Can He Draft It? Yes He Can! - Colin Freichels

Colin is our head drafter at Thomsen Homes. This tall, wonderfully dressed dude (seriously his style is on point!) is as witty as they come. He's always got a good joke to tell and is up for a conversation about music and life. He keeps the Design ladies' area in check and also keeps them in line when building a house. I mean, he IS the one building it out! He brings a health of knowledge to his role and we couldn't be more happy to have him on out team! What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?  I’d play as many different instruments as I could. What fictional place would you most like to go?  Middle Earth from The Lord of the Rings books. Look at your last song listened to on your phone. What is it?  Your Love (Déjà vu) by Glass Animals Must pick one! Shark diving, bungee jumping or sky diving?  Can I pick all three?! If I had to pick one, I’d go shark diving. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what movie and why?  The first Guardians of the Galaxy. Flashback to when you were 10 years old. What did you want to be when you grow up? I was never really a kid who dreamed of doing this or that. But I had quite the interest in computers and taking anything I could apart to try to fix them at that age. What is your most recent TV binge and on what streaming service?  The Iron Fist on Netflix What is one of your favorite smells? Almond Extract. I smell that and I’m insta-hungry. Describe your perfect pizza? Stuffed crust, lots of cheese, and pepperonis that are just starting to get crispy on the edges. What’s the title of the current chapter of your life?  Something quarantine related seems too obvious… maybe, Building for the Future Who inspires you to be better? My wife: She’s the kindest, most organized, and most caring person you’ll ever get the privilege to meet. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?  People tend to ask me for advice. What are some small things that make your day better? Snuggles from my Golden Retriever, getting to sneak in some woodworking in the evening, and that cool feeling when you first crawl into bed in the evening. What’s a typical day like for you at work? Prepping plans for design meetings, making changes to house plans, completing and submitting permitting paperwork with various cities, communicating structural changes to truss companies, doing various take-offs for pricing estimates, checking if houses fit on certain lots, reading up on city codes, and coming up with new plans, layouts, or solutions to issues. Oh, and replying to lots of emails. What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?  I’m able to easily visualize a 3D concept of a house from just looking at the plans and drawings. That helps me catch potential issues and fix problems. I have a little design background as well so that helps with adjusting layouts. What do you love most about your job? I get to draw houses every day. But mostly the people.