Finish Carpenter
Precision over speed
Most finish carpenters know how it goes. The trim package is the same on every house, the schedule decides how good the work will ultimately be, and anything that would show real skill gets value engineered out before you ever see the plans.
Kala works differently. We design and build custom high-performance homes, sizable renovations, and deep-energy retrofits across the greater Kansas City region. And finish carpentry is where we transform the functional into the beautiful. Functional gets the door hung. Craft makes you stop and run your hand along the casing. Functional carpentry closes the gap. Craft makes sure no one ever knows there was one. Functional carpentry finishes the house. Craft finishes the home. Function is what the inspector checks. Craft is what the homeowner notices every morning for the next fifty years. At Kala the standard isn’t “good enough to pass inspection.” It’s good enough to put our name on.
One team, end to end
Kala is a design-build firm with architecture, design, framing, and finish carpentry all in-house. The people who draw the house and the people who build it are on the same team, working through the same problems. When a detail doesn’t work in the field, you don’t send a question off and wait weeks. You walk it through with the architect who drew it.
What you’ll build
No two Kala projects are alike, and neither are the days. One week you might be building out a wall of built-ins, the next building custom stairs and railings, detailing interior millwork, or running cladding over a rain screen. The work changes with every home, but the standard never does. Every piece is designed for the house it lives in and built to be the best version of itself. This isn’t production work, and it never will be.
Who we’re looking for
You’ve spent years getting good at this, and you’re ready for work that asks for everything you’ve got. You read a set of plans and see both what’s drawn and what it will take to build it well. You’d rather spend an extra hour on a joint than walk past one that isn’t right. You can run your own work without being watched, and you’re glad to share what you know with the apprentices working beside you. You stay in close contact with our Lead Carpenter and the design team, you keep your work on schedule, and you take pride in leaving every room better than the drawings promised.
The basics
- Significant finish carpentry experience
- Working knowledge of building codes, design standards, and inspections
- Comfortable learning new tools and using a digital construction management system in the field
- Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and current auto insurance
- Able to work from ladders, use hand and power tools, and lift up to 50 lbs
Perks + Privileges
- Kala offers health, dental, and vision insurance
- Kala offers a 401K matching program that adds to your own tax-deferred retirement savings
- Kala offers every employee personal paid time off in addition to the standard US holidays
- Kala provides all major tools and supplies required to perform effectively
Come see for yourself
There are people who talk about building differently, and people who actually do it. The best way to tell which one we are is to come see. Walk a Kala jobsite, look closely at the work, and meet the team you’d be building with. If what you see is the kind of carpentry you’ve been wanting to do, we’d like to hear from you.
Send us your resume below.
