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About Us


I've been in the construction industry since 1997 when I began working as a repair man with Pat's Repairs on Maui. We maintained several condominium complexes along the coast, providing all types of services from appliance repair and replacement to painting and window cleaning. After getting a good grasp of general home maintenance, I decided it was time to go bigger. I then began working for Hay's Custom Framing, a high-end custom home building company on Maui. I immediatly realized how much I loved the custom and creative aspect of building and carpentry and quickly became the owner/operator's "right hand man." After 5 years and 20+ custom homes on some of the most beautiful property on Maui, the owner decided to take a break. With the knowledge we had gained working at Hay's, a colleague and I decided to start our own company. I continued to build custom homes on Maui for another 3 years.

Having initially moved to Hawaii to be closer to family, they had all since returned to the mainland; in 2006 I followed suit. I began working for a deck and fence building company in Portland, OR. Although I enjoyed the work and excelled at it, I soon realized the owner was not a man of his word and could not continue working for a person of his character. I then began working for Cutting Edge Exteriors LLC, a sub-contrator for Lowes Home Improvement as a door and window installer. Although I had previously installed many doors and windows in new homes I had virtually no knowledge of retro-fit installation. I was once again an student in a new enviroment and absorbed as much information as possible. Within weeks I was leading my own crew. Over the next 3.5 years I installed literally thousands of interior and exterior doors, windows, and sliding doors in homes and apartment buildings in the greater Portland area.

I worked for Cutting Edge until Fall of 2009 when the downturned economy had slowly but surely forced the company out of business. During this time I met the greatest love of my life who happened to live in Washington State. After much debate I decided to move once again; this time to the Emerald City - Seattle, WA. With a new outlook on life and a happiness in my heart, I finally did what I had always wanted to do...I took the leap and started my own company. As the owner of Alwin Installs I've remodeled a kitchen, re-tiled bathrooms, installed flooring, installed new trim and baseboard in entire homes, created custom fireplaces, installed closet doors, french doors, windows...the list goes on.

In summary, I've been in the building and carpentry business since I was a teenager. Its what I love to do and its who I am. I'm passionate about doing my best work at every single job, as the most important thing I've learned is the importance of customer satisfaction. I understand the key is in the details whether its installing a new set of closet doors or remodeling an entire kitchen. I love helping people and I love the look on my client's faces when they see the final result of a job well done.

~Nathan Alwin, Owner/Operator

*Reference Contact Information available for interested parties upon request

Testimonials


This letter is to commend Nathan on his outstanding work recently on my rental property. Originally I met Nathan through local advertising and asked him to do a small carpentry job in which he did an excellent job. When it came time for some minor upgrades to my rental property, I hired Nathan and became so impressed with his work that I quickly decided to do a full remodel with flooring installation, window and door replacement, finish trim, and a full kitchen installation.

Nathan is prompt, trustworthy and honest, knowledgeable and capable, a very hard worker, and his ability to complete projects was exceptional. I was relieved to know that Nathan would show up, do the agreed upon work, and do it all without having to watch over him and worry about his performance. Nathan was also a very good source of information and consulted me about options for finish work, cabinets, and the best materials to use for my budgeted project.

I highly recommend Alwin Installs and refer Nathan to all of my friends and family. In addition to being a very nice gentleman, he’s a qualified and dependable business owner and carpenter.

~ Hilary R.

Last fall, Nathan replaced our heavy old sliding glass door with a beautiful French door. He had it installed and perfectly trimmed out in less than four hours, at a very reasonable price. So this spring we had him back to install new windows throughout our entire house. He was on time, did a wonderful job, and left the yard neat and tidy. We saved lots of money over Lowe’s or Home Depot by hiring this young man. He has earned our appreciation and trust, and we will not hesitate to have him back for the next project.

~ Jan and Jim Neely

I met Nathan through some mutual friends. He had completed a project for them they highly recommended him for both quality and cost. I have an old garage that I had wanted to convert into a meeting room. I found Nathan to be creative, realistic and very affordable. He found problems (did I say OLD garage) and dealt with them creatively and well. His prices are very competitive. He is honest and has integrity. I now have a beautiful, waterproof and better than I thought room for thousands less than I was quoted.

~Donna J. Bevan-Lee, PhD