Castle Building & Remodeling in Minneapolis laid its foundation in very humble circumstances. “Our owner, Loren Schirber, inherited the company from his father Marty, and it originated out of Marty's basement,” says Marketing Manager Hannah Husemann. “It's a basement dream that turned into what it is today, which is amazing.”
Today, Castle has four showrooms – three in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul - plus its headquarters, and still follows its original mission to focus exclusively on remodeling older homes in the Twin Cities. “As the company grew, Loren saw the value in staying local, staying within our city boundaries, and keeping those older homes in character, while also meeting clients’ personal styles,” she says.
Its design team always tries to use something that is in the home already. “We’re not going to sell you on a big box design, unless that’s really what you want and it fits with your home,” says Hannah. “And, if we don't have access to what you truly want because it’s no longer available, we'll find the best match.”
Although Castle offers remodeling for all types of spaces, inside and out, the company mainly concentrates on kitchens and baths. “With kitchens, our clients do want some of those modern features, like double ovens and a big fridge,” she says. “They're also opening up their homes to have a more open-concept layout, which wasn't common in these homes originally.
“We also have quite a few clients who have gone with the newer white cabinets, but we really have an amazing collection of wooden cabinets that match more with that Craftsman style. The result is really just beautiful, timeless spaces.”
Since many of the bathrooms in older homes are on the smaller side, its designers try to make the most of the space by using small and even floating vanities, as well as pedestal sinks. “Especially if we're doing powder rooms or a second bath, we lean towards the pedestals if the clients are okay with that. It just keeps a more open feel.”
Potential clients will first meet with Castle’s sales team, and then when they give the green light to move forward, designated designers are with them from the start of the project to the very end. They are also assigned a project manager. “All of our managers have years of experience in construction and remodeling,” says Hannah.
“From there, we have an extensive field team that comes with a ton of expertise, or we train them. We have people who specifically focus on one skill, for example, tiling - that is all they do. So, when that person comes in, he's going to do the best job that you need for tile. We also have carpenters, drywallers, and painters, and they all work really, really hard and they're quite skilled.”
When working with an older home, there are specific considerations that have to be taken into account such as ensuring the foundation is sturdy, or if the home is a hundred years old, if it has lead, asbestos or other environmental issues that have to be remedied. “Our team is really well trained and they get all the city permits and we get the people in that we need to check and fix any issues.”
They can also make older homes more eco-friendly by using recycled glass for countertops and backsplash tiles, putting down reused flooring, and even installing solar panels. “We work with a local team here that installs them,” she says.
Castle is also a cornerstone of education. “We want to educate people as much as we can from start to finish so we offer a few different free classes, which will be back up in full swing next year,” says Hannah. “This month we have an in-person event which is our Window Replacement 101. Our special projects division manager runs the classes and it’s open to everyone. We’ve also done home tours like the Remodelers Showcase and other big public events, and we also host our own.”
Castle also believes in supporting local tile, cabinet and other home supply vendors, hiring locally (almost every one of their employees lives within five to 10 miles of one of their showrooms and they’re always looking for more), and by giving back.
“We provide a lot of community support,” she says. “We actually have a Castle bounce house that is free to the public. It goes to a lot of events for nonprofit charities as well as to families for birthday parties and block parties.
“Many of our employees are also really dedicated to the local community. They do their own fundraising for various events and causes. We're just a really giving, loving bunch of friends here.”
To find out more, learn new skills, and/or to seek employment, go to castlebri.com.