When the Crimm family purchased their home in Clark, there were children to care for and life didn’t offer many opportunities to attack improvements. But as life with kids stabilized, Josh and Jill Crimm decided to attack their first large project; refurbishing the natural wood floor in the living and dining room.

When they moved in, the living room floor was carpeted and the dining room floor was covered in vinyl — something the seller did right before the sale to give the cozy house a fresh look.

However, the couple wanted a more natural look. So they decided to commit to the renovation project and tore up the flooring.

“We had no idea what we were doing, but we just kind of guessed,” Jill said.

The couple attempted to sand the flooring and used a dark stain.

“My husband and I just did our best. It didn’t turn out great,” she said.

The sanding wasn’t done right and the wood started to splinter soon after they finished. The floor also creaked and there were spots that were kind of “spongy,” she said.

Jill once again began to look into how to fix the issues. She studied the project this time and came up with a plan. She would tear up the wood floor, replace the subfloor and attempt to refurbish the wood, this time with more knowledge, but still little experience.

Because they had to live in the house during the construction project, Jill did the work in stages. After pulling the first section she found the subfloor had dry rot, yet there was a pleasant surprise. The underside of the wood was in great shape and gave her the opportunity to simply flip the boards rather than re-sanding and staining the top side. There were nail holes and some flaws, but that didn’t discourage the stay-at-home mom.

“I liked the old nail holes and all the imperfections and stuff,” she said.

She attacked the project with a different mindset. Knowing how much work she was taking on while getting her children through school, she was determined to get it right — this time on her own.

It wasn’t Jill’s first project. She had built a closet when she was still a student in her parents home and a shelter for her alpacas when the family of four first moved to Clark in 2012. She has since reexamined her initial efforts in construction. Reflecting helped her realize how far she had come.

Part of doing the project correctly was seeking advice from a professional. She turned to Clark construction pro Jerry Ruth, who owns Line Creek Flooring, when she had questions.

“Once I started working with Jerry and learning more about construction, I looked at their little shelter, and I was like, ‘wow, I wasn’t even close to doing it right,’” she said. “I can’t believe it, just dumb luck I guess, because it has never blown apart.”

She then built — for the lack of a better term — a cat house for her felines.

“It is really unique,” said her mother Jorja Ackermann Brown. “It has all kinds of little buildings in it. There’s a special section for their feeding, there’s a special section for their sleeping and there’s a special section for their litter box.”

There were frustrations that go along with living in a construction zone. However, when the floor project was finally finished — seven years after the first attempt — and the floors were beautiful, Jill discovered the joy all construction hands feel after a job well done.

It was exciting and I was really proud,” she said. “There was this relief and comfort after I put the furniture back in place.”

The first full day, when everything was back in place and all in order, Jill put her youngest daughter on the bus and sat down for a little breakfast. The sun was coming up, highlighting the floors.

“It was just like, ah, that’s beautiful,” she said while getting comfortable on her leather sofa.

The project gave Jill a feeling of confidence. Then another job came her way. She had been checking the want ads frequently when she saw a job as a laborer on a large home construction project. The ad intrigued her.

“I just thought, wow, it’s in Clark and all my kids are in school,” she said.

But it took her a week to get the nerve to apply for the position. Her desire to learn on the job helped her find the courage she needed to apply.

“I always would say, gosh, I wish I could just work with someone that knows what they’re doing. I can learn from videos and stuff, but I learn so much better in person,” she said.

She worked on the team — one of the few women on the job site — for 11 months. She is often the only female on her jobs and has always felt welcome on job sites typically solely populated by men. Now when she drives by, despite the beautiful mountains everywhere, her eye is always on the house she helped build. She beams with pride knowing she was on that crew.

In fact, she kept in touch with the property owners and helped them build a greenhouse, becoming a trusted friend as she worked. Then they asked her to do some minor tasks while they were out of town, telling her to bring her mom along, “to show her what you have done,” they said.

That was one of Crimm’s most memorable moments with her mom, guiding her through the house and discussing the work she loves.

“That was fun to actually take her over to the house, because she never got a chance to see the work in progress,” she said.

“I was amazed,” Ackermann Brown said.

After building her resume and sharing trade secrets with Ruth, Jill was offered a chance to work on one of his construction projects. Knowing that he had confidence in her sent the handy woman over the moon with pride.

“She wasn’t afraid of anything,” Ruth said. “She is a good, earnest, hard worker and very reliable.”

Crimm is an artist and her creativity shows, he said. Part of the job is being able to be creative as you work, all the while keeping the timeline in sight.

“You’ve got to be able to look forward to doing the work she did with me,” he said.

Crimm continues to seek out construction projects. She also loves to find new purposes for materials others think are garbage; like the window on her living room wall repurposed as a large collection of family photos or her use of pallet wood to build her cat house. Even during her floor refurbishing effort, Crimm found old newspapers that were being used as insulation in the 20s when the house was first built. Now she has used the ads, like an oldie but a goodie from the Irma Hotel and Restaurant, as artwork on her walls. Another framed piece of art was from a 5-foot bee hive she found while tearing up the subfloor.

She’d love to continue to learn and work in construction full-time, but she’s limited while the couple’s special needs child is still in school. Instead, she hopes to continue to be a part-time handyman.

Or in this case, a handy-woman.