Paul Brohaugh Carpentry specializes in small houses, thoughtful additions and creative remodeling. I also build kitchens, bathrooms, basement and attic bedrooms, stairways, porches and decks. I can design your space or use your designs, and I have equipment to do my own excavations and insulated foundations. I also do some standing-seam metal roofing, trims and siding.

My recent specialities have been the "first" phases of a project, the design and permitting of a small home or addition, and the excavation, foundation and framing. I will often subcontract the other portions of a project, or work with homeowners to do their own interior work, or subcontract their own tradespeople for the finishing stages. 

I've been working in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for about 16 years. I'm a very small company, and I normally work on one project at a time, so if I'm working on a new house or addition it will take me a while to get to the next project or bid.

I don't update this web site very often, but you might find some of my stuff on Insta gram under "Paul Brohaugh Carpentry", or you can email me to ask about projects I've done ([email protected])

My rates are based primarily on the labor to put together, build and complete the project, with a wide range of variability based on the materials and features we select together. I can give you a fixed-price bid or charge you hourly for time and materials, plus charges for equipment time, if applicable.

You can do some of the work yourself, too, to save a little money. I like simple spaces that are both cozy and open, plain materials, warm and light woods, thick walls, and windows oriented to capture sunlight. I like to design energy savings into the house, rather than adding gadgets.   

Here are some notes from the company handbook developed at my last office meeting:
(with myself, probably in the IKEA cafeteria, with a veggie dog)
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- bids are free, but done on case-by-case basis subject to availability (see "waiting list")
- time to put together time-and-materials estimates charged at labor rate
- basic labor rate for Paul is about $60/hr (+/- $480/day)
- helpers & subcontractors charged at various rates without markup
- materials billed separately without markup, labor rate charged for material runs
- labor rate charged for necessary office work, permitting work, project consulting, figuring, billing, arranging or delivering equipment or supplies, fixing mistakes and anything else directly or indirectly related to the project
- excavator or skid-steer machine rate $80/hr (2024), plus fuel (or rental costs), plus normal labor rate
- 6-ton dump truck time $40/hr (2024), plus fuel, plus normal labor rate 
- normal minimum for new projects: $5,000 (except design work, see "design work" page)
- "waiting list": I can only consider new projects if I have less than three-months of
 projected work already waiting, and if I think I could start your project within six months