Hi, my name is Matt Tichy and I am the owner of Tichy Stone & Brick, Inc. I got my start in the masonry trade by working as a laborer/tender for another contractor. Eventually I was able to do some laying on a stone job, I was well aware of how much I enjoyed it and that I had a natural talent for it. In 2000 with the little experience I had (I was 23 years old), I opened my own business doing mostly cultured stone. This part of the masonry industry is at the same time one of the easiest and most difficult aspects of the trade. It's easy because it doesn't require a footing. Each stone is adhered to the wall by pasting with masonry cement (lick n stick). Structurally its very simple to do. Aesthetically it requires a gift or training or both. Stone looks good by it's nature but improper bonding (the pattern) can really detract from the look. There's other aspects that make laying cultured stone difficult too, for instance it requires a lot of patience. Regardless, it's basically entry-level masonry. That's were I entered and at the time, it was booming. It took a while but I eventually found some really good guys. We were an awesome team. On every job we did, we tried to do it better than the last one. If a decision was to be made about how to do the work, we chose the best way to do it. No shortcuts or cheats. We claimed we were the best in the business and we believed it, we put it on our business cards. We didn't leave any room for someone to beat us. We enjoyed great success and the privilege of working with top notch home builders and other masonry contractors. We dabbled in brick and block when our clients needed small jobs or repairs done, but mostly we subbed it out.

In 2005 I quit doing business as Tichy Stone & Brick, Inc. and spent a couple years working for other masonry contractors. I worked on both commercial and residential jobs, this time doing mostly brick and natural stone. I developed some more skills, but it seemed like I was always saying to myself that I wish I had formal training in the brick and block. In 2007 I joined the union and got my wish. I went through the union's 6 week pre-job course where they teach entirely green students how to lay to the line. I spent much of the time helping the other students but the instruction that I received was priceless. I took from that course the confidence that I had long been searching for. From there I began an apprenticeship in the union. I worked for Northland Concrete and Masonry, and went to school every-other week. I worked on schools, hospitals, banks, shopping centers, and even a stadium. I took my licks and spent weeks on the saw and months rubbing walls and scraping floors. I learned the trade from the bottom up. At school we learned the modular system, leads, bonding, chimneys, arches, masonry fireplaces, domes, decorative patterns, and more.

In 2009 I moved up north and took a job with JP Structures doing their masonry in-house. Here I got more experience with concrete, and led the masonry work on an elevator shaft, a vault, and was the forman while we bricked an electric cooperative building. In 2010 I resigned from JP Structures and began to do work again as Tichy Stone & Brick, Inc. starting with the Red Lobster job in St. Cloud.

It is the goal of our company to build exceptional masonry projects. My sincere hope is that the next one is yours.

Matt Tichy -President

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