by Rachel Schreiber

It was easy to buy birthday presents for Gary Rochman, owner of Rochman Design-Build; he always loved building. Beginning with Legos, he built cars, ships, monsters, airplanes and scale models of homes. He says, “I loved working with my hands as a kid creating and drawing.”

During the summer, Gary worked by stocking Levis in his father’s Ann Arbor business, Sam’s Store. Gary earned his degree in engineering and architecture from the University of Colorado. He did a stint as a structural engineer for Leo Daily in San Francisco. He says, “I designed the bones underneath a building. I worked there for two years and then traveled around the world. I saw great architecture.”
Twenty-two years ago, Gary moved to Ann Arbor. He worked as a carpenter and later as an architect for Anderson Jacobs, (now A3C Collaborative Architects).Fitness Together Gary states, “I wanted to combine architecture and design there was no one doing that, so I started my own business. I was really good at math so the engineering part came naturally. That didn’t feel creative enough. The architecture was great, but frustrating, and I never got to see the work built and to me that was the whole part of it. As a carpenter, I was forced to build some pretty awful designs that were handed to me.”

Gary has been a licensed contractor for 20 years. Rochman Design-Build focuses exclusively on residential remodeling and the company will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “To celebrate,” he explains, “we’re putting up special signs in front of all the homes we’ve worked on. We’ll have a scavenger hunt based on finding the signs, sort of like finding Waldo. We’re giving out prizes. It’ll be a lot of fun.” He speaks about his philosophy, “What I realized is, our reputation and our referral basis has grown. How does the outside world see Rochman Design-Build? If you look at us, you can’t see the reputation. We’ve grown by word of mouth. People see our signs up, neighbors talk to each other, and we work our way through neighborhoods or through a department at UM hospital or the business school. When you see signs up on all the houses we’ve worked on, you can see how many houses we’ve worked on and how many people have referred us.”

Rochman Design-Build is built on the team approach, “We take our clients from start to finish. I have carpenters and architects on staff. We do all the demolition, the framing, the carpentry and the trim work. We have alliances with electricians. Our subcontractors are good and we treat them like family. When our clients return to us for another project, they know the same people are with them to see them through their next project. Customer service is especially important with remodeling because we’re living with our clients. We see them when they leave for work and when they come home and make sure the dog doesn’t get out. They want someone who will do a good job, get a good value and have someone they can trust. We’ve been invited to family events; we have really good relationships with our clients.”
Gary’s team is remodeling a home in Burns Park. He says, “A couple bought a house and we’re working on it before they move in. We’re painting it, relocating the kitchen, adding a half bath, adding a front entrance, a back deck and fixing up the main bathroom in the house.”

“Our clients,” he says, “know what smart design is. We don’t add 5,000 square feet onto to a building. We figure out how people are using their house and how they can use existing space better. The clientele is very educated, technically and internationally savvy, so they know architecture and design. And they appreciate we’re a smart group. Clients appreciate in Rochman Design-Build what they see in themselves.”

Rochman Design-Build
Gary Rochman
2294 S. Industrial Hwy.
Ann Arbor, MI
Phone: 734-761-6936
Email: gary@rochmandesignbuild.com
www.RochmanDesignBuild.com