Paul Dobler of PD Design Build
Architectural Designers, Builders and Craftsman
Our designs are inspired by knowledge of materials, building practice, environmental context and a belief in sustainable design. Paul Dobler, principal of PD Design Build, worked for a decade as an architect and fifteen years as a carpenter, cabinet maker and builder. He combines his love of architectural design with his love of craftsmanship. The original definition of the word architect meant master builder. Originally architects were the designers, engineers and construction managers of a building but over time these skills were relegated to different entities. Paul believes that the practice of design building is a process that allows a harmony between the user and the designer, resulting in beauty
Paul created a privacy addition to our 12-year-old deck and performed much needed repairs on this deck as well. His craftsmanship and sense of design are superb, which helped us as we were not quite sure what kind of structure could maintain an open feeling on our deck while ensuring that we did not have to see the alley and street near that side of our house! Additionally, he had to come up with some ingenious ways to repair some premature rotting in particular areas of the deck. In all, his work created a much-needed finished look to our recently redesigned patio-backyard. Despite some extra work Paul had to do, he kept the project within budget. Paul has posted some good photos of our project on his website.
In addition to being a highly skilled carpenter, Paul of PD Design build has a broad range of talents. His work is exceptional. Not only can he execute the project, he has vision and good design sense. Paul is someone I trust.
Paul did a fantastic job completing the finish carpentry on our three-bedroom rental unit. The work involved building out closets, fixing existing doors and installing new ones, replacing and adding crown moulding, baseboard and window and door trim. Paul helped us plan the project and did excellent work.
The first project was expanding the kitchen, installing new kitchen cabinets and counter top. the project was completed in a 2 weeks period. It took a bit of time because in order to expand the kitchen 2 walls needed to be knocked down, and the electricity had to be re-routed. Paul gave us an estimated that turn out to be right, he was very personable and hard working.For the second project he designed the plans for a conversion of a garage to a bedroom. It was difficult for Paul to do the project because of the commuting distance from his home to ours. The project was done at the end of the fall and beginning of winter 2012-2013. We used his design, but not him as contractor. Paul is a capable, flexible, thoughtful and really nice to work with. I highly recommend him.
Paul Dobler remodeled a 1980’s house in Colorado for us. It was originally built with radiant heat along the center beam of the house, so all of the rooms had walls up to the door headers and no ceilings! He raised the walls up to the open beam roof, tore down and resized 2 bedrooms with pocket doors in the closets and transom windows above the doors. He moved the front wall of the house out 8 feet to expand the living room.Paul also designed a 20 x 20 sun room addition with Structural Insulated Panels. He installed 4″ aluminum air tubes embedded in the concrete floor that move air warmed by the tile floor in this south-facing room through the crawl space and connect to the existing heat ducts for added solar gain. He installed an amazing Nanowall 6-panel glass folding door that opens onto a deck that surrounds the room on 3 sides. The sun room is connected to the existing building with glass pocket doors. Paul is an expert at hanging doors.
The sun room addition has an upper covered deck accessed by a custom metal stairway. Paul suggested the upper deck to add some outdoor living space and to make the most of the view of Mesa Verde and the LaPlata Mountains.
Paul also removed the damaged concrete walkway along the driveway and had new concrete poured on all 4 sides of the house. He designed a new front entry and a back mud room. The finishing touch was stucco on the outside in a Southwest style.
Throughout the design process Paul worked diligently to incorporate every detail that was important to us. He used a program integrated with Google Earth that let us “walk through” the house at different times of the day and year. Having him on-site working with the building crew and overseeing the subcontractors was invaluable. He met the challenge of a 50-mile drive to Home Depot and a delivery schedule of “sometime next week” from the local hardware store.
We’re very pleased with Paul’s work on our home and would hire him again without hesitation.
Paul designed and built site-specific storage sheds for our house without a garage and a small yard. He created a double shed tucked under our backyard deck and a taller garden shed for storing taller tools, implements, and a small barbecue grill. He was creative about working within our limited budget and being aware of our larger vision for our small space. For example, we were interested in having some steps leading down to the lower level of the yard; when he happened to see curbs being replaced in another neighborhood and obtained, with permission, the discarded curbstones, which are in keeping with the natural look of our yard. He also remembered a unused door he had seen in another customer’s basement and arranged to use that in the tall shed — it adds beauty and character to the structure. He took on the project with one idea of what we wanted, but as we discussed and talked, we changed the siting and design — he brought his extensive background and skill to the project to create something we were very happy with. I think the time he put in exceeded his original estimate; we voluntarily added a little to the payment, reflecting our happiness with the work.
pd Design Build has carried out both a large project and smaller projects for me. He designed and built a beautiful ornamental gateway and fence for our condominium property. He also designed and built a utilitarian storage wall in the basement and repaired ceilings in our condo. My experience in every case has been totally satisfactory. There is benefit in having high quality design with first rate execution combined in one person. Paul Dobler is always attentive to the clients’ interests and flexible as they (inevitably) change their minds or disagree with each other. He is a pleasure to work with and to have on the premises, and he does business in a clear and straightforward manner— there are never any “what is this charge for?” questions. I recommend pd Design Build without reservation.