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Cumberland
Contractors
Michael Thomas
President - email
Paige Tasciotti
Office Manager - email
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A design and
construction firm
dedicated to achieving the visions
of our clients and architects.
We are located
in the old DNR (Department of Natural Resources)
headquarters on US 17 in Brunswick, Georgia right next to Spanky’s Marshside Restaurant. My name is Michael
Thomas and I moved to coastal Georgia in 1981 to build a house I designed
(the first house that I built) on Little Cumberland Island for
my family. Little Cumberland Island is located just south of Jekyll
Island off the coast of Georgia and is only accessible by boat. Well,
I had a contract to design and build another house on Little Cumberland
before ours was finished and another after that one; I met my wife Lucy and
I’ve been here ever since.
Cumberland
Contractors Inc. was incorporated in 1986. Having spent the majority
of those first years building on Little Cumberland you can figure out where
our name comes from. Designing and building houses on Little
Cumberland has given our company a unique perspective to building that not
many other firms possess. There are strict building regulations on
Little Cumberland that make material selection and site selection
contingent on approval by the Association’s Building Committee. The
focus of this committee is to protect the natural settings of this remote
island and maintain minimal human impact. I took that concept a bit further
and focused on making our houses relate to and take full advantage of the
sun and prevailing southeast summer breezes utilizing techniques I learned
while earning a B.S. in Building Construction from Michigan State
University.
In the early 1990’s we expanded our operations to include St. Simons
Island, Sea Island, Brunswick and communities in Camden and McIntosh
counties where we have completed over 125 projects. They range from
“Larry’s Giant Subs” restaurants (9 of them) to a seven
lot neighborhood in the $3-$400,000 dollar range on St. Simons
Island to million dollar plus projects on Sea Island. Four of these
projects have been chosen for national and regional awards in 1997, 2001,
2003 and 2004.
A little over
ten years ago Donna Turner came to work for me as a secretary, office
manager, bookkeeper (I can keep going). I have been very fortunate
that she has stayed with me through 3 different accounting systems
(Peachtree, Quick Books and now Master Builder). I keep trying to
find the perfect program. Her ability as an office manager, her
computer acumen and 14 years experience as a
manager with Barnett Bank, brings a level of expertise to the office which
is invaluable.
Building on
Little Cumberland forces me to conceptualize the whole building process
before the first bag of “crete” is ever
lifted. Since all the materials have to be barged over I have to be
aware of each component of the house and its weight before we begin
construction. Refuse also has to be barged off so minimal waste is key. Understanding scheduling is imperative since
the workers are ferried over on a daily basis. All these skills
combined with the importance of understanding the impact of weather and the
elements make my experience on Little Cumberland Island something I am truly
grateful to have. Bringing these same skills to a “softer”
environment on the mainland, I believe gives our company an edge.
Larry Crankshaw began working with us 8 years ago as a finish
carpenter and now has been a superintendent for the past 5 years. Like
me he enjoys the process of building and was hooked after his first job and
has never done anything else. Last year Larry completed a 7000 square
foot residence located adjacent to the Greyfield
Inn on Cumberland Island which is actually part of the Cumberland Island
National Seashore. Working on “Big Cumberland” employed our skills on
how to coordinate the production of the home on a remote island and taught
us some new ones in learning how to work with new and thicker red
tape.
Don Hinkle has
been painting for over 28 years and started working with us full time 5
years ago. Don has an incredible talent for making ordinary things
look extraordinary. In fact, one example of Don’s talent was recently
showcased on the cover of Custom Home Outdoors magazine.
James Gantt has
been with us for almost a year now and he fills in all the gaps we leave
open. Later this month we will be complimenting
our staff with the addition of Ricky Gibbs who will also be working as a
superintendent.
As we have
grown as a company we have begun to work more and more with many of the
talented architects in our area. This has given me and my staff the
opportunity to show our clients and architects that any dream is
buildable. What I am most proud of throughout my 20 years in business
is my relationships with former and current clients. The highest
compliment a client can pay me is their continued friendship after the
project is complete.
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