Owner – Fred Watson, CPHB

    After attending NC State in 1974 and early 1975, majoring in engineering and then forestry, I decided to leave school and start a career in construction. I started at the bottom, as a carpenter’s helper in commercial and residential construction. I progressed from there to carpenter, doing framing, siding, and then interior trim.

    In 1981 a high school friend asked me to build a complicated, contemporary home for him. I did the cost estimation, dug the foundation footings by hand, poured the footings and garage slab concrete, laid the foundation block, framed it (with the help of a college student, with no previous construction experience), and sided it. After being nervous about getting the framing inspection, the inspector came out from the crawlspace and said, “this will never do”. I was crestfallen. He then continued, “It’s framed too well”. I breathed again. 

    While doing interior trim, stair work had piqued my interest. I hired on with a custom stair company in 1986. The work was very rewarding, but the employer wasn’t. After a few years of sub-contacting interior trim and stairs, I started a custom stair company with my brother in 1994. We thrived before selling the company in 1999.

     I started my own stair company in 2000. We did high-end, custom stairs for the likes of professional football, basketball, and baseball players, and NASCAR drivers, along with business leaders and of course, ‘normal folks.’ We built curved and freestanding stairs, some of which our competition chose not to tackle. I enjoyed the challenge! We made many of our own stair parts in house. We sold, built, and installed a double, freestanding stair job, with granite treads and fabricated metal balustrade for $85,000.

     Then came the ‘great recession’ of 2008-2011. High-end homes ground to a halt, as did payments for work that I had completed. I hung on longer than I should have but was forced to close in 2011.

     That forced a change in direction. I re-enrolled in school, while still working a full-time job and working as a sports official on some nights and most weekends. I started at community college, earning an Associate of Science degree. Then I moved on to The University of Massachusetts-Amherst, through their University Without Walls program. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2015, with a GPA of 4.0. Transferring in 9 too many credit hours precluded a summa cum laude designation. My area of concentration was Sustainability Studies. I was a finalist for commence speaker for my college and was chosen as one of four for their Commence Highlights Video.

    I am now a licensed residential contractor and Certified Passive House Builder. With my background residential construction and education in sustainability, I am well suited and inspired to build sustainable, affordable, and resilient homes.

Climate change is happening and without fundamental change, will be catastrophic. Our homes tackle the home-generated portion of its cause head on. We aim for net-zero carbon emissions from heating, cooling, and other home energy demands. This is accomplished through super insulation and air, vapor and water infiltration prevention, combined with solar energy. We prefer to build ‘smart built, smart sized’ homes.

    Let’s see what we can do for you!

Fred Watson

Resilient Builders, LLC