Charlie MacDonald

We are here to serve clients looking for help with their construction projects and want to make the correct decisions when it comes to building. Whether you are planning a project, considering a remodel or addition or need to demo an existing structure for a new build - Charlie has over 65 years of trade experience that can aid you along the way. Just some of the areas we can be of assistance include learning the correct building means and methods, preparing for and maintaining your architect-homeowner relationship, understanding blueprints, keeping a project on budget and on schedule, selecting the best sub-contractors, or navigating city inspections, city protocols and lien release processes.

Born in 1944, Charlie’s desire to build dates back to his childhood where he regularly helped his father work on their family home. In High school his favorite subject was Drafting, and upon graduating he qualified as a machine parts draftsmen – but his love of lumber, tools and the great outdoors would lead him to join the Carpenters Union, Flushing Meadows Local just 2 weeks after graduation. It was at this point he began a 4 year apprenticeship which included blueprint reading, shop class, estimating and more.

Next, Charlie was hired by Eisenberg Construction to build work on a construction crew building a 6 story apartment building in Flushing Meadows, NY, and was later elevated to assistance concrete layout engineer for Pompa Architects in Manhattan, NY helping to build the still standing Yorkshire Towers. Afterwards, Charlie worked for Vecco Concrete where he acquired a Top Secret security clearance and was involved in building the James V Forrestal building, a dynamite crew in Virginia, and helped build a top secret military supersonic wind tunnel at Fort Belvoir.

Charlie would then transfer his Carpenter's Union book to San Diego where he participated in numerous construction projects and crew positions including layout and concrete form building for the Mission Valley & Coronado Hospitals and carpentry work in the new Union Building downtown. He then joined Union Steel where he worked on military Valdez Class Super Tankers as a ship fitter and did jig assemblies, shell plate landings and welding. Charlie was promoted to Assistant Ship Builder and then to the Layout Department and he studied ship building blueprints at San Diego Junior College. He would then work on the USS Wadsworth military ship for Todd Ship Yards in San Pedro, CA where he was promoted to specialty welder.

Finally landing in Los Angeles, Charlie transferred his Union Book once again to the Van Nuys local. He worked on the Rinaldi Overpass for Cal Trans doing heavy timber layout, shoring, staging, rigging and working with crane operators - all done with OSHA training and regulation in mind. He then worked on the Pierce Community College theater arts building for Bernard Bros., in the roll of High Man, framing the massive roof and as lead layout for the interior spaces. While at Bernard Bros. he also worked as the layout man for street development and did the framing for new office buildings at Magic Mountain.

Next, Charlie was employed by DeCinces Construction where he built a new Chevrolet dealer in Van Nuys as a supervisor, was a lead man in re-building the company's new headquarters and supervised the build out of a new church in Irvine. The next stage of Charlie's career is one of his fondest. As a union carpenter he worked on the Budweiser Brewery Expansion in Van Nuys. He laid out extensive concrete form work, was promoted to lead man for all sanitary concrete slabs, weather protection procedures and all truck dock buildouts. During this time, Charlie passed the welding test and became the 1st carpenter welder in his union. By request, he was promoted to the Millwright Brotherhood local and assigned as a specialty welder for several very high end projects working alongside the Boiler Makers Union on complex welding corrections.

In 1982, Charlie decided to take the next step in his building journey and start his own company as a General Contractor. Since then, he has completed hundreds of projects throughout LA, from demolitions, to remodels, additions and up to 10,000 square foot luxury new builds. He has worked in Woodland Hills, Van Nuys, Bel Air, Hollywood, Brentwood, Cheviot Hills, Culver City, West LA, Santa Monica, Venice, the Pacific Palisades and more. In the 90's Charlie was selected as one of six inspectors for the State of CA class action lawsuit, Sherman vs Allstate. He represented the Northridge earthquake insured homeowners and alongside a structural and soils engineers inspected over 150 earthquake damaged homes and foundations - providing expert testimony and evaluation on the properties. Charlie's resume continues to this day, with a long list of satisfied clients and a wealth of knowledge available to whoever seeks it.