A pride of the Twin Cities has always been its beautiful houses. The original trim, antique woodwork, and character of older houses are a selling point for those looking for homes in the city. But when it comes to remodeling, updating, or upgrading them, older houses pose unique challenges for homeowners. That’s where Joe Ring, the owner of Ring Construction comes in. Joe has been constructing, remodeling, and adding to houses in the Edina and South Minneapolis area for a decade with a specific focus on those fine details of older homes during remodels and additions. And it is that knowledge of houses sometimes more than a century old that has served Joe well since Ring Construction opened its doors.
After a brief stint in culinary school, Joe got into real estate early: “I got my real estate license at 18.” Says Joe. And less than a year later, he began working with an investor renovating properties and had already gotten his general contractor’s license. By in working in real estate, Joe quickly realized construction was his passion. “I liked the build process more. In construction there are so many factors and it’s just a lot more fun to see something come together.” Says Joe. And two years after getting his general contractor’s license, Joe “Started a company with a friend of the business for 6 years: Wilson and Ring” says Joe. And it was that first experience with construction in the Twin Cities area that led to Joe starting his own company in 2020 calling it Ring Construction.
Joe’s experience in real estate still guides Ring Construction. Joe remains a fully licensed real estate agent even though he doesn’t sell houses anymore: “Its good to just have both aspects” says Joe. His continued knowledge of real estate remains, “A useful tool to access the MLS, being able to assess how much clients should be putting into a house, and being able to look at the market as a whole and help them make that decision.” On top of that understanding, Joe maintains contacts in real estate so that “If a client is looking for a new property, I can refer them to somebody I trust that will be able to help them.”
And when a client chooses an older home, Joe has an experienced team. “There’s a lot of factors that go into older homes, and you need a lot of experience with those to make sure that you aren’t running into issues during the project. And we have a lot of experience with that. That’s basically all we’ve done the 10 years we’ve been in business,” says Joe. Factors like the plumbing, framing, electrical, to even the use of drywall instead of plaster can be difficult to renovate or work around, especially if these were installed close to one-hundred years ago. Therefore, finding talented crews who understand these difficulties and can work with and around them, is important.
When it comes to the details of trim and stain, some clients don’t want to disrupt the antique character of older homes. Joe takes his craft and craftsmen seriously. The woodworking skills and construction techniques used in older homes are, “Getting harder to find, but we work to recreate the look that’s needed” says Joe. Both his cabinet and carpentry crews work at “Recreating the old trim and trim profiles and cabinet details that you would find in a home 100 years ago,” as well as flooring crews that “Can feather in existing wood floors and do a really good job stain matching to keep everything synced up and looking really nice.” It is because of these craftsmen and experience that Joe can do the work that “fits the home” and not disrupt its character, while at the same time offering modern conveniences.
Despite the rising costs of lumber, metal, and electrical wiring, business has been growing. Because of the pandemic, “People started to spend quite a bit of time at home. They sort of realized they needed to get that remodel done,” says Joe. Recent supply chain issues have also been challenging. Joe cites the doubling or even tripling of window lead times as an example. That pickup in remodeling, however, helps people “Get exactly what they want,” from their homes instead of moving. Ring’s recent project where the homeowners added an addition to double the existing size of the home allowed them to be extremely specific about their wants and needs. Ring’s talent and extensive knowledge of remodeling helped these home owners get exactly what they wanted out of their existing space. This has, and always will be the passion and goal.
For more information on Ring, visit www.justaringaway.com or call (651) 280-0927.
