SHELDON GUSTAFSON
Carpenter
Growing up, Sheldon Gustafson’s babysitter was a block of wood and a bucket of nails.
“My dad was a carpenter and my grandfather was always tinkering around with building stuff in his garage,” said Gustafson, a carpenter with Public Works.
“And so I would sit there and just hammer in nails all day,” he said with a chuckle. “I mean that was entertaining for me when I was like 6 years old.”
Now, Gustafson – part of a carpentry shop that is more than a dozen strong – puts his woodworking skills to good use for facilities and public spaces throughout San Francisco. Housed within the Bureau of Building and Street Repair in the Operations Division, Public Works’ carpenter team repairs City buildings, public stairways, retaining walls and bridges, and crafts special features and structures – from countertops to commemorative plaques and even a police cadette training space.
Listen to Sheldon talk about discovering carpentry as a child and how every day is a new adventure at Public Works.
“Every day is something different. It's entertaining, keeps you on your toes.”
“Every day is something different,” said Gustafson who has been a carpenter since 2003 and joined Public Works in 2022. “It’s entertaining, keeps you on your toes.”
Their work takes place both in the field and in the light-filled Carpenter Shop, which is equipped with a variety of saws, drills and other tools of the trade.
Much of Gustafson’s work revolves around keeping the public safe: maintaining the Filbert Street Steps so nobody gets hurt, bolstering retaining walls to prevent mudslides and fixing handrails to safeguard people from splinters.
Public Works’ Carpenter Shop often takes on some of the most distinctive projects in the City – not just with expert know-how but with rightful pride.
After runaway barges damaged the historic Third Street Bridge during fierce winter storms in 2023, Public Works carpenters repaired the span’s iconic wooden walkway. When an artistic redwood safety wall at the intersection of Diamond Heights Boulevard and Clipper Street needed a refresh, our expert carpenters fabricated new sections where the old wood had split or decayed.
For the San Francisco Police Department, Public Works’ woodworkers crafted a training structure that helps cadettes practice how to respond to fraught incidents inside people’s homes. The Public Works carpenters worked throughout the COVID pandemic on a variety of projects, such as securing shuttered transit stations and modifying health clinics to keep infected patients away from others.
The satisfaction of creating a finished product plays a large role in why Gustafson loves his job. Among some of his favorite projects: a new memorial plaque for the late Mayor Ed Lee and a type of special countertop he had never constructed before for a Department of Emergency Management facility.
“If it comes out the way you wanted it to come out and it’s finished and it looks good, it’s almost like art,” he said. “It's like, ‘Wow, I did that.’ And other people are going to see that and hopefully appreciate it.”
What Gustafson is most proud of is knowing that his work is designed to improve and enrich the lives of others.
“It’s kind of rewarding, you’re not just doing stuff for yourself,” he said. “It’s like a gift.”