Employee Spotlight: Roy Kollar

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I was born and raised in Princeton Mn. Graduated from Princeton High School.  Then attended Dunwoody Institute for Drafting and Estimating. After graduating from Dunwoody Institute, I started working here at Country in February 2001 as a Draftsman.  My primary job here is to meet with customers and design construction projects for them. Anything from decks and garages to new homes and remodel projects.

I currently live in Becker with my wife Lisa and 3 awesome children Corbin, Austin & Katelyn. They keep me busy between Hockey, Lacrosse & Dancing.

Outside of work I enjoy Spending time with family. Whenever possible I like to hunt & fish. Deer hunting, and turkey hunting are two of my favorites.  I also enjoy spending time cooking especially grilling and smoking meats.

Please feel free to stop by or give us a call if you need any help with your next building project.

Thanks

Roy Kollar

Country Lumber DESIGN CENTER

12575 Oakview Ave. Becker, MN. 55308

Phone:    (763) 262-4750

Cell:        (612) 328-2289

Email:      royk@countrylumber.us

The Value of Adding a Deck to YourHome

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Everyone makes certain compromises when buying a new home. Perhaps your home had everything else on your checklist, minus your dream deck overlooking your beautiful, sprawling lawn. If you did need to leave building your deck until you earned more equity in your home or saved up for it in some other way, you are not alone. The North  American Deck and Railing Association (NADRA) reports that, just last year, about 2.5 million new or replacement decks were built in the U.S.

Why Are Decks So Popular? Read more

Employee Spotlight: Craig Theisen

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I started working at country lumber as an estimator in February 2017. I’m proud to say I grew up and spent most of my life in Marty, MN, a tiny little town not to far from here. I have 5 beautiful children, 4 daughters and 1 son, Maranda (25), Kelsey (23), Ben (20), Kendall (12), Sidney (10). In my free time I love spending time with my family, 2nd to that is a passion for the wild turkey, not just hunting for myself anymore, but taking my kids and other people out to experience it and to help volunteer to raise money for all wildlife. I have been in the lumberyard and construction business all my life. At 12, I started doing odd and end jobs at my parents lumberyard and construction company, soon I was a carpenter and running projects by the time I was 18, after high school, I graduated from St Cloud Technical College  with a Building, Drafting and Estimating degree. Then I hung up my apron to go into the family lumber business, with different roles from drafting, estimating and sales. In 2003 I put my tool belt back on and was self employed for 14 years building and remodeling homes and building post frame buildings for agricultural and light commercial. And now, here I am today doing what I enjoyed most, working in a lumberyard, which I was lucky enough to get hired by the great people here at the Country. When you have great people working together like we do here, you end up delivering the best quality of service possible, you, the customer come to expect. So, next time you have a building project in mind, come on over and let us design, estimate, sell and deliver your dream.

Best Regards,

Craig Theisen

UM Arboretum Hsaio-Ho Garden Path.

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UM Arboretum Hsaio-Ho Garden Path. Architecture from the far east!

If you’ve been to the Arboretum in Chaska recently you may have noticed a little commotion and construction on the far southwest side of the facility. This is a new installment for a full Chinese garden path that features vegetation, sculpture and design from the other side of the planet! One particular piece here will most defiantly draw you in and possibly be inviting enough to relax in for a couple minutes, the Peony Pavilion!

 This small but beautiful piece of architecture resembles a 14th century Song Dynasty rest area called a pinyin tíng which is a type of covered structure without surrounding walls and is a traditional part of Chinese culture to this day. These are mostly found along the sides of pedestrian roads and paths and are symbolic in their presence, which is obviously, just a beautiful place to relax and rest. If you’re looking for unique to Minnesota, this is it!

Unique but expensive might be the first thing that comes to mind when you see something like this! Surprisingly, this little gem may not be as completely complex as it seems. Much of the woodworking was assembled offsite and sent to the arboretum as a kit-of-parts. The wood is simple, common and local white pine that was grown and harvested only 300 miles away! A CNC (computer numerical controller), while sounding complex, is actually a router blade that is used to cut shapes out of wood and metal. This machine cut all the decorative panels from pieces of 1×12 pine. Using normal Simpson Strong Tie wood connectors these ordinary items become art! Read more

Townhomes

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If you are looking to build a new home, a townhome may be a good solution for you.

Let’s start with defining a townhome. Townhomes and condos are similar, but typically with a townhome, you own the piece of land that your home sits on. With a condo, you own the space between the walls, but the exterior elements are held in common.

A homeowner’s association (commonly called an HOA) normally is formed when the buildings are built and takes care of the exterior of your home, provides lawn care, and in our climate, takes care of snow removal. In exchange for these services, you pay dues each month. There may be rules on what you can or cannot do in your yard or to your home. Usually these rules protect you as a homeowner, but do your homework ahead of time to avoid surprises. Read more

Employee Spotlight: Jeff Knutson

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I have been part of the Country Lumber family since 1985. I started as a truck driver while I was attending Saint Cloud State. I transferred to Dunwoody to study architectural drafting and estimating. During that time I moved into the office as an estimator and then a part time sales person. After graduation I moved into sales full time. I currently hold the position of President which keeps me busy in many roles from sales to purchasing to overseeing operations. Growing up in Becker it has been a great experience to be able to work for a local company. I currently live in Elk River with my wife Sonja. We have two sons Phillip ( daughter in law Kara) and Connor. I enjoy hunting, fishing, motorcycling, and have recently started kayaking. I like to spend time with my family whenever possible. Country Lumber has always had a family first approach when it comes to their employees. In my opinion the best part of working at Country Lumber is the employees. A great group of dedicated professionals who enjoy what they do while striving to give every customer a good experience.

 

Stop in for a cup of coffee, or just to visit and see why “ We are not just an ordinary Lumber Company”

Deck Railings

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“Beauty Meets Strength”

So, you have your decking picked out for your new deck and now it is time to pick out the railing for it. When choosing, consider strength, distinction, low maintenance, long lasting beauty and a “Made in the USA” innovative company that builds it. This is what you will find when choosing Westbury aluminum railing for your deck project. Here at Country Lumber, we consider all these factors before choosing to stock such a product, and that’s why we chose Westbury to be one of our top deck railing choices, because we know that you, the customer, will be happy and satisfied for years to come with your new deck with Westbury aluminum railings on it. Read more

Employee Spotlight: Pam Robideau

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I have worked at Country Lumber as a salesperson since 1990.  I will say I love working here!  In that time, I have seen many changes in the lumber business as well as at Country Lumber.  I am proud to say Country Lumber strives to be the best in the business.  We have a talented group of employees that are dedicated to the happiness of our customers.  Another thing that makes me proud is the desire each employee has to work as a team to make this a fun and rewarding company to work for.  We listen to each other and try to think outside the box when it comes to ways we can improve what we do.  Outside of working for Country Lumber, I enjoy time at home with my two Dachshunds.  They definitely keep me outside taking walks which I very much enjoy.  I look forward to getting some lake time in with my man Gregg.  I hope to do some fishing but I usually end up laying in the sun and let him catch the fish.  I also enjoy time spent with my daughter Leslie!  She owns a home that seems to always be in some repair.  Her and I have tackled many household projects that may have taken longer than normal but we did it!  Please stop in at County Lumber in Becker.  We would be happy to meet you and show you around.

 

Pam Robideau

Delivery capabilities

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Country Lumber is happy to announce that we have added a truck mounted forklift to our fleet. This will increase our efficiency and will allow us to deliver product to more locations. Imagine having your new deck materials delivered to your backyard, next to your work location instead of carrying them by hand from the driveway. We now have this ability with our new truck mounted forklift. It has 4 way directional capabilities so we can also travel through narrow areas to make a delivery.

 

 

In addition to the truck mounted forklift Country lumber has updated one of our boom trucks to help serve our customers better. We now have two boom trucks and one truck mounted forklift for specialized delivery service.

Stop in or give us a call for an opportunity to experience first class customer service and a variety of delivery options for your project

 

Employee Spotlight: Bryant Richards

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Bryant Bryant-RichardsRichards

I’ve been at Country Lumber since 2012.

I am married and my wife Kelly is a nurse. We live on Clearwater Lake by Annandale and have two wonderful children, Hannah and Will.

I’ve been in the lumber business for 38yrs. First as a draftsman, then cabinet sales, and finally lumber sales.

I grew up in St. Cloud and graduated from Tech. High School. After that I attended St. Cloud Technical Collage and graduated with an associate degree in Building Construction, Drafting, and estimating.

My favorite things to do outside of work are Skiing, hunting, and fishing.

I like working at Country Lumber because I think we have a great crew. We try really hard to take care of our customers and that makes it fun.

Please come visit us at Country Lumber so we can take care of your building material needs!

I hope to see you soon!

Thanks, Bryant Richards