Instagram – Hanson General Contracting, Inc.

Today we had our first HFB in person meeting in ne

Today we had our first HFB in person meeting in nearly a year. Celebratory 🍩🍩🍩 for all!

We continue to be inspired by this building’s wi

We continue to be inspired by this building’s will to survive, and it’s rich backstory, in particular it’s role in the underground railroad. The work is not finished and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with @johnmilnerarchitects and giving this building the full measure of respect that it deserves.

Check out the recent @hiddencityphila article detailing other Underground Railroad stops in and around Pennsylvania at the link in bio✨

Thanks to @doyledesign, John can practice some of

Thanks to @doyledesign, John can practice some of his true passions: table sawing + fancy footwork!

Check out this rendering of the PHIUS+ 2018 pre ce

Check out this rendering of the PHIUS+ 2018 pre certified passive house we are building in Gladwyne. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into incredible project we are so honored to be a part of. With @macht.architecture and @holzraum_system

A special Saturday shout out for our incredibly ta

A special Saturday shout out for our incredibly talented sister @ellenhansondesigns on her recent cover story with @luxemagazine. Go sis, go! 💪💯

We were happy to see the former HFBHQ featured on

We were happy to see the former HFBHQ featured on @housetouring this week. It has about 56 years of Hanson history wrapped into it and was the home that John, Chris and their three siblings grew up in.

The original Hanson Fine Building, formerly known as Oddjobs, Inc., earned it’s first stripes in this house and proudly used a 1973 Ford Pinto as the company vehicle.

Lots of important memories made, milestones achieved and celebrations had in this home, thank you for featuring it @housetouring!

Some dark nights, some shadowy bright days and jus

Some dark nights, some shadowy bright days and just like that the thing is torn down and ready to be made into something new and beautiful! That has got to be a metaphor for something else, right?

A little behind the scenes look at our window inst

A little behind the scenes look at our window install mock up meeting with @holzraum_system and @macht.architecture for a Passive House project we are working on in Gladwyne. Stay tuned for more on the film crew we’re surrounded by...

...And this is how you single handedly raise a 700

...And this is how you single handedly raise a 700lb steel beam (to support the new opening at our Chestnut Hill renovation.)

We completed this project in 2005. It incorporates

We completed this project in 2005. It incorporates what may be the smallest most complicated addition we ever built - a whopping 75 sq. ft of new footprint incorporating a landlocked side alley between two row homes. The exposed steel beam supported by the round column is under what was the first floor exterior wall. To make it more complicated we also agreed to do the same 75 square foot addition for the neighbor on the other side of the alley. With a different architect. The large perpendicular steel members intersect with the same long lintel on the other side of the property line. This has always been one of our favorite projects and one of the first to get published. Things got complicated with the neighbors, and we ended up parting ways after the envelope got closed in. Five years later they still had not finished their kitchen...

Today we are especially grateful for our good heal

Today we are especially grateful for our good health and all of our talented team members. Happy 🦃 Day.

A special birthday shout out to the one and only C

A special birthday shout out to the one and only Chris Hanson. Always business in the front, always party in the back.

We recently came across this rendering from one of

We recently came across this rendering from one of our original collaborators @aos_architects by David Bae circa 1993. This project in Fitler Sq. was our first exposure to a design with lofty aspirations. Tony Atkin, founding principal at Atkin Olshin Schade Architects wanted to do something different and special with an 11' wide proletariat rowhouse on one of the narrowest streets in the city. In a heroically slow-fashioned approach, we made lots of mistakes, sometimes twice, but corrected them all, and at one point waited some weeks for an overdue library book to get returned so we could build the Rumford fireplace. We were so proud to be involved, particularly after it got published in Fine Homebuilding in 1998. The article was ghost written by Lisa Dustin, future significant other at HFB, and partner at AOS.

The perfect space for Sunday breakfast.

The perfect space for Sunday breakfast.

Today it actually does feel like it’s always sun

Today it actually does feel like it’s always sunny in Philadelphia thanks to the efforts and outspoken voices of our fellow Philadelphians. We are feeling very proud of the City of Brotherly Love today more than ever, and thankful to be among the most decisive voters in this election. Turns out ✨great✨ things happen in Philadelphia.

Now is also a good time to remember that shifting sands are hard to build on, and reaching bedrock requires a lot of digging. We are recommitting ourselves to do the long, hard and necessary work of healing within our community and country. Here’s to a nice sharp spade.

A big day for democracy! Many of our team members

A big day for democracy! Many of our team members either voted early or took the morning off to exercise their right to VOTE.

(1st photo is of Philadelphia City Hall in 1953)

It’s a special someone’s birthday today! Here

It’s a special someone’s birthday today! Here he is in the wilderness of Alaska (in 2019), perhaps contemplating what he will accomplish with this next decade. Happy Birthday, John Hanson 🥳✨

Here's a nice ol’ throwback to a project we did

Here's a nice ol’ throwback to a project we did at the Grange in Havertown. Somewhere inside this structure is a family homestead built in about 1700, on land purchased from William Penn. Some generations and additions later, AJ Downing's book on Cottage Gothic Architecture went “viral” in the 1850s and the property was sold and underwent an extreme home makeover.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Our task in 2007 was to do roof repairs and restore missing elements of the design from that period. Using photographs and existing elements we fabricated and installed new parts using molds and reinforced resin. Another great architectural survivor story we share with @johnmilnerarchitects.

Saturday morning after and before of our new(ish)

Saturday morning after and before of our new(ish) world headquarters. We left our original shop in Roxborough after 20 years of banging nails and building our business. A bittersweet goodbye, for sure.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
We found our current location in 2017 and knew it was the perfect place to continue growing our business. Built in the early 20th century as a car barn for the early generations of automobiles, the building was ready for some attention. We uncovered six huge skylights while re-roofing, and poured a new polished concrete slab over the old cracked oil-stained one. Turned out pretty slick 😜💯

There's nothing like the smell of burning lead pai

There's nothing like the smell of burning lead paint in the morning. Also If you are striving for an A on your finish paint job you need to start with a bare wood substrate. Sure it looks beautiful now, but swipe for some behind the scenes of how we got there.