01/09/2026
Long post incoming.
Recently, Elias and I officially became owners of the place our business has called home for the past four years, warmly known as âthe Swamp.â
This has been a long time coming, and weâre excited to finally share part of the story. I canât fit every detail into one post, but we plan to tell the full story later in video form.
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Like all great businesses, ours started in a garage, my garage to be precise.
Thereâs a great photo of Elias and me sitting in the middle of a freshly swept garage, thighs unapologetically spread, proud of the shelves we had just built to hold lumber from our first deconstruction project. The space that housed our business always seemed to match the size of the idea behind Three Ten Timber. At first, it was something we did for fun while we both waited for our careers to begin. But after we took down a few more structures and Elias hit his head on the undersized garage door one too many times, we started looking for something bigger. Along the way, the idea grew too. What started as something fun became a side hustle.
After six months, we moved into about 20 feet of unused space beneath a friendâs lean-to. We quickly filled it because we had a bad habit of reclaiming more material than we could sell. This was before we were selling semi-loads at a time. Twenty feet became 50, then 100, followed by part of the outdoor lot. After three years of slowly outgrowing our welcome, we had both quit our jobs to pursue Three Ten Timber full time, and the idea had outgrown the space again. We wanted to sell more material to distributors across the country, one semi-load at a time. To do that, we needed more inventory and a lot more room to store it.
We moved our growing pile of material to a friendâs in-lawsâ unused two-acre lot. Shortly after that move, we reconnected with an old friend who had been classically trained to build dovetail log structures. We completed a handful of projects together and fell in love with the building side of the business. That was when we made the deliberate decision to become builders. We wanted to create beautiful structures like those we had spent years taking down, structures that future generations would admire and preserve. The idea grew again, and so did our need for space. We needed a permanent home where we could build to our heartsâ content and showcase what we were capable of creating.
On June 11, 2022, Chelsea and I were taking one of our usual Saturday drives around Cedar Falls. While driving toward Big Woods Lake, I noticed a property to the south that I had never seen before. Vines covered the fence, but I could vaguely make out a white concrete-block building behind it. I pulled over to get a closer look. Standing at that fence, I had an overwhelming thought: This could be Three Ten Timberâs home. I didnât know who owned it. I didnât know whether it was still being used. Piles of pallets suggested someone was keeping things there. I only knew I needed to find out.
As I walked the fence line, I found a sign buried behind the vines. It read âRonan Industriesâ and included a phone number. A few days later, I told Elias what I had found. In typical Elias fashion, he said it sounded interesting, but unlikely to be available for lease or purchase.
âBut you should call them.â
We called the number on the sign. I still remember listening to the phone ring and feeling like my heart was louder than the ringing.
A man answered, âRonan Industries.â
I asked to speak with the owner. He asked why, and I explained what I had seen. I told him we were interested in a lease-to-own opportunity. There was a pause.
Then he said, âWell, youâre in luck. This is Ronan, the owner.â
Soon after that call, we moved in as tenants. Four years later, we now own the property.
For the first time, it feels like the space has room to grow with the idea.
More than seven acres of land and a 37,000-square-foot warehouse in the town we both call home have given the ideas behind Three Ten Timber room to grow without forcing us to move again. Weâve already completed many projects to make the property our own, with plenty more on the docket. If youâre local, drive by and say hello. We love sharing our work, and weâre excited to begin the next part of our reclamation journey by bringing new life to land and buildings that sat vacant for a long time.
When Ronan and Lisa purchased the property, it was a former junkyard. They reclaimed it for their business, and now they have given us the opportunity to continue that work.
A special thank-you goes to Ronan and Lisa. I donât know if there is a better example of paying it forward in the Cedar Valley. They started their business at this address, and over the past four years, they have done everything they could to help us build a successful future here. We will always be grateful for the opportunity they gave us.
Most importantly, a lot of prayer went into this property as we tried to determine our next step. God has been faithful throughout the entire process. I clearly remember telling myself that if He gave us this property, we needed to give Him all the credit. Credit where credit is due. Thank you, Lord!
