Young building entrepreneur with big ambitions

Erik Öst’s carpentry career started with a small fixer upper that he found on an online real estate site. Now he just completed his first multifamily home, while at the same time inspiring others by sharing his building projects on Instagram. “I have a hard time sitting still, there’s always something going on,” Erik said.

Those who follow Erik’s Instagram account @erikbygger have for nearly a year been able to follow the evolution of his apartment complex, from the blasting of the bedrock to the finishing of the last interior details of the building. The red four-family home with white corners is Erik’s biggest project to date. Initially, there were only supposed to be two apartments but when the architect suggested that he added a floor to accommodate four families, Erik was immediately on board. In Gagnef county, where the house is located, there is a housing shortage and it felt good to help provide more families with a place to live. But a project of this magnitude has also been a challenge for a solo developer like Erik.

“Of course you take a risk; it’s a big investment and something unexpected always happens that makes you overrun the budget. When you’re not backed up by a big construction company, you still have to pay the bills, so you just eat noodles and keep building,” Erik said and laughed. “I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights when I’ve asked myself what I’m doing, but now we’ve finally arrived at the finish line.”

Things are on a roll right now, but Erik’s path to the carpentry profession has not always been a straight shot. While he did enroll in the building program in secondary school, a negative experience from an internship led him to take a job at a warehouse after graduating. His interest in the profession was reignited in 2016 when he, 20 years old, was getting ready to move out and found a small cabin for sale, just a couple of kilometres from from his parents’ home.
“My old man kept pushing me, saying ‘Buy it, and we’ll add on to it!’ So that’s what I did. My old man was there every day and helped out; he’s a bit of a jack of all trades.”

A few years later Erik was offered to buy the neighbouring lot, where he in his free time built a single-family home that he subsequently rented out. After that, he quit his job and started his own business. Around the same time that he started to build the house, he also opened his Instagram account, where he posted pictures and videos of his projects. Initially, he only got a few likes and comments, mostly from friends. But over time he noticed that others were starting to show interest in his posts, and that encouraged him to continue.
“It’s fun to inspire others and share what I know. A lot of young people are sitting at home today, not knowing what they want to do, so I want to inspire them to do what I did. I also get a lot of work thanks to Instagram.”

The Instagram posts are seasonal – a lot of patios and wooden decks during the summer months, while the winter months are filled by indoor projects like installing floors and building kitchens. Sometimes he also shares clothing tips from Fristads, the workwear brand that he has grown up with.
“Everybody I know has always worn Fristads. Grandpa always worked in a classic blue bib and brace and I had a lot of Fristads clothes as an employee, so choosing Fristads came naturally to me.

Erik is mostly using workwear from Fristads’ concept Alnaryd, which is built around the popular and durable CYD trousers with stretch. The concept is Fristads’ broadest within construction and includes matching shorts, tops and outer garments for all seasons.
“It’s great that everything is in the same style, so you can keep it simple. When summer rolls around you just wear the same trousers, but as shorts,” Erik said.

Functional pockets for tools and lots of stretch in the trousers are other features that Erik values highly in his everyday work.
​​​​​​​“As a carpenter you’re not just walking straight, you’re often sitting under some cabinet or a chimney or whatever. In that situation stretch is important for the clothes to feel comfortable. Workwear should fit like a glove; it shouldn’t be noticeable!”