Modern Craftsman

Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Tyler uses the challenges of building his own house to confront a problem a lot of residential builders eventually create for themselves: becoming the person every decision has to run through. After realizing he had treated his personal build differently than a client project, Tyler breaks down why accountabili...

Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler catch up with Colby Blauvelt four years after he began transforming his family's production plastering company into a highly specialized, craft-driven business. The work has changed, the team has grown to 15 people, and now the challenge is figuring out how to protect the standard that built the...

Nick and Tyler sit down with Grant Bowen of Peak Projects to unpack what an owner's rep actually does and what builders can learn from projects where the stakes, budgets, and client expectations are exceptionally high. Grant explains how to manage complex residential projects from due diligence through construction, how high-net-worth clients evaluate builders, why concise communication and transp...

Nick and Tyler sit down with Gary Katz to talk about American Mantelpieces, a project that began nearly three decades ago and became something much bigger than a book about fireplaces. Gary reflects on craftsmanship, architectural proportion, rejection, persistence, and how years of studying the work helped him understand not just what looks right, but why it looks right. The conversation expands...

Nick and Tyler sit down with Jeff Sweenor to talk about what it actually takes to keep framing, finish carpentry, cabinetry, masonry, and other trades in-house. Jeff breaks down the constant balance between quality, productivity, overhead, scheduling, hiring, and knowing when a specialized subcontractor can simply do the work more efficiently. The conversation also gets into how Sweenor Builders t...

Tyler is back with an update on where his house build actually stands, what has gone according to plan, and where he has intentionally chosen practicality over perfection. He gets into framing the house, crawl space and insulation decisions, managing costs, working alongside a framing crew, upcoming windows and rough-ins, and the lessons he is learning from being both the builder and the client. I...

This house looks calm. Precise. Almost effortless. Behind that simplicity is an enormous amount of coordination, fabrication, experimentation, and restraint. Nick and Tyler walk the completed home from front door to mechanical room, breaking down the details that made it possible, from full-height doors and flush transitions to custom millwork, stone fabrication, integrated ventilation, dropped fr...

Nick and Tyler sit down with Architect David Hornstein to talk about what has been lost as residential construction has become more specialized, more layered, and more expensive. Drawing from decades as a carpenter, builder, architect, and product designer, David makes the case that highly custom work can still be efficient if the people doing it understand the entire process. They get into the ma...

Nick and Tyler bring Shane Durkin back, with Brad Leavitt joining the conversation, to challenge one of construction's most persistent problems: how project money moves and who should actually carry the financial risk. They get into deposits, escrow accounts, credit card rewards, cost-plus construction, project-level accounting, lien waivers, trade payments, and the hidden complexity that comes fr...

Most builders start by taking every job, doing everything themselves, and figuring out the business after the work is already underway. Nick & Tyler pull together the five systems that helped them move from owning a job to building a company: pre-construction, numbers, production, lead vetting, and team. From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign...

A job can turn into a completely different house when major design changes arrive after framing starts. Charles Ochello, Nick, and Tyler talk about the pressure to keep moving, the cost of avoiding a full stop, and why the big decisions need to be settled before construction begins. Charles' Website:  https://www.vitruviusbuilt.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.c...

Charles Ochello walked away from emergency medicine to build luxury homes in Park City. He talks about the financial runway, the insecurity of starting over, and how lessons from the ER shaped the way he manages high-stakes projects and clients. Charles' Website:  https://www.vitruviusbuilt.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for th...

A midlife crisis might not be losing control. It might be reaching a dead end, quitting on creativity, and deciding there's no better version of yourself left to build. Mark D. Williams talks about risk, fulfillment, expensive lessons, and why the next bet can matter even when it doesn't fully check out on paper. Full Episode: https://youtu.be/A6S_eqGEstA Mark's Website:  https://www.mdwilliamshom...

Everybody wants to build the project they believe in, right up until the risk gets real. This episode gets into what it looks like to take a swing on a house that does more than one job, why Mark D. Williams built Mysa Hus the way he did, and how the project became part business play, part creative reset, and part bet on the future. Mark's Website:  https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com Mark's Podcast:...

The business starts leaking money when the plan in your head never makes it to the people doing the work. Nick and Tyler talk about teaching clearly, building repeatable systems, and why shadowing someone only works when they eventually have to do it themselves. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes:  00:00...

Most builders learn the trade first and figure out the business by taking hits for ten years. Nick and Tyler talk about college, online education, fake gurus, systems, financial clarity, and what builders should actually invest in before the business gets away from them. From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Commu...

This compilation pulls from recent guest conversations with Mark O'Brien, Shane Durkin, Mike Romanowicz, Morgan Molitor, and Michael Holmes Jr. Five different perspectives, but a shared thread runs through all of them: risk, money, systems, tools, identity, and what it really takes to build a better business. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the ne...

Tyler gives another update on the house build while juggling client work, family, site prep, foundation details, and the next round of framing decisions. He gets into the reality of self-performing a build while life, work, and money keep moving. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: Show Notes: 0:14 Mi...

Putting yourself out there comes with opinions, cheap shots, and plenty of people who think they know the whole story from one post. Nick and Tyler talk about online criticism, support systems, comparison, family, friends, and finding the people who actually want to see you win. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Sign-up S...

A lot of builders run millions of dollars through the business without a clear view of what they actually make. Shane Durkin talks through construction finance, project money, cash flow, profitability, and why builders need better systems than acting like the bank for every job. Shane's Websites:  https://www.buildpatriot.com http://www. ledgerwise.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community:...

Some projects stop making sense on paper long before the story is over. Mark O'Brien talks through bankruptcy, real estate risk, New York red tape, private equity, treehouses, 45 White Oak, and why the experience can still be worth chasing. Mark's website: https://buildmeabrownstone.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Si...

Tyler's house build is moving from layout and excavation into foundation prep, and every step is teaching him something new. This one gets into site work, drainage, equipment costs, and the real stress of building your own place while learning the land as you go. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: ht...

Some of the best builder questions are the ones that do not always get asked out loud. This episode has questions that come straight from the MC Community and gets into pricing tiers, labor rates, first admin hires, dead leads, subcontractor agreements, and the systems that help make a construction business easier to run. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign u...

Some seasons get heavy fast, even when you built the business to avoid that. This episode gets into Tyler's house build, money pressure, family guilt, decision fatigue, and trying not to fall back into the old grind-at-all-costs version of yourself. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes:  00:00 When It Feel...

Tyler gives an update on his personal home build, from permit headaches and erosion control to layout, equipment, and finally moving dirt. This one gets into the pressure of building your own house, self-performing as much as possible, and turning years of trade experience into a family home. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻  MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter:  Newsle...