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National Custom Builders Council
A lantern-lit courtyard and covered outdoor rooms of a member-built home at dusk

Better builders make better homes.

The Council exists so the country’s leading custom builders can learn from one another, and build better because of it.

Photography to be credited

IConvening since 1997.

The Council first assembled in 1997 with a simple ambition: improve home building by sharing what each builder has learned. Nearly three decades on, that is still the whole idea.

Since then, members have met twice yearly to examine one another’s projects, methods, and businesses.

The lit pool and covered outdoor rooms of a member-built coastal home at dusk
Kurtz Homes · SoutheastPhotography to be credited

IILearning at close range.

Members open their projects and their practices to the group: what worked, what did not, and what the next home should borrow. Every builder comes home sharper.

The stone facade and slate roof of a completed member-built residence
Hobbs Inc. · NortheastPhotography to be credited

IIIMembership is reserved for builders whose work holds up before the most discerning audience there is: their peers.

IVPrivate by principle.

Candor amongst members. Discretion in service of the home.

VOften asked.

I

What does membership tell me about a builder?

That the firm’s work, methods and business are examined twice a year by builders who do the similar discerning work, and hold up. Membership is not an award. It is a standing commitment to be looked at closely, renewed and bettered each time the Council meets.

II

What happens when the Council meets?

Members gather twice a year at one another’s projects. Over two days they walk the work, go through methods and materials, and examine the business behind the building: the people, the place, and the process. What is learned goes home with every builder.

III

How does a builder become a member?

By invitation. There is no application. In discerning luxury markets, word of mouth is still the gold standard and reputations carry the greatest weight.

IV

Can I work with the Council directly?

No. The Council does not design, build or consult. It exists so that its members build better. If you are building near one of our members, please reach out directly.

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