#MeetWilden – Dave & Mike Chatham

Time to ‪#‎MeetWilden‬! Say hello to Wilden Builder – Dave & Mike from Chatham Homes:

 

1. Tell us your company story:

Owner, Dave Chatham, started building homes more than 25 years ago after transitioning from the window and door business. Early in his career he was building spec homes in the North Glenmore area and was quickly recognized as a quality builder. This allowed him to break in to the custom market and he hasn’t looked back since. Applying his attention to detail on every project, whether it be a high end custom or a renovation, has seen a stellar reputation grow in the competitive Okanagan market.

 

2. Tell us about the people behind your company:

Dave Chatham is the founder/owner/operator of Chatham Homes. His lifelong passion for carpentry saw him become foreman of a local window and door shop at a very young age, and his hunger to apply his vision and skills on an even larger scale drove him to start his own home building company. His dedication and hard work over the years has paid off and he has built a legacy to be proud of.

Dave’s son Mike has now joined the family business as well. Mike worked previously as a journeyman electrician and has enjoyed a smooth and natural transition into home building, under Dave’s close mentorship. The two hope to continue to build their family business together and provide Okanagan residents with high quality homes.

 

3. Tell us how you first got involved in building homes?

In seeking to expand his career into the home building industry, Dave was offered a job in the small border town of Midway by an in-law. Dave temporarily moved his entire family away from Kelowna to Midway and enjoyed executing a successful build. Upon returning to Kelowna, Dave knew he was a natural and this was what he wanted to do with his life and continued to pursue building contracts. It didn’t take long to start gaining momentum and Chatham Homes has been growing ever since.

 

4. What’s your company’s secret super power?

It might not be so secret, but Chatham Homes is family owned and operated. The people handling your project day to day are the actual owners of the company. We enjoy being hands on and our vested interest makes us uncompromising in our attention to detail.

 

5. What do you wish other people knew about the process of building a home?

That the quality of workmanship varies vastly. Doing a project the cheapest and the quickest should never be your only priorities. For us, it is about getting the high quality workmanship and products at a fair price.

 

6. What are some of your favourite ways to relax and play in the Okanagan?

We are a family that loves to entertain. Hosting gatherings of friends and family while enjoying the beautiful scenery that Kelowna has to offer, is our idea of a weekend well spent.

 

7. If you were to build your dream house, what are some must-haves you would include?

Again, we love to entertain. Our homes would reflect this in their layout, from an open concept in the common areas, to multiple guest bedrooms for out of towners, and an outdoor entertainment space complete with a pool.

 

8. What is one common misconception about building a home?

A custom home doesn’t come with an instruction manual. It is our job as builders to gather all the information needed and formulate an intricate and lengthy plan that can be properly executed by hundreds of people.

 

9. If you could give $1M to charity, which one would you choose?

If we could choose 2. Our family has lost 2 grandfathers to disease. One being leukemia, and Alzheimer’s, the other. Money towards research and a cure would be well placed on these two vicious diseases.

 

10. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about your company?

We do renovations. A renovation project can often be more challenging than a new build and requires a lot of patience and creativity. You can’t always predict the roadblocks that a renovation can throw up and for this reason, many builders only do new builds. By continuing to pursue these projects, we keep ourselves versatile and current in all facets of the residential market.

 

11. If you weren’t building homes for a living, what would you be doing instead?

Dave would likely be woodworking (cabinets, furniture) or another job that requires intricate coordination towards a big picture end goal. He could plan weddings!

Mike would likely be teaching, a natural skill for electrical code and theory saw him enjoy 4 years at the top of his class in trades school and at one point a transition to the front of the classroom felt like a strong possibility.