Chuck Bergerson, a local contractor and business owner, never planned on retiring. He is still pursuing opportunities at the age of 83. His new business? Building tiny homes.

“I like doing it, why should I retire?” he asked. “I do have lots of ideas. (They) wake me up in the middle of the night.”

Bergerson said when you love what you do, you can work a lot harder and a lot longer.

He has always been in the business of building, he said. His newest venture, NW Cabin Co., is a partnership with his children to build tiny homes.

Bergerson said he and his kids will construct the tiny homes. His wife, Charlotte, will help with the interior and exterior design. For all other services, they will hire local businesses.

Bergerson is in the finishing stages of his first tiny home. He and his wife walked around the home and discussed what could be done differently to improve the prototype. They also rattled off all the different ways to customize the 288-square-foot structure to fit anyone’s needs.

Tiny homes can be a nice transition for elderly people who want to begin downgrading, he said, and also for newly married couples who want a small mortgage.

He said that after couples pay off the tiny home or begin to start a family, they can easily add rooms or a porch. Everything can be built and customized according to the homebuyers’ needs.

“It’s kind of a trendy thing happening now,” Bergerson said.

Charlotte Bergerson doubts her husband will ever retire. “He always has a bee in his bonnet, it’s not going to stop,” she said. “He’s an idea guy.”

After graduating from Warrenton High School, Bergerson started working at an Astoria fish plant and he and his boss became business partners building wooden fish boxes. Other wood products eventually spurred off of that.

Bergerson said he eventually converted the fish box business into his high-end window business, Bergerson Cedar Windows Inc. He recently closed his window company and is now working full time launching NW Cabin Co.

It is a business he can leave for his children, he said. He takes pride in the quality of his work, but most importantly is able to have fun with the business and do it with his family.

“I’ve always had a lot of fun — really,” Bergerson said.