Rough Carpentry:
Since our beginnings as a company back in 1974, Rough Carpentry has been our focus. We proudly stand as the longest running Rough Carpentry Subcontractor specializing in the West Los Angeles custom home market, and we are the only custom Rough Carpentry specialist that we know of that consistently and successfully utilizes internally generated and maintained working 3D models to coordinate and layout their projects. This technique raises the bar of accuracy and performance far beyond the abilities of string lines and paper, and operating in a true scale 3D environment gives us a preturnatural sense of understanding of the structures we work on. The lion’s share of our work is centered around our pursuit of Rough Carpentry installations. In our early days as a company wood was the de facto structural standard for residential construction. Over time our focus has broadened and we expanded into other related areas as we evolved to accommodate architectural and structural design trends and requirements. In terms of selecting a company to perform the Rough Carpentry installation for your project, there simply is no equal! For additional details please read our About Us page.

In the early 1990s we found ourselves blazing a new trail through the custom residential market as we began adopting Computer Aided Design (CAD) processes into our operation. At the time hand drawn plans were still commonplace, and as we adapted the drawn page to the printed page we found the advantages of applying CAD systems to our process to be remarkable. In time CAD became the prevalent standard for architects and engineers. Utilizing the same tools employed by the design teams helped us to improve our coordination and execution to become congruous with the design intent.

As our CAD expertise and technique developed, we began investigating other methods and systems which would raise the bar even further from the high standards we had already established. The scale, complexity, and stringent design parameters of our projects exponentially grew as a function of time. We began dabbling in 3D modeling, and by the mid 2000s we had transferred our primary layout process into a 3D environment. We have excellent working relationships with designers and clients alike, no one puts more care and preparation into installing the structure then we do. Generating our own Building Information Model (BIM) from scratch to marry the architectural and structural design obligates us to think and plan ahead. As we develop the model, we often double back and make adjustments to the structure virtually months before the physical manifestation would become evident. We particularly enjoy building from the roof down in a virtual environment, which is simply not an option in the physical world.

It is common for us to host screen share conference sessions and/or bring a projection screen to the construction team so we can discuss and coordinate the structure in real time. When you have TRWurster Construction on your project, this is the level of expertise and concern that we bring to the table, and we consistently leverage this technology to benefit the project and to provide assistance to our clients as a valuable member of their construction team. The process resulting from our pursuit of excellence coupled with our friendly and service oriented approach to our projects is priceless.

To put this service in context, please first read the section describing our design coordination services. Once we made the transition from 2D to 3D CAD layout, we found ourselves integrating structural steel components into our models to refine and improve our layout and coordination of the wood members. In a short time we realized that we knew more about the structures that we were building than most steel detailers. Even the best steel detailers often working in a 2D environment didn’t fully understand the interaction with wood and finish components, and we often found ourselves vetting their drawings and coaching our clients to facilitate the correct placement of structural steel so we could install the rough carpentry productively and precisely.

After watching with frustration repeated and consistent failures with the prevailing structural steel shop drawing and installation process, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Since we began providing and installing structural steel and rough carpentry packages, we are pleased to say that our projects run smoothly with greater predictability and coordination than anything else we’ve experienced. We are able to interface with our clients and their design teams in advance of construction utilizing the knowledge we’ve gained during the modeling process to benefit the project. This enables us to forecast and propound design questions months before they would normally become evident. This type of proactive thinking and forward coordination is invaluable.

Aside from minimizing rework and costs related to allowing unanticipated design issues creep into the physical installation, our process streamlines the presentation and review process. When it comes time to erect the steel it is not a surprise when everything sets right into place, we expect it. Our clients find it to be refreshing to see the steel erected in a professional manner while having us taking responsibility for providing and coordinating the structure from start to finish. We find this combination to consistently reduce frustration and delay while increasing quality, speed, and precision. Time is money, and we work tirelessly to assure that this proactive approach benefits the project from a cost and schedule perspective.

Through many years of operation as a company we’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of specialized techniques. One such technique is the restoration of wood foundation systems. When a wood friction pile or other wood member has rotten away and one wishes to retain the integrity of the existing foundation, it is not always necessary to replace it. By removing the rot, exposing the area of integrity, wrapping the member in a composite shell, and injecting specially formulated epoxy grout back into the member, we are able to restore the function and form of the formerly rotten member. Or, perhaps we need to add anodes to reinforced steel bar to mitigate future decomposition, and then reinforce, re-encapsulate, and protect. Whether your repair comprises of wood, epoxy, steel, composite, or cementitious mediums, our technical expertise, infrastructure, supply chain, and background enables us to perform and recommend structural solutions for challenging repairs such as these.

Many of our clientele have been in the entertainment industry, and consequently we found ourselves supporting and facilitating theater and studio installations regularly in residential and commercial environments. After working around these acoustic assemblies for many years we found that our discipline, expertise, and ability to follow plans and the most stringent of specifications fit nicely into the world of acoustic components. The Acousticians we work with admire our level of concern and care to the smallest of details, we understand that the way the small things come together has a large impact on the effectiveness of their design. Having worked on larger recording studios such NBC Studios, post production houses such as Remote Control Productions, numerous home studios of varying intensity and design, and a plethora of home theaters including the first residential IMAX, we understand what it takes to give you the quality and performance you are looking for in an acoustic assembly.

As we elevated our execution of Rough Carpentry, we find ourselves performing what is rough to nearly finish grade standards on a regular basis. Timber framing, trellises, exposed eaves, and other exposed structural wood components are commonplace on our projects, and we consistently execute these details and complete these assemblies without hesitation. Adding our pre-construction support team to facilitate the installation with electronic coordination and planning elevates our ability to provide an excellent installation. Whether the project dictates traditional or modern techniques, we’ve have the expertise to provide the finished product you are looking for.

When we step foot on a site our goal is simple: find out what our customer needs, and work with them to fulfill those needs. Since we enter the job site with the goal to help out in any way we can, we find our customers sometimes need an extra hand with general labor, access control, safety provisions, drywall, painting, electrical, plumbing, layout, coordination, etc. Our reliable, friendly, and proficient staff are happy to help with anything and everything, and when we deploy our staff you take the benefit of working with one less entity knowing that whatever task you assign to us will be effectively directed and coordinated by our professional team of managers and supervisors. When we make our clients happy, we are happy; it’s a simple concept that moves us to provide whatever construction services the project needs.

Most successful framers eventually choose to move on to become General Contractors. After all, it is a requirement that companies specializing in Rough Carpentry maintain a B Class General Contractor’s License. Our focus never has been performing General Contracting on our own, in fact in multiple cases we chose to facilitate and encourage new talent we saw on the scene, and many of these companies we were involved with from the very beginning have grown into household names in the Los Angeles area.

We have the in house skill, foresight and ability to provide multiple trades in house, and every once in a while we will stumble across that special job for that special client where we will perform in this capacity. Our focus as a company though is providing structure, and while our abilities more than qualify us to function as a General Contractor, we choose to provide the engine that drives the growth and development of our clients, many of whom are General Contractors themselves. We look after our client’s best interests, and along the way we have developed relationships with Vendors, Fabricators, General Contractors, Subcontractors, and clients in all corners of the LA market. We leverage these relationships for the benefit of our clients, and this is yet another dimension of what makes us an outstanding company to add to a construction team. Regardless of what capacity we serve on a given project, we do it well.

With an active portfolio of high-end projects with a net value of more than $40 million dollars, T. R. Wurster leverages long-term relationships and manages them with our knowledgeable and specialized staff to work on behalf of Owners and General Contractors as a Construction Manager to facilitate an unusually high bar of quality and performance.

When you have a design-build project that needs forethought and precision, you can trust TRWurster’s decades of experience will facilitate an outstanding result. With on-staff design, architecture, and drafting personnel we can provide an end to end solution for your project from the initial concept through to construction. While leveraging our special projects team many trades can be performed in-house with the utmost efficiency and continuity, and our relationships with local tradesmen puts us in an excellent position to procure and manage the right people to get the job done when we don’t have the resources we need in-house. What if you already have a great design, but you need support to dial in those details to make the concept a reality? It is common for us to supplement your existing design to assure that your bespoke project is an outstanding success!

After spending decades studying and optimizing the processes surrounding the assembly of bespoke buildings, we found that fabricating bespoke furnishings and fixtures using our established chain of craftsmen is a natural application and progression of our established portfolio of skillsets and resources. Please allow us to bring your dreams to fruition!

Fully recognizing, experiencing, and deploying the benefits of 3D modeling, we constantly find ourselves exploring methods to expand our ability to coordinate and document existing conditions. We own and operate multiple pieces of hardware and software to facilitate this process. One such device collects Point Cloud (info) data, and we have software that allows us to process and render this information. This is a cutting edge technology that been historically used by vertical industries such as Archaeologists and Crime Scene investigators to survey and capture every visible aspect of a site in 3D with immense detail. The device contains a mechanically rotating head that shoots millions of laser points while recording the X, Y, Z, and RGB value of each point. Just as a flatbed scanner captures the page that is put upon it, this 3D scan enables us to capture the contents and dimensions of any space we enter, and we are able to store and reference this data with immense accuracy.

This information can be recorded and stored for forensic record keeping as well as be used to model the structure for design development, analysis, and visualization. The sky is the limit to applications for this data, and we are constantly evolving along with our digital tool set to leverage these technologies for our projects. We provide 3D scanning and as built modeling and documentation services to our clients, and we are happy to consider your request for this type of data collection and processing.