Jay Cates started his on-the-job training with his dad at 15. Initially, Judd had him learning the basics: cleaning up job sites, picking up lumber and doing lots of sweeping. But soon Jay went on to learn the art of carpentry, and the right way to put walls together. Eventually, his father taught him how to read plans and lay out the framing of the house. This experience has proved to be invaluable since Cates works with world renown architects.
As Jay states, “If an architect can draw it, we can build it.”
Today, Jay is the initial contact with clients, and has the responsibility of pricing, bidding and beginning the building process. During each project, Jay makes sure the foundation of each home has been laid out perfectly. Then he is free to move on to begin the next project. But Jay always goes back to see each home after it’s completed. “When I see that finished project, I feel proud of having another job well done,” he says. That, of course, goes to the core of the Cates family work ethic.
Jay was educated at the University of Minnesota, where he was captain of the Gopher hockey team. From his years spent as team captain, he gained his sense of leadership. Jay’s skill as a natural leader, in combination with his early years spent learning how to build homes, has made him a first-rate contractor.
Jay also captains his two rambunctious boys and takes great pleasure in coaching them in hockey and, like his father before him, teaching them how to hunt and fish. |
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