Eby Exteriors Employee Spotlight: Jhensen Lapp
On a jobsite, Jhensen Lapp can be found doing the careful work that makes Eby Exteriors’ projects a cut above the rest. While Jhensen is fairly new to the Eby Exteriors team, he is a construction industry veteran who can handle almost any task the project requires. Learn more about his life, hobbies, and his experience joining the crew!
Career Questions
What made you interested in doing this type of work?- I’ve been doing construction since I was thirteen. I grew up on a farm in Pequea, and my dad had a business building pole barns.
- I like installing windows and doors. I especially like working with higher end products, and I like how nicely they operate. Marvin Windows in particular are some of my favorites. Installing those is a lot better than slapping a vinyl window in there. After installing any high-quality product, you know it’s going to work and you know it’s not going to leak.
- They operate better, they seal better, and they even soundproof better. You get to be proud of what you put in. You feel confident that it’s going to look good, and the homeowner is going to be satisfied. You’re even going to save them money – specifically, with the windows on their heat bills.
- The attention to detail is there. There’s real craftsmanship involved. The guys are proud of what they do and what they put in. It’s not just a matter of slapping it in as fast as you can and leaving. I think that’s why we have the reputation we do. That’s what I appreciate. The reason I left my other company was they hired too many people who were just there for a paycheck and didn’t care what kind of work they did. I want to be proud of what I do and feel like I’d want to put my name on it.
- You have the choice of what you want to make of it. It’s like life. Life is a choice. If you want to grow, you can put in the work here and get it. If you want to advance, you can advance. They would never hold you back. They want you to learn the products. My experience at other companies was that the foreman would always make you do the crap work and not teach you anything.
- It’s fun, it’s family. One thing I really like is that people don’t curse all the time. There’s a high standard of how you represent yourself. At my other company, people would just be disrespectful to each other and the customers. We still have a fun time, though, and we give each other a hard time, too.
- It’s a smaller company, but it’s a great company to really learn your craft. You’ll see more detail. Even when you’re the ground guy, you see everything. At bigger companies, you don’t get to do the cool stuff – you’re looking at trash all day.
Personal Interest Questions
What kind of music do you like?- I play drums. In school I was actually a band geek…and I played football, too. I like jazz a lot, I can listen to jazz all day. Jazz is one of the hardest genres to play. Seriously, if you can play jazz, you can play anything. You have to feel the rhythm, and there are so many different hand coordinations to get down. I love seeing (and hearing) stuff like that.
- Cork and Cap in Lancaster is a great place. Plaza Azteca is another favorite.
- I like to workout. I workout every morning before I go to work.
- I’m an Eagles fan and a Penn State fan. All around, I’m a big time college football watcher. If it came down to it, I’m a Phillies fan, too.
