Contributor Profile: Eric Smith

Eric Smith
Location: St Paul, Minnesota
Occupation: Writer and Contributing Editor
Houseblog: Constructive Disorder

Eric is a contributing editor to American Woodworker, Family Handyman and Backyard Living Magazines. Before becoming a writer he was a carpenter and remodeling contractor for 20 years in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has also renovated three houses in the last 25 years, and is currently working (very slowly) on the fourth. In his free time he raises children and makes weird furniture.

I renovated my first house in 1983, and I enjoyed the work so much that I decided to make a career of it. Almost all my work has been in residential remodeling - kitchens, baths, attics, basements, whole houses - basically a little bit of everything. I learned by talking to people, reading books and magazines - and quite often by making mistakes and then having to fix them. Probably the most important thing I learned is that you can do anything as long as you have the right tools and the right information.

I've spent the equivalent of a several years of my life browsing through lumberyards, hardware stores and home centers. I do it for work and I do it in my spare time, and I've never once been bored. I love the sense of possibility latent in all those materials and tools. I used to work with an old-time carpenter who often began his comments about the day's work with the preamble - "Why, a guy could . . . ." Yes, he could indeed.

You can see examples of past and current projects at my blog - http://constructivedisorder.blogspot.com/.

Posted by Eric Smith on March 16, 2006 3:19 PM | TrackBack |

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