Case Studies Residential

Craig Carpenter says he is not the jack-of-all-trades, he’s the master of one—and that suits him just fine. On the cusp of celebrating a 30-year anniversary in the home remodeling business, Carpenter remembers starting up Custom Remodelers in Lino Lakes with brothers Kevin and Chad and older sister Corinne. Back in the early days, growing […]

The grass is only greener over the septic system if it’s been designed and installed properly, which is why a lot of lawns are lush in and around the community of Canyon Lake in the foothills of Texas Hill Country. Since 1981, many homeowners and small businesses in the area have come to rely upon […]

Just business as usual, Carol A. De Young tells Blueprint in late October, and for customers of Countryside Plumbing and Heating Inc. in western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, that’s cause for comfort. Though she anticipates retiring as president, likely in 2019, De Young assures that family-owned Countryside will keep on keeping on. It’s been six […]

He won’t reveal the client, other than it’s a very well-to-do man—obviously—from Burlington, Vermont, who now calls Greenwich, Connecticut, his legal residence, but returns to the Green Mountain State as often as circumstances allow. By midsummer, that gentleman and his extended family should be enjoying their Vermont downtime in the picture-postcard town of Shelburne where […]

True custom homes are as much art as abode, but building them isn’t without stress for contractors and clients alike. Staying on schedule and on budget is an especially difficult prospect, to a large degree because crews and project managers often work from plans that have never been built before, and clients can request changes […]

In the mid-1800s, seeing a mill in New England was about as common as spotting a Red Sox or Patriots cap is today. There were thousands of mills scattered across the region, and towns depended on these local factories not just for the items produced, but even more so for the jobs. Southern Maine’s cities […]

Many construction companies may call themselves custom home builders, but in Chris Edwards’ experience, oftentimes they are only offering customers a choice among pre-selected homes. “It’s what I call a ‘modified tract home,’ and they basically show you their product line of maybe a handful of floor plans and a few designs, and that’s it,” […]

Housing authorities do a lot of good in low-income communities by providing affordable apartment options for locals—but these same agencies often catch flak from tenants and the media for neglecting older, deteriorating properties. It’s not necessarily the housing authority’s fault; when tax dollars are limited, they simply can’t handle some of the larger, more complex […]

Derrick C.W. Childs has his hands full—literally—on a late May day, handling an array of tools as well as a cellphone during a lively interview from a construction site in Cleveland. But that’s business as usual for this high-spirited man whose work ethic and Christian faith run deep. And, as if heaven-sent, business is booming […]

Many is the young person who, even after college, doesn’t know just what it is he or she wants to do. “I’ve got to find myself,” that new graduate might say. Then there are people like Eric Skott. The founder of Crestone Builders Inc. in Watertown, South Dakota, was just 16 when he found himself […]