About Us

Due to our experience in the construction field we of course notice other construction. Every time we are in a newer home, whether it be a custom-built or development house, our eyes are drawn to the lack of workmanship. One of our pet peeves is the sheet-rocking, spackling and painting. Next time you are in someone’s home, or in any painted room, look at how smooth the walls are, especially the corners. Most have large lumps of dried, improperly sanded spackle. Then the painter comes along and paints right over it. Or how about the seams between the pieces of sheetrock has only one or two coats of spackle, which makes the wall wavy. Or even more noticeable, the bumps that come from the nails or screws that hold the sheetrock in place.

We figure over the years, the pride in a lot of the jobs we see, has disappeared. Keystone Craftsmen won’t be the least expensive estimate you will receive and you should not call us if that’s what you’re looking for but we can assure you it would be difficult for the even the most experienced appraiser to tell whether the walls are sheetrock or plaster. That is the way we feel about every job we do. We, of course, feel that the client has to be satisfied but the difference between us and others is that with every job, we have to be satisfied.

Other problems in the contracting field include timely responses, showing up on time, or even on the day that was promised. Who hasn’t had those problems if you have had dealings with contractors.

The word handyman is used often in our field. Keystone Craftsmen does not use that in our name because we do not subcontract any work out whereas most handyman companies specialize in a few areas and subcontract any work that they are not familiar with. We know how to do most everything having to do with the construction or repair of houses.

Chris Fackler

Hello, my name is Chris. I’ve been married for 30 years to Karen and have two children Lauren and Christen. I graduated high school and spent two years in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. air craft carrier Forrestal in the Mediterranean. After leaving the Navy I started an electrical remanufacturing business that I ran during the day and at night ran my father’s automotive repair business.

I married Karen in 1978 and a couple years later Karen and I began the process of looking for a home. During that process I realized if I was to have a home that I truly enjoyed the only way I could afford it would be to build it myself. After a few months of looking for a piece of property to build on, one snowy day in February of 1981, we found 12 acres with a 50-mile view in front and wooded seclusion to the rear. In 1981, the country was going through a recession so we researched the possibility of a solar home. During that search, we found that one of the foremost authorities on solar energy happened to live a few miles from our building site. We contacted him and gave him our plans to the house so he could adapt his solar concept. I broke ground in the Spring of 1981 and was able to get the foundation and deck of the first floor completed before winter set in.

By the time spring of 1982 arrived I was eager to get back to the construction. I was able to get the house to the weather by the time winter rolled around which enabled me to work on it through the winter of 1982-1983. By the time November of 1983 rolled (D) around we were able to move in with all but the kitchen completed.

In the spring of 1984 I started on the garage. After the garage was completed we gathered up all of the unused stone that the house and garage were constructed of and my family and I carried it all downstairs where I started the basement. Just last year, I tore down the old wooden shed and built a new one with stone that matches the house and garage.

I sold my business and retired in 1992 at the age of 37.

About 5 years ago, the house was 20 years old and our tastes have changed so it was a good time to start remodeling each room. I still have two rooms in the house to do: the master bath which I am in the process of now and hope to complete by the spring of 2009 and the kitchen. It will be a move more towards our Victorian tastes and I look forward to its completion.

For anyone that has an interest in solar energy, I would like to add that our house has no conventional heating system, we have a pellet stove on the first floor that is our backup to the sun’s heat. And a wood stove in the basement that we sometimes use if we are downstairs in the exercise or TV room. Neither myself or my family like the winter or in fact temperatures below 60 degrees, so we keep our house 75 degrees and we only use two tons of pellets each year. Our heating months are half of December, January, February and half of March. The sun provides the majority of our heat. If you have any interest in (passive) solar energy (not solar panels), please don’t hesitate to call, I would be more than happy to explain in detail or show you the house.

Steven Reighn

I have been in the construction and landscaping industry for over 20 years. In that time, I have been fortunate to work with some true professionals however there have been times where attention to detail was lacking. This is the main reason I have decided to take on this partnership with Chris. He shares my passion for detail and craftsmanship.