We started with porches.
Hatchwork began in 2011 with one truck and a run of porch rebuilds in Bay View. Fifteen years later we build additions and whole-home remodels, and we still answer the phone like a small company.
Why “Hatchwork”
On a construction drawing, hatching is the pattern of diagonal lines that shows where a wall has been cut through. It is how a builder sees what is inside before anyone picks up a saw.
That is the job, really. Before we price your project, we open test holes, check the basement and the panel, and bring in an engineer if a wall has to move. The surprises get found on paper, where they are cheap, instead of on site, where they are not.
Dana Okafor framed houses for twelve years before starting the company. She still walks every first site visit, and the people who build your project are on our payroll, not a rotating list of strangers.
What we hold ourselves to
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Price it once it is drawn
We don't hand out guesses. Ballparks are labelled as ballparks, and the fixed price comes after design.
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One site lead, start to finish
The person who starts your job finishes it. No rotating cast, no repeating yourself.
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Permits, every time
If it needs a permit, we pull it. That protects you when you sell, insure, or refinance.
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Leave it cleaner than we found it
Dust walls up, floors covered, site swept every afternoon. You still live there.
Our credentials, on the record
A homeowner about to sign a big contract should see these before anything else. We put them on page one of every proposal. (This is a demo site, so the numbers shown are samples.)
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Licensed
Wisconsin dwelling contractor
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$2M
Liability coverage
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100%
Permitted work
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2 yrs
Workmanship warranty
- Dwelling contractor credential
- Wisconsin Dwelling Contractor credential DC-0000000 (sample number for this demo). Printed on every proposal and permit.
- General liability insurance
- $2M per occurrence. Certificate emailed before any deposit, naming you as holder.
- Workers' compensation
- Every employee covered. Trade partners must show their own certificate before they set foot on site.
- Lead-safe practices
- Most homes we work in were built before 1978. Our crews follow lead-safe work practices on every one of them.
- Written warranty
- 2 years on workmanship, in the contract. Manufacturer warranties on products pass to you.
- Written contracts and change orders
- Line-item contract, allowances spelled out, every change priced and signed before work.
Fifteen years, short version
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2011
Dana Okafor leaves a framing crew after twelve years and starts Hatchwork with one truck. First jobs: porch rebuilds in Bay View.
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2014
First addition. Marco Reyes joins as lead carpenter and later becomes site superintendent.
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2017
Priya Shah joins and brings design and permits in-house. Paid design phase replaces free guess-quotes.
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2020
The Friday update email starts as a pandemic stopgap. Clients keep asking for it, so it stays.
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2026
Nine people on staff and 260+ finished projects across Milwaukee County.
Where we build
Milwaukee County and the nearest suburbs, so our crews spend their day building, not driving. Each city runs its own permit desk, and we know them all.
- Milwaukee
- Bay View
- Wauwatosa
- Shorewood
- Whitefish Bay
- West Allis
- Greenfield
- Brookfield
See if we're the right fit.
Fifteen minutes on the phone or four minutes on the quote form. If we're not the right builder for your project, we'll tell you who is.
Rather talk? Call (414) 555-0142, weekdays 7:30 to 4:30.