Christopherson Builders works to establish new homes from the ground up. This involves working closely with our in-house civil engineer, Dick Carlile. What does a civil engineer do? Civil engineers design a broad spectrum of roads, grading, water, sewer, etc. Civil engineers create facilities that people use in their everyday life, including housing, streets, public spaces, and more.
Dick graduated from Chico State in 1961 and has been working as a civil engineer since then. For 4 years he worked for the County of Sonoma in the Public Works Department. He was co-owner of Carlile Macy. Over the course of his career, he has worked in civil engineering, urban planning, and land planning. His projects include the Oakmont, Fountaingrove, and Sea Ranch subdivisions as well as public spaces like Courthouse Square.
Legends on the team: Pete Borgerg, Mechanical and Structural Engineer, with colleague Dick Carlile, Civil Engineer.
Of his projects, he really enjoyed working on The Sea Ranch, as it presented unique challenges. He has worked with golf course architects to lay out four golf courses – one at The Sea Ranch, one in Fountaingrove, and two in Oakmont. The Sea Ranch has a horse barn, lots of trails (walking, biking, and horse), and wild terrain. He really enjoys housing developments because of the community building aspect.
Dick brings almost 60 years of experience to Christopherson Builders. He is a valuable resource for homeowners wanting to rebuild in Sonoma County. Because of his experience designing Fountaingrove and knowledge of local areas like Coffey Park, he has been an asset in helping people determine the right housing plan for their lot. He uses his expertise to help homeowners determine the best plan for them and their lot.
Most people have not had the experience in building a home from a bare lot before the October 2017 firestorm. Dick does preliminary lot lines and gets all the information on the lot. He considers the size and setbacks and then determines which one of the 22 drafted floor plans would work best. There may be several plans that will fit the lot, and the homeowner will get a choice of which floorplan they like best. Christopherson Builders works closely with homeowners to ensure they get the right floorplan for their lifestyle. For example, many people want a single story home because they do not want to go up and down the stairs. However, this requires a larger footprint and sacrifices square footage. Sometimes, it works to do the master bedroom, kitchen, and living room downstairs, with guest bedrooms and a bonus room upstairs. This gives the home plenty of space for visitors.
Dick says, “I’ve known Brenda and Keith a long time, and they are absolutely the warmest, kindest, nicest people to work with. They are down to earth and very loving. They want to help people who lost their homes. They create a great organization with a great team – everybody wants to help.”
Thank you for being a part of the team! Check back in a few weeks for our feature on Pete Borberg.
