A yeshiva high school principal and a residential contractor seem to be very different positions. But Rabbi Yaakov Plittman, who is both, finds many similarities. “As a principal, I am building boys. I look at a boy who has achieved success after mastering difficult material and I say ‘Baruch Hashem, mission accomplished.’ As a contractor, I build homes with a strong foundation and quality craftsmanship. The satisfaction of hard work, resulting in a job well done, is the common denominator.”
Rabbi Plittman discovered his aptitude for construction after he married. Before then, he had never picked up a hammer. His father was a businessman who knew numbers, not tools. But everyone in his wife’s family was handy. One day his brother-in-law asked him to spackle something and he did it. He asked many questions when other people did work on his house and caught on quickly. Home renovation and remodeling became his hobby. After redoing an entire basement—himself—he began taking on jobs for others. Soon he had a thriving business.
Plittman Contractors has built kitchens, bathrooms, staircases, dining rooms, livings rooms and fireplaces. Rabbi Plittman merged his business know-how with his construction skills to get jobs done quickly, efficiently and right the first time without cutting corners, using only top-grade materials. “Everyone wants quality work but no one wants to live with it,” he said. He did a new kitchen, living room, dining room and fireplace in two and a half months. He gutted and redid a basement with staircase and a half-bath in three weeks. “I don’t take too many jobs at one time so they don’t affect each other. And I don’t take the final check until the last molding is up. I don’t leave the job until my clients tell me I’m done.” He doesn’t sacrifice quality for speed. “A job may look good either way but better-quality lasts longer and that’s very important to me.”
Rabbi Plittman doesn’t get flustered easily. He was asked to redo a floor that was completely on a slope, with every part on a different level, but he made it perfectly even. He knows how to assess a challenging project, like opening up a ceiling to see what’s inside, to give the homeowner an accurate estimate.
While Rabbi Plittman is the backbone of the firm, he has a team behind him including a manager, plumber, electrician, architects and craftsmen. “I’m a go-getter; I go around and I find good people. To grow the business, you need people you can trust.”
Call Plittman Contractors in Passaic, New Jersey, for an estimate at 732-718-7674.
By Bracha Schwartz
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