Cypress Construction Christmas Party 2012!

 12/21/12 – Today, we celebrated the year past, and the coming 18th year of Cypress Construction Services with a festive Christmas party at Center Street Grill in Santa Cruz! How grateful I am to have had such a good year that we could come together and take time out to appreciate each other, and the fine folks we’ve worked for this year. As usual, it starts out with a long-winded speech by the boss. As I looked around the table at the 16 talented men (and woman) that work for Cypress, many of whom brought their spouses to share in the festivities, I couldn’t help but think about the past year and the many challenges we overcame to be here.

Next up, a rare viewing of last year’s irreverent video chronicling our history - “Cypress Construction…from the beginning.”

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

 

And it was time to eat, drink, and be merry! Hat’s off to Center Street Grill for the great food, service, decorations, and professionalism. They were so easy to work with!

Then it was awards time. I’m very proud to have awarded certificates and gift cards to the following:

Martin Hernandez – Most Improved Employee

Nick Rahall – Best New Employee

Juan Acosta - Most Valuable Player/MVP

Congratulations to all!

Then it was time for our traditional “Great Moments In Cypress History” where I’ve handed out memorable (good or bad) quotes from various jobs throughout the year, and we all try and remember where the quote came from. Needless to say, many were fond memories, and some that we’d rather forget…

Finally, it was the Secret Santa gift exchange, and wishing everyone a Happy Holiday, and a nice, long 4 ½ day weekend!

Cypress Earns Certified Installer Status from AZEK Decking!

11/30/12 - We are proud to announce that Cypress has earned Certified Installer status from the good people at AZEK Building Products while replacing 82 decks, landings, and stairways at the Oceanview HOA community in Santa Cruz.

Early in the reconstruction project, we were trained in the installation of AZEK decking by Micah Lloyd of AZEK. And throughout the project, various representatives of the company have come onsite and checked our work, and confirmed our installation best practices. 

AZEK decking is truly the gold-standard in decking today. It is lighter than other composites (TREX, ChoiceDek, et al) and wood, and contains no organic materials like composites do. As a "green" building material, it does contain a host of recycled materials. And, unlike all the rest, it comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

  

We're fortunate to be working with Shoreline Property Management of Santa Cruz,  and CMA Management of Livermore on this project. Their professionalism is making this large, and sometimes challenging job run like clockwork. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Gina Poli of Shoreline, Jeff Kearny of CMA, and Jerry Mattos of the Oceanview HOA Board of Directors for their excellent work. Architect Leonard Willis of Redwood Engineering has done a remarkable job with the plans and engineering necessary for the work.

Our own employees - Nick Rahall, Superintendent, and Forest Rayfield, Foreman - have been strong leaders and effective liasons with management, the Board of Directors, and the homeowners.

And I want to thank the homeowners of the Oceanview community for putting your trust in us to bring this project to a successful completion, and for the opportunity to be of service!

Cypress Remodel/Addition by Mark Primack

09/2011 - Aptos, CA

We are half-way through an exciting remodel and addition in Aptos, designed by local architect, Mark Primack. The homeowners, Bill and Susie, have been great partners in this project - Bill, in the unofficial role as Project Manager, and Susie, who has been out sourcing fixtures, finishes, etc. They have extensive remodel experience and are just a great couple to work with!

The project started with a handsome suburban home, and with the combined vision of both Bill and Susie, and Mark Primack, came up with a neo-commercial/residential hybrid design, utilizing metal, stucco, and HardiPanel cementitious siding.

Demo of the existing front of the house was extensive and time consuming, but soon we were laying out walls and pouring the foundation.














Next, came the floor framing and subfloor.

And presently, walls and roof are taking shape!

Hat's off to our fine crew for doing a great job, to Bill and Susie for their excellent support, to Daryl Woods at Mark Primack's office, to John at Buchanan Engineering, Whitlow Concrete, Charles at Green Lantern Electric, Hal at Stiles Plumbing,  and Eugene at Mercury Metals.
Looking forward to seeing the finished product on this one!

Michael Attends CALGreen Seminar in Monterey

6/15/2011 - This week, I attended a seminar on new California "green" building codes. "CALGreen," as it's called, is a body of new, mandatory building codes that went into effect in California this past January, 2011. This code mandates new requirements in new commercial and residential construction. To date, many of the new codes do not apply to remodels/re-construction, but it was said that that within 18 months, most if not all will apply there as well. Some of the code that affects the work we do at Cypress Construction includes:
*Plumbing - New ultra, lo-flow toilets, shower heads, etc.
*Wastewater/storm drain design and implimentation
*Construction waste reduction and recycling
*Low VOC paint
*Etc.
As the green-building movement gains traction in both building departments and the general public, the need for a standardized, comprehensive set of new codes has been slow to take shape. Municipalities draw from the standards set up by private, governmental, and non-profit organizations including the following:
Build It Green - (through which I was certified as a "Green Building Professional")
CALGreen - The state's Building Standard's Commission
LEED - The "gold-standard" of green building, from the U.S. Green Building Council

This seminar was well-organized and informative, and was put together with the help of the Monterey County Business Council and the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development.

Cypress Now Accepts American Express

As of February, we now accept American Express cards for payments. Years ago, we started accepting Visa and Mastercard payments for the work we do, later adding Discover cards, and now AMEX. Especially in these difficult economic times, we do our best to work with our clients to do the things they need done efficiently, economically, and with reasonable payment options. We've even had a client rack up enough points on their credit card from one remodel that they were able to fly to Europe! Go to OUR PAYMENT PAGE.