Journeyman Carpenter - Historic Restoration Woodworker

Job Description

Job Description

Position Overview

We are looking for a skilled woodworker (2-5 years experience) with a genuine appreciation for historic architectural restoration and a desire for growth to join our company. [Note: We will also consider entry-level crafts person with transferable hand skills at an appropriate pay range. See our website.] The right person will have woodworking competency (as described below) and be eager to develop your potential in a restoration context. You have skills and experience with both hand and machine tools and take satisfaction in doing precise and beautiful, detail-oriented work. You have an artisanal orientation, meaning your approach integrates structural soundness and functional ease with aesthetic richness. Experience in restoration work is a plus, but we will train you. Strong communication skills and work ethic (defined as honesty and industriousness), as well as a commitment to respectful collegial relations, are essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess, repair, and restore historic wood windows including sash, frames, sills, muntins, and glazing components.
• Repair and restore historic wood doors, thresholds, casing, and associated hardware.
• Fabricate replacement components to match existing profiles using both machine and hand tools.
• Repair and restore other interior architectural elements, including built-in cabinets, fireplace surrounds, staircases, wood trim, wall paneling, interior doors (including pocket doors) and other interior elements.
• Understand and have the capacity to make scarf repairs, replacement pieces, re-build wood joints (including mortise-and-tenon joints) and both repair and replace wood veneer.
• Apply appropriate wood consolidates, fillers, adhesives, bleaches, and finishes in a workmanlike manner.
• Maintain consistency, quality, and economy while doing repetitive procedures over an extended period.
• Prep. and apply painted, stained, and clear finishes.
• Transport tools and materials to and from job sites; maintain a clean and organized work environment
• Communicate clearly and respectfully with the owner, co-workers, and with clients on site.
• Handle and store tools and equipment with care.
• Develop an understanding of and have a willingness to follow personal protection procedures and wear protective equipment when working with toxic chemicals and other hazardous materials (such as lead paint).
• Maintain a commitment to building your own skills in and understanding of preservation and restoration architecture, recognizing that increased productivity enhances self-worth and results in increased compensation.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 2–7 years of experience in carpentry, woodworking, furniture restoration, or a closely related trade which have prepared the person to accomplish the above-stated responsibilities can be fulfilled and through which the following skills and abilities have been acquired.
• Safe, and efficient facility with hand tools: chisels, hand planes, mallets, hand saws, cabinet scrapers, marking tools, and the like. Ability to sharpen and maintain hand tools.
• Safe, and efficient facility with shop machinery: table saw, miter saw, router (freehand and table), planer and jointer, belt sander, scroll saw, and band saw.
• Ability to creatively combine router bits and use table saw to reproduce short runs of vintage profiles.
• Ability to take accurate measurements and work to reasonable tolerances.
• Ability to diagnose problems and develop schedules for restoring architectural elements.
• Basic understanding of wood species, grain behavior, and joinery.
• Reliability, punctuality, and ability to work both independently and in coordination with other crafts persons.
• Rather than mindless engagement in tasks, the ability and initiative to think creatively about ways to restore elements in period context.
• An attitude and ability to integrate structural soundness and functional ease with aesthetic richness. For instance, you understand that a well-restored window is not just operational but beautiful, and that these qualities are inseparable.
• Independent means of transportation and the ability to sustain reliable daily commute to both the shop in the South Shore neighborhood and to job sites across the metro area is essential and non-negotiable — please assess this honestly before applying.
• Provide and maintain own hand tools. (Some specialty tools will be provided.)
• Ability to work discreetly onsite, understanding you are a guest in client's homes.
• Enthusiasm and initiative to grow with and help grow the business by embracing new challenges to expand our reach and reap the rewards of increased fruitfulness.
• Aesthetic sensibility.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in furniture restoration.
• Experience working in preservation and restoration contexts.
• Formal training, apprenticeship, or vocational education in woodworking and/or wood finishing, including use of spray equipment.
• Ability to mix colors to create custom wood stain formulas.

About Us
We are a small, but growing Chicago-area shop specializing in the restoration and period-appropriate enhancement of transitional (windows and doors) and interior elements primarily in historic residential architecture. As our 5-star Google reviews attest (please read), we have built a strong reputation for doing high quality work with integrity and care in a relational approach with our clients. While wood window and door restoration have been our "bread-and-butter" services, the launch of our new website is expressive of our initiative to expand our scope to take on a broader range of projects, especially ones with a strong orientation towards aesthetic enhancement. You will be a part of this exciting expansion! While profit is important, we are also a mission-driven company, recognizing that beauty in one's everyday life is important for the soul's well-being. Respectful and creative commitment to three fundamental principles guides our work:
•\tPreservation and enhancement of architectural integrity.
•\tIntegration of structural soundness and functional ease with beauty.
•\tCelebration of the desirable effects of aging.
We primarily work in the residential sector (though not exclusively) because home owners care deeply, as do we, about their dwelling places.

Company Description

About Us\r\nWe are a small, but growing Chicago-area shop specializing in the restoration and period-appropriate enhancement of transitional (windows and doors) and interior elements primarily in historic residential architecture. As our 5-star Google reviews attest (please read), we have built a strong reputation for doing high quality work with integrity and care in a relational approach with our clients. While wood window and door restoration have been our "bread-and-butter" services, the launch of our new website is expressive of our initiative to expand our scope to take on a broader range of projects, especially ones with a strong orientation towards aesthetic enhancement. You will be a part of this exciting expansion! While profit is important, we are also a mission-driven company, recognizing that beauty in one's everyday life is important for the soul's well-being. Respectful and creative commitment to three fundamental principles guides our work:\r\n•\tPreservation and enhancement of architectural integrity.\r\n•\tIntegration of structural soundness and functional ease with beauty.\r\n•\tCelebration of the desirable effects of aging.\r\nWe primarily work in the residential sector (though not exclusively) because home owners care deeply, as do we, about their dwelling places.