Family roots in construction
Construction has been part of the Hine family for generations. The 1913 photograph shows A. J. Ketchin & Son Contractors in Tariffville, Connecticut - the earliest construction image in the family record and a tangible link to a building tradition that reaches back more than a century.
How it began
Long before construction became a career, Tim loved to draw, work with wood, work on cars and make things by hand. Before the age of 15, he was already building a finished basement in his family’s home.
In high school shop, instead of making the standard cutting board, he built an 18-foot cedar-strip canoe, finished with hand-caned seats from his grandfather. His first homebuilding work started at the bottom: pulling bent nails from boards and stacking lumber, then moving into punch lists and summers on a framing crew.
At Dean College, Tim studied Architectural Drawing, Methods and Materials, Estimating, Business Management, Business Law, Accounting and Economics.
I always loved to draw and make things by hand.
Building a business
In 1989, Tim established New England Builders, Inc., a design-build practice specializing in additions and residential remodeling for clients in Connecticut’s Farmington River Valley.
He worked as a carpenter during the day, with hands-on experience spanning excavation and foundation work, framing, siding, windows and doors, flooring, cabinetry and millwork, interior and exterior trim, masonry, grading and landscaping.
At night, he handled proposals, contracts and client calls and produced the drawings and specifications - first by hand, then in CAD, and by the late 1990s, 3D renderings and walk-throughs with clients.
The home you have always wanted . . . could be the one you already own.
In 2002, Tim put down the tool belt to focus more fully on managing larger and more complex residential work.
From building to construction leadership
As the work grew in scale and complexity, Tim moved from hands-on building into larger project and company responsibilities. At a large luxury residential builder with a custom millwork operation and in-house field crews, he began in estimating and over time took on broader responsibilities across bidding, sales and contracts, project management, field supervision, accounting and company operations.
Hine Builders
In 2008, Tim founded Hine Builders in Wilton, Connecticut, taking the best of what he had learned from a design-build practice and a large integrated builder and shaping it into a deliberately small, focused residential construction firm with close attention to every project.
An award-winning high-end residential builder, Tim led architecturally ambitious new homes, major renovations and historic restorations, working closely with leading architects, designers, engineers and craftspeople. His projects have been featured extensively in national and regional publications.
Along the way, owners increasingly asked Tim to serve as their Owner’s Representative, coordinating architects, builders and consultants, testing budgets and schedules, resolving problems and protecting the owner’s interests from early planning through completion.
Hine Advisory brings that progression to the owner’s side: more than 35 years of hands-on construction and construction leadership applied as an Owner’s Representative to new construction, renovation and historic restoration.