Reis Calfayan - CR, CLC, Green Advantage Certified
Founder/Operations Manager

In 1980 Reis Calfayan took his first job as a carpenter's helper. His boss, Mr. Gino Minardi, was an Italian immigrant who specialized in historical restoration work and was enjoying the abundance of work available at this time. The lead carpenter had been a Spanish boat carpenter. Each job was extremely complicated and intricate and Mr. Minardi taught his team to take pride in doing beautiful work, to be honorable businessmen and to be true to the craft. Reis worked for Mr. Minardi as often as possible for five years. During this time Reis learned a good deal about production and carpentry techniques. Reis was eager to learn everything possible & would hurry to get his tasks done to learn something new. Someone was always willing to be his teacher. Directly out of high school Reis joined the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. He quickly became a respected soldier. His knowledge of how structures were put together was fundamental in understanding how to destroy them. His MOS was demolitions. Reis excelled and eventually became a demo sergeant. Upon leaving the service Reis worked for a project management company specializing in the rehab of section 8 & HUD homes. Reis was responsible for the entirety of each of the projects. This position groomed his organizational & project management skills. These jobs needed to be done on time & on budget without fail. The work however was far from rewarding & a few years later he moved to Philadelphia where he joined a crew as a carpenter performing historical restorations largely in Rittenhouse Square. After this company went out of business Reis moved from job to job. He was unsatisfied with the unstable companies for which he worked, the unpredictable work flow & the general attitude of his co-workers. Reis loved to build & even more so, to be challenged. Eventually he started his own business. In 1993 Calfayan Custom Carpentry emerged. Initially Reis’s had one focus: to make his clients happy. He quickly realized that building a company was as hard as building a home. Reis’s instincts & drive urged him to develop his company into much more than the man-and his tools and his truck model that prevailed in the area . Reis wanted to be a professional who offered a professional service for his clients. He knew that his clients deserved better than what the typical contractor could provide.