Our Team
Jake Lappan, President
Jake Lappan grew up in south-east metro Detroit area. He graduated high school with honors and then went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Jake graduated from the architecture school with a bachelor’s degree and started his career working for a south east Michigan Timber Framing Company.
After 11 years, he left the Timber Framing Company as the Lead Architectural Designer and started his own design company JEL Design Works. During his time at the Timber Framing Company he met Bob Burnside who is the owner and founder of Fireside Home Construction. Jake was the lead project coordinator on all Fireside Home Construction’s Timber Frame projects. That relationship continued with additional new construction and remolding projects at JEL Design Works.
With Jake’s 16 years of design and construction experience Bob and Jake decided to become partners at Fireside Home Construction in 2016. With Jake’s keen eye for detail and process he is in control of the day today operations of the business and assists all of Fireside Home Construction’s clients through the budgeting, planning and selections process.
Lisa Lappan, Customer Service Manager
Lisa has been married to Fireside Home Construction’s president since 2000 and has 3 wonderful children. Lisa graduated from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, Michigan.
During her junior and senior years of high school she attended the William D. Ford Career Technical Center in Westland, Michigan and had extensive training in many areas of construction as well as training in safety, Health, Environmental, Construction design and techniques and Construction business management. This training included extensive hands on training in the various areas of construction.
Lisa also attended 3 years of college at School Craft community college with general education. Work experience including secretarial work, a bank teller manager and work at the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office for child support.
Lisa was a stay at home mom for 14 years and joined Fireside Home Construction in 2018. Her roles are many but she is focused on consistent client contact and assisting with client selections and budgeting.
Lisa is a competent and efficient addition to our staff that focuses on complete customer satisfaction and a wonderful experience for our clients.
Bob Burnside, Founder and Consultant
Bob was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and as a boy was very active in Boy Scouts and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout at age 15. He worked part time during high school at several jobs and then attended Indiana University where he earned a B.S. in Marketing in 1973.
Bob worked as a Division Manager at Sears Roebuck in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and in Waterloo, Iowa. He also owned an auto body repair shop in Indianapolis, Indiana before going to work for the Buick Division of General Motors in 1977. Bob worked at Buick for 21 years and moved all over the country in various executive positions. Those included District Service Manager, Technical Service Engineer, Regional Sales and Service manager, National Advertising Manager, LeSabre Assistant Brand Manager, and National Customer Service Manager.
Bob also received a Masters in Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix in 1990. He was also active in coaching youth sports for 18 years. Bob began his home building career in 1996.
Bob was widowed in 1998 and has three wonderful grown children. His passion has become building very Green, Energy Efficient and Sustainable homes and renovation projects since he began in 1996.
Asked what he enjoys the most and Bob will tell you it is the gratification of helping a client to design and construct a project and to see them enjoying the fruits of the efforts. Bob will be quick to tell you that he likes forming a team with his clients to achieve the best results. He really likes the fact that he becomes friends with his clients.
Holly Parpan
Office Manager
We were so lucky to have Holly join our staff this past year. She is wonderful, personable, sharp, and extremely efficient at keeping all aspects of Fireside Home Construction running smoothly. She not only handles our office management function, but is also instrumental in assisting Jake with specifications, management of our Co-construct on-line construction management system, coordination for permits, materials, and more.
Roy Crites
Superintendent
Roy is our field Superintendent and has been a trusted associate of Bob's for 20 years and brings additional years of experience as our trim carpenter to oversee our projects. If any one knows what is required to build a project correctly, it is the trim carpenter as he sees and touches the product of all the trades before him. Roy is a constant presence on each and every job site and is an integral part of our motto that says, "We build every project like it’s our own."