Heartwood Construction About Us

Hans Breden is the owner of the Heartwood Construction Company. Hans has an uncompromising work ethic, an efficient work style and a great eye for detail. These exceptional skills have been honed from almost thirty years of creating, building and improving anything and everything. At the helm of Heartwood, Hans has used these skills to renovate whole homes, design and construct custom additions, build lovely and useful porches, create just-what-the-gardener-ordered garden sheds, remodel kitchens, build outdoor living spaces, design and remodel small and master bathrooms, and much more.

But before Heartwood, Hans put these skills to use as an engineer. He put himself through college by working in the building trades, earning his degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He had an interesting and well-traveled career for 15 years at that University's Department of Physics. But he and his wife & business partner, Jennifer, knew over a dozen years ago they wanted to eventually work together. That is how Heartwood was born.

Jennifer serves as the project coordinator for Heartwood. Previously a director for seven years of a nonprofit organization, she understands the importance of excellent customer service. Her work experience, combined with her art and design background -- she earned a BFA from Bowling Green State University -- makes her an integral part of Heartwood Construction. Jennifer thoroughly enjoys meeting and working with people on their personal and unique projects, and she looks forward to working with you!

Heartwood's other important asset is Hans' brother Thor (pronounced "Tor"). Thor has a similar history with the trades as his brother and is a creative and hard-working part of the Heartwood team. He has accumulated years of experience in Maryland and Alaska in the construction industry. We are lucky to have him.

We hope this bit of background will give you a snapshot of our company. We look forward to working with you!