Carpentry company run by homeless shelter gets heritage award

A construction company started by the organization behind Saint John's men's shelter has been recognized for its work in heritage restoration.

Catapult Industry picked up the award for the refurbishing of the exterior of a three–storey, three–flat home near the New Brunswick Museum on Douglas Avenue.

All profits from the year–old company are used to fund Outflow Ministries' meals program and shelter for the homeless on Waterloo Street.

"I mean the work speaks for itself. They did a fantastic job," said Rahul Datta, the owner of the home.

"The work they've done here is amazing."

Datta claims his home was the worst–looking building on Douglas Avenue before the restoration.

The work included detailed trim replacement and the addition of a second floor veranda, a feature missing for decades but that had been part of the original design of the home.

"We've always wanted to kind of get guys working and thought it would make most sense to start a construction company," said Jayme Hall, Outflow's executive director.

"We decided we would start a for–profit company and just put ourselves out as Catapult Industry, the carpentry side of things."

Hall says Nathanial Muller, the "lead" on the Catapult project, came to them as an experienced carpenter who, for a time, operated his own company.

The Douglas Avenue job was their biggest project to date.

Muller is currently working with a team of two carpenters. He says on–the–job training is among his responsibilities.

"A lot of people come with experience," said Muller. "And so it's just kind of honing that and seeing what they know, and highlighting that, and kind of filling in the gaps of what they don't know."