Canaan Company

Canaan Company is a central Colorado home builder, operating since 1984. We are a small family owned custom and semi-custom home builder with our office located in Monument, Colorado. Our key communities over the years have been the Monument/ Tri-Lakes area, Colorado Springs, and Black Forest – but our service and quality has gained us the opportunity to complete projects in Breckenridge, Fremont, Douglass, Park, and Summit Counties as well. Our foundation is based on honesty, hard work, competitive pricing, and working closely in a time proven ‘Hands on’ approach to the building process.
I invite you personally to inquire about our long history, our process, the portfolio of some of our projects, and feedback from our clientele. I extend a personal invitation to those of you looking to build that special home - the opportunity to have your building needs met with a unique and enjoyable experience.
I look forward to your call.

Company History

John had his first introduction into the home building industry in the late 1970´s when he was offered a summer position with a local home builder. Given his previous interest and experience in woodworking, he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work in a new related field. Although his initial job description was a laborer, after a short period of time his daily tasks began to include call back work and some site management.

When it came time to choose a career path after high school he enrolled at Colorado State University’s business college focusing studies on computer information systems. During the summer months, he continued his interest in the construction field working as a framer and by college graduation was leading crews building custom homes.

In the fall of 1984 a long time family friend and then custom home builder offered John the opportunity to take over all of his carpentry needs. John had been working in his field of study but had never found the place that truly suited him - this offer opened the door for John to begin pursuing his love of building homes. By the end of the second year of business, John employed between 25-30 carpenters and had extended his services beyond framing to include, foundations, roofing, custom siding & decks, interior trim, and custom cabinetry.

With a reputation as one of the premiere carpenters in the region, John's crews would have the opportunity to construct some of the largest and unique homes built in the area. During the 1980’s- 1990’s, his crews were working on houses ranging in size up to 18,000 plus square foot with prices upwards of 3 million dollars. In the mid 1980’s a decision was made to begin building Custom Homes under his own name.

In 1987 - starting with one 'Spec' home at a time, John began a tradition of 'hands-on' building that he still tries to keep active in the building process today. Over the years, he has had the opportunity to build all types of homes ranging in price from under $100,000 to well over 1 million. Past clients have attributed success to his honesty, his attention to detail, the very personal approach put into each project, his flexibility in working with a range of clients, the commitment to quality, and his 'hands-on' approach to building. John also credits his success to the commitment of his sub-contractors and suppliers by providing an equal level of service and quality regarding each and every project.

Since Canaan Company began building the focus had always been on unique single family custom homes until the relentless fire that devastated the Northwestern neighborhood of Colorado Springs that came to be known as the Waldo Canyon fire. John was initially contacted by a client that was directed his way by a long time supplier. The family was ready to sign a contract with another local builder but was told not to do anything until they had spoke with John. That initial relationship opened the door to servicing what would be the most emotionally rewarding and gratifying work of his career to date.

John's commitment of providing a truly enjoyable building experience is one of his best attributes. The efforts in the organizational process developed over the years and his detail in project development, he strives to lower the stresses of home building and eliminate the 'unknown factors' from the equation providing a great environment and unique experience.

Our Philosophy

When Clients come to us – we make it our top priority to attempt to provide a uniquely personal experience. We limit our yearly projects to a number than ensures our ability to address each client’s needs in a professional and timely manner. Your project will not be handed over to a superintendent in the field – each will be personally managed by John. We have always felt it was a key goal in our business to be providing that direct client to builder/owner environment and with Johns hands-on approach to building – our clients can be assured that each and every aspect of their project has been managed by the individual they hired to build their home. We take great pride in acknowledging that a new home is the largest single purchase taken in ones life and we carry great respect and are humbled by those that choose to allow us to be a part of that experience.

The Team

John Bridges
John loves building homes and plans to continue to do so until he is unable to. He loves a challenge and is always looking for that challenge from a client that desires something unique incorporated into a new home. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, riding his Harleys, fishing, and restoring a car here and there. John is not your typical suit and tie builder, spends little time behind a desk and you will more often see him in the field on a project. Don’t be surprised to see him wearing shorts in the winter – his favorite season of the year.

Jodie Bridges
Jodie became a part of the business beginning in May of 1989. John was in the process of having a spec home cleaned to begin marketing & sales and found her in the upper level master bathroom jetted tub cleaning – barefoot – the rest was history. To this day she is a vital part of cleaning portions of the new home process. Her 10 year experience in management with Old Chicago Restaurants has also contributed to the office side operations of the business as well. In her free time she is the best mom and wife a family could have and you will rarely see her without her shadow – Sammy.

Nick Bridges
Nick began working with his dad in the field on and off a few summers ago. Since the beginning of the summer in 2013 he has become a vital part of day to day activities (when not in school) in the field and continues to grow in knowledge in many aspects of the new home building process. He spends his free time with friends, loves to fish, and enjoys wakeboarding & snowboarding.

Victoria Bridges
2014 marks her first year helping in the family business. She keeps our office clean and assists with filing documents and minor office work. She enjoys painting and we hope that she continues to excel in that area and maybe do custom wall murals for our clients in the future.