After twenty years in the home building business, I get asked a fair amount why I still bother with all the extra classes, certifications, and webinars. The vast majority of it isn’t strictly required to do the job. People wonder what the personal motivation is for not just resting on my laurels after two decades.
The honest answer? My motivation for all the extra classes and webinars is simply because I love to learn.
Learning is a Two-Way Street
I’m not the “end-all-be-all” of building knowledge. The human race has been building homes for, I have no idea how long… but I know that everybody is going to learn from the next generation, and the next generation is going to learn from me.
I don’t want to just sit here and say, “Hey, I have it all figured out.”
I have three of my kids working for me here in the office at Spartan Homes.
I tell them all the time: “Hey, we’re going to do it Dad’s way first. But then, if you have a different way, we will certainly try it. And if it works? Great. Because I learn a lot from other people.”
The Practical Side of Passion
Beyond just loving it, there’s a practical reason for constant education in this industry. Every single day on a job site, there’s some kind of small problem, a unique issue, or a situation where two different products have to mesh together and we’re trying to figure it out.
I want to learn about those things before I do it. I’d much rather do the research upfront instead of going through the problems of trying to figure it out on the fly, spending money I didn’t have to, and wasting a customer’s time or efforts.
Inspiration from the Past
This drive doesn’t just come from new technology; it comes from a deep appreciation for the history of our craft.
When I was in the military, I got to travel all through Europe. You go into Switzerland or Vienna, and you see these beautiful cathedrals, or you walk into a town center where everything looks picture-perfect out of a movie. Then you find out it’s hundreds of years old.
You try to imagine: How did they do this? Sometimes it feels like we can’t even do it like that today, and we have power tools, saws, and lasers!
Lake Anna History
We see that same incredible history right here near Lake Anna. We live very close to Charlottesville, with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and so much history from the Revolutionary period around Fredericksburg. Seeing some of those buildings and how they were built just blows your mind. You wonder how they did it, knowing it was a hundred times the labor we have now.
Can you imagine being one of those craftspeople who took a raw piece of wood and transformed it into a beautiful door? One piece probably took 100 hours, where now we go to the store and pick it up.
Some people think building a home is just straightforward, simple, and boring. It can be, if you let it. But that’s not what excites me.
I have a genuine passion for how things are built, from ancient cathedrals to the modern homes we build today here in Virginia.
That passion is what drives Spartan Homes, and it’s why I’ll never stop learning.
Free Consultations For New Builds And Remodels
I’d love to bring that same enthusiasm and depth of knowledge to your project. If you are considering building a custom home, starting a design project, or planning a remodel here in the Lake Anna area, I invite you to reach out. Let’s sit down for a free consultation and discuss how we can bring your vision to life.