HARD  WORK  AND  FAMILY VALUES  BUILT  THIS  BUSINESS

By  Shelley  Little (Quad Cities Times Staff Writer)

Born  just  south  of  Blue  Grass,  Iowa,  Frank  Ehrecke  is  aself-proclaimed  country  boy. By  combining  his  energetic, rural  work  ethic  and  his  friendly  farm-boy  roots,  Ehrecke  has  grown  his  construction  business,  Ehrecke Construction,  from  apart -time  hobby  to  a  booming  family  business.

"I  really  like  to  take  a  personal  approach  to  all my  jobs. The  respect  we  have  for  our  clients  wants  and  needs  is truly  the  center  of  my  business.  During  a  remodeling  job,  we  greet  our  clients  in  their  homes  every  day  —this takes  a  special  attitude  and  personality  to  be  successful,"  Frank  Ehrecke,  owner  of  Ehrecke  Construction,  said. 

Ehrecke  began  his  construction  career  in  1975  when  he  was  afull-time  employee  at  the  Rock  Island  Arsenal  in their  Machinist  Apprenticeship  Program.  "Wages  were  low  during  the  apprenticeship,  so  I  subsidized  my  income with  weekend  construction  jobs,"  Ehrecke  said.

This  construction  moonlighting  continued  throughout  Ehrecke's  Arsenal  career,  "I  would  use  my  `vacation  time'  to do  larger  projects  including  home  building,"  Ehrecke  said. 

Finally,  in  2001,  Ehrecke  and  his  son,  Joe,  officially  established  their  remodeling  and  construction  business.  Son,  Joe  Ehrecke,  took  the  helm  for  the  first  few  years,  and  used  his  extensive  knowledge  of  construction  to  buildupthe  business  name.  

"Joe  had  previously  worked  for  one  of  the  Quad  City  area's  premier  home  builders,  Terry  Knutsen  of  Terry  Knutsen Builder  Inc.,  and  after  moving  to  Chicago  he  worked  in  construction  with  his  Uncle  on  exclusive  projects  such  as the  renovation  of  the  Frank  Lloyd  Wright  Avery  Clooney  house  in Riverside,  Illinois,"  Ehrecke  said  with  apparent pride  of  his  son's  hard  work  and  skill  set.

Ehrecke  Construction  now  consists  of  Frank,  son  Joe  and  Jay  Meyer,  afull-time  associate.  The  team  also  has  a part-time  accountant.

"We  specialize  in kitchens  and  bath,  but  we  have  literally  done  everything  from  whole  house  remodels  to remodeling  a  single  bath,"  Ehrecke  said.

With  the  baby  boom  population  reaching  50  years  old  or  more,  Ehrecke  has  seen  a  substantial  increase  in remodeling  to  suit  this  demographic.

"I  have  done  a  lot  of  room  additions  that  involve  main  floor  master  suites  and  bathrooms,  zero  entry  walk-in showers,  and  3  foot  doorways  —these  all  allow  for  a  more  user-friendly  home  environment  and  more  importantly, allow  people  to  `age  in place'  where  they  are  already  content  and  comfortable,"  Ehrecke  said.

"Overall,  Joe  and  I  have  found  the  pertect  career!"  To  learn more  about  Ehrecke  Construction  please  call  Frank  at (563)  343-2473  or  visit  their  website  at  www.ehreckeconstruction.com