burglary at her Springfield home resulted in a fire that caused extensive damage. She already had used Wells Works on some small jobs, and she enlisted the company's services after the fire.

"Wells Works came in, removed all the charred contents on our behalf," said Moon, a clinical hypnotherapist. "The house itself was so severely smoke-damaged that it had to be stripped down to the studs." It took about two months after the fire to settle things with the insurance company, so by the time Wells Works crews got to work, the water used by firefighters had been sitting in the house for awhile.

"That was the horrendous mess that they came into. All of the flooring had to come out, the ceilings, the insulation. The siding on the house was destroyed from the heat on the interior," Moon said. "They ... have rebuilt me a charming new bungalow."

And her praise isn't just reserved for the Wellses, either. She made several unannounced visits to her 1,300-square-foot home during the renovations, and came away pleased at what she saw from the company's 14 employees.

"Not once in all of my unannounced (visits) did I ever find someone on the crew who was sitting around and not doing their work," she said. "Their guys know their stuff."

Wells handles design, estimating, marketing and running the business office, while her husband is the lead foreman on all jobs.

Most of the work is done by the company's employees, though she said roofing is subcontracted to Acclaimed Roofing, and multiple companies are used for cabinets and countertops.

Reaching women

Part of Wells Works' outreach efforts also entail working at women's events, and Victoria Wells said she often talks about construction-related issues with the women she meets.

"One of the things that we remind the women is that you need to be very secure with who it is you're letting into your home," Wells said. "We do drug screenings and background checks on all of our guys, and if I don't trust them in my own home, I won't put them in someone else's home."

Retired librarian Dorothy Davidson met Victoria Wells at a women's night hosted by her chiropractor's office. She won a $25 gift certificate, which she used toward the first of several jobs she's hired Wells Works to do at her Greene County home, which was built in the 1930s.

"The first thing I had done was to put in a new ceiling in a room where the ceiling was falling down," Davidson said. "They have rewired the house, at least most of it. They have put in a new electrical box (and) put in a generator panel so I can switch to a generator if I need to. They have put in a tankless hot water heater and out of my bathroom, they created a little room to put in a washer-dryer combination, and they built me a new bathroom out of the remaining space, and it's beautiful."

Davidson's also pleased with the new porch Wells Works put on her home.

"It's always been just a cement stoop out in front, and I told them I wanted a covered porch with a roof, and ... I said I wanted white railing on either side, and I wanted to have a porch swing, and they did it all," she said. "Everyone said the house looks so much better. It looks finished with a porch, and it looks bigger, and I like that."

Her projects list is far from finished. Davidson said she has some more ceilings that need to be redone, and she wants to replace some flooring.

Davidson said one reason she likes working with Wells Works is because of Victoria's presentations and knowledge.

"She can visualize things and tell you what's possible and what probably isn't possible, and which way you'd be spending more money, and which products are available," Davidson said.

Forging ahead

The company has booked jobs into December, Wells said, noting that kitchen remodels are popular right now, as the company has done five in the last four months. Work on master suites and bathrooms also is common, she said, and during the holidays, work will likely pick up for painting, flooring and crown molding as families prepare to host guests.

Recent commercial work includes a renovation at Greene Haven Nursing Home, now known as Jordan Creek, where crews remodeled patient rooms, common areas and ceilings, and added a 50-foot-by-100-foot portico.

But the company's bread-and-butter is still the work it does in individual homes.

"We love the residential and we love the remodeling, because there's always new, fun challenges at every turn," Wells said. "You never quite know what you're going to get into when you open up a wall."