The Man Behind the Hammer

How much would you like to know about the contractor you’re opening your home to? Some things in life are a “needs to know” kind of topic. But let’s be real here, you’re getting ready to open your home and give us your full trust, the least we can do is tell you a little bit about us.

We’ve thrown together this simple blog to give our customers a little insight on the man behind the hammer. Without further ado let’s take a dive into David Siperko, Founder and CEO, of Viking Brothers Contracting.

David was born and raised in Owings Mills Maryland, in a home filled with love, laughter and brotherly feuds. His Mother and Father both worked very hard to provide for himself and his two older brothers. Unlike a lot of us, David had the privilege of growing up in a home that his own Father lived in as a teenage boy. He spent every Saturday having dinner, after church, with his maternal Grandmother just across the street in the home that his grandfather built and continued to build onto for years to come.

The home was a unique little rancher that was held up by telephone poles, because during those times, you used what you had and made the most of absolutely everything. David grew up to buy that unique little home where he too, had the pleasure of raising his four children for a period of time. The home, as its told, holds many special memories, ones like the bird house that he built his grandmother when he was just a boy at 10 years old.

The bird house stood sturdy through many of storms for 25 years. He recalls that bird house being his first “real build”, as he spent his entire childhood breaking and fixing things, “more breaking than fixing in the beginning” as he likes to put it. For as long as he can remember he was drawn to fixing and building. Like the birdhouse, David enjoys creating things to make others happy. It’s really no surprise that he grew up to create his own contracting company. Let’s take a dive into his first job in the trade, and what led him to where he is now.

At just 16 years old he took his first contracting job with “Traco”, a company founded by his Uncle Price and his own Father. He continued to work summers with his uncle until eventually moving onto other companies throughout his young adulthood. David had the pleasure of working for some great companies’, ones like Owings Brothers. He recalls many fond memories with them and has nothing but wonderful things to say.

He only stepped away from his position with them to venture out on his own for the very first time. He founded and created his first Company, Siperko Remodeling Services, which wasn’t as successful as he’d hoped. He chalks it up to timing and business knowledge. Ultimately, he decided to shut down his business and begin working for others again. This didn’t last long. When we asked Dave why he thought that was, as he puts it “things just kept taking a turn for the worse”.

There was a small stretch between Siperko Remodeling Services and Viking Brothers Contracting, during this stretch David found himself moving between companies struggling to find a place that fit his moral compass. Not wanting to go backwards in life, he found himself talking to his wife about what he thinks the problem is and what he wanted to do about it.

“I’m tired of being asked to hide something, or simply ignore something that is of low quality when I know what these homeowners are being charged. I’m being asked to compromise quality for quantity, and that’s just not who I am.”

During the year of Covid he and his wife continuously talked about him wanting to leave his current place of work and start his own business again. Even with his wife’s support, like most fathers, David felt the pressure of having a family to support. Continuing to work for an already well-established company seemed like the only sensible choice, especially during such unpredictable times. Until Dave found himself praying for a sign, he wanted to be sure that, that’s what God had planned for him.

The next morning he walked into work and was fired. He couldn’t have been happier. That very day the wheels officially started turning to create Viking Brothers Contracting. To him this is more than a contracting company. It’s putting honest roots back into the trade. No more compromising quality, dishonest prices trapping customers into a contract and no more taking advantage of unsuspecting homeowners.

David is proud to have created a company that’s based on skill and experience, genuine hardworking men walking their way up the ladder. We asked him how he felt was the best way to learn and jump into the trade. It’s no surprise that he believes this trade is better learned with hands on experience rather than a college degree.

During his last few years, he noticed men who’ve been in the trade for decades being passed by young men straight out of college who’d never swung a hammer in their lives. This was another driving force behind starting his own company. He wanted to promise homeowners individuals with experience would be trusted with their projects, he wanted those industrious men to gain the positions they’ve spent years earning.

We left David with this one final question “are there any tips or tricks that you still carry with you to this day”. Without hesitation he tells us “Stay honest and humble, always make sure your payments are made on time to both the employees and subs, respect your subcontractors price for what it is, treat your employees with equal amounts of respect, and most importantly be open and honest with homeowners about everything.”

We’ve hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know David as much as we have.

Thanks for reading and as always, Have a happy remodeling journey.