Family Roots
I grew up around the trades.
I grew up in the construction business in Whatcom County. My family owned Sturtz Plumbing and Heating, and my grandfather developed land and built houses. Construction was part of the world I knew from the beginning.
My first customers were the neighbors.
I have been self-employed since I was five. I started by mowing lawns for neighbors, then took on a Bellingham Herald paper route, delivering as many as 150 papers a day.
Those were my first businesses, long before I had a crew or a work truck.
Starting in 1990
From painting and landscaping to a growing crew.
At 20, I started my construction business with a focus on painting and landscaping. By the time I was 25, I had 20 employees and 10 work trucks, working as a painting and drywall contractor.
We stayed busy for years. Then the Great Recession changed the direction of the business.
A New Direction in 2008
Working directly with the people who use the spaces.
During the 2008 Great Recession, I decided to rework my business. I shifted my focus to working directly for homeowners and businesses as a repair, maintenance, and upgrade remodeling contractor.
That is the direction Sturtz Finishes continues today: helping people take care of the places where they live and work.
The People Behind the Work
Helping others build a life in construction.
Today, I employ a crew of four to eight great human beings. I enjoy teaching them the different trades and watching them develop.
More than 20 of my former employees are now self-employed themselves. I am happy I could be part of their story and help them find construction as their life’s work.
“I enjoy teaching them all the different trades and seeing them develop.”David Sturtz