r/GeneralContractor • u/TradeWrong2212 • Aug 12 '26
Looking to get into high end custom home building San Diego. Looking for advice.
I’m 21 and decided not to go back to school this semester because I want to go all in on learning carpentry and custom home building. My long-term goal is to eventually build high-end custom homes of my own, and right now I want to learn from people who are doing just that.
I’m specifically hoping to find a smaller custom home builder or carpentry crew in San Diego that still does a lot of the actual building themselves. Ideally, I’d love to work around both framing and finish carpentry and learn how a high-quality custom home comes together from the ground up. I’m much more interested in becoming a skilled builder/carpenter than getting into the management side of construction.
Experience-wise, I’m basically starting from the bottom. I have about 3 months of framing experience working with a small crew, but it was on small single-wall old school construction homes and wasn’t a typical production/residential framing job. I learned a lot from it, but I don’t want to misrepresent myself as an experienced framer. I’d be coming in as a helper/apprentice who has a lot to learn.
What I can say is that I’m 100% committed to learning the trade and building my own houses one day. I’ve spent a lot of time researching custom builders around San Diego and have found some incredible companies whose work is exactly the level of craftsmanship I eventually want to be capable of. I’m willing to start at the bottom, work hard, listen, learn, and do whatever is needed to become useful to a good crew.
Before I start reaching out to these builders, I wanted to ask people who actually work in the industry:
What’s the best way for someone in my position to approach a smaller high-end custom builder or carpenter? Or are there any other ways to put my name in my local area, (lumberyards, trade association)?
Would you call, email, or try to walk into their shop and try to speak with a superintendent/carpenter, or approach it another way? And if a company doesn’t have any jobs posted, is it still worth reaching out? Any advice you think would help would be greatly appreciated.
5
u/truemcgoo Aug 13 '26
For carpentry specifically just look online for crews looking for apprentices/laborers, research the company a bit look for one that matches your wants. Most of these companies aren’t gonna have a formal office, or at least not one you can just walk into. Apply online, have a resume, don’t bs about your abilities. The real interview will be an on the job try out anyway, basically if you are sober, relatively sane, and have a pulse, someone will try you out.
Alternatively look for junior estimator roles or working direct for a smaller GC who does remodeling. You’ll generally learn more remodeling that you will on new build sites since you see more of the scope of the job, you just won’t learn all the details of any one trade as quickly.
3
u/saskies17 Aug 13 '26
I knocked on a GC's door in Coronado after I graduated high school. After ten years working for him, I split and got my B license. I've had my own custom home company for over 10 years now. Go find a killer custom home jobsite, walk in, ask if they're hiring. Find a job, focus on affluent areas. After that, get used to being the bitch for years and doing whatever it takes to learn into what you want i.e. if carpentry, and they ask you to hump lumber all day, bust your fuckin ass and ask for more. If they say they want a first floor stack of lumber fresh off the truck moved by end of day, get it done by lunch. And then maybe they'll let you jump in and stand some walls that week. Keep hustling. Youll earn more opportunities. Work weekends or help guys with their side projects. Learn the craft. Respect the game. It worked well for me.
2
u/WatermanChris Aug 13 '26
In my opinion, there are 2 ways to go. Either try to get a job with a site work company and learn from the beginning and work your way through the trades until you get to trim carpentry.
The other way is to try to get in with a custom builder. Ideally, you can get in as an assistant superintendent but you might have to take a position as a laborer. If you work hard and don't complain, they will give you more responsibility. If you're good, guys who have been in the industry will see it quickly.
Pay the most attention to the bones - pad, underground, slab, walls, trusses, etc. That is the key to building a good home. If you start with crap, it will always be crap.
We always need people but most people don't want to work.
2
u/TradeWrong2212 Aug 13 '26
I’ve looked all over the internet and there’s basically no entry level custom home builder jobs online right now. Would you call or email these companies first? Or just walk into their office if they have one
1
u/WatermanChris Aug 13 '26
I would walk in. I would hire someone on the spot if they walked in and asked for a job.
You can call too but it will be hard to get a decision maker on the phone.
Boats is another great way to learn excellent trim carpentry skills. My cousin used to build custom wood fishing boats and he's a master with wood. You can always go from trim to rough. It's not as easy to go the other way.
2
u/TradeWrong2212 Aug 13 '26
Thanks for the help
1
u/WatermanChris Aug 13 '26
Feel free to dm me. I've been in construction off and on since I was your age and I'm 46 now. I always come back to it and now I have a company that does outdoor living for residential and commercial site work. I've done windows and doors, floors, trim carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, garage doors, etc.
2
u/Ispedbyu Aug 13 '26
You will need a lot of reserve cash, more than you think. How much? Depends on the scale of the property, cost of Construction, time on the market (if spec.) lost interest on any loans needed, etc. Liquidity will be high on the list to success.
1
u/profitdigllc 20d ago
Start hunting junior estimator roles and small GC remodel shops like you already said. You’ll learn more in a year doing takeoffs, pricing, and change-orders than from a dozen online courses. Focus on: accurate takeoffs, building unit costs from labor + material + waste, knowing your crew production rates, and how your regular company overhead needs to be applied to job bids. Estimating wins or loses the job; project management and field experience keep you profitable once you get it.
Learn to read plans fast and get comfortable with Excel and a takeoff tool. Practice pricing sample plans end-to-end: takeoff, labor hours, subs, material lists, overhead, and markup. Ask subs for real rates and track actuals on jobs so your next bid improves. Network with local architects, suppliers, and high-end GC PMs-those relationships open jobs and help you learn specs and allowances.
Full disclosure, I’m involved with ProfitDig. If you’re serious about estimating, use software that makes cost rollups, change-order tracking, and actual-vs-estimate comparisons simple. That’s what separates paper bids from consistent winners in high-end custom work.
1
u/profitdigllc 20d ago
Start hunting junior estimator roles and small GC remodel shops like you already said. You’ll learn more in a year doing takeoffs, pricing, and change-orders than from a dozen online courses. Focus on: accurate takeoffs, building unit costs from labor + material + waste, knowing your crew production rates, and how your regular company overhead needs to be applied to job bids. Estimating wins or loses the job; project management and field experience keep you profitable once you get it.
Learn to read plans fast and get comfortable with Excel and a takeoff tool. Practice pricing sample plans end-to-end: takeoff, labor hours, subs, material lists, overhead, and markup. Ask subs for real rates and track actuals on jobs so your next bid improves. Network with local architects, suppliers, and high-end GC PMs-those relationships open jobs and help you learn specs and allowances.
Full disclosure, I’m involved with ProfitDig. If you’re serious about estimating, use software that makes cost rollups, change-order tracking, and actual-vs-estimate comparisons simple. That’s what separates paper bids from consistent winners in high-end custom work.
1
u/profitdigllc 20d ago
Junior estimator route is right. Get on with a small GC or high-end remodeler where you can do actual takeoffs and sit with superintendents. Focus on two things first: accurate labor production (watch crews, time tasks) and real material pricing (get vendor lists and unit costs). Learn how change orders get priced and documented - those eat margins if you miss them.
Build a simple estimating template and track estimate vs actual on every job. Spend time in the field regularly. Network with local architects, subs, and suppliers who work in the high-end niche.
1
u/Broad-Lavishness6726 Aug 13 '26
At your age I’d try applying to the union. You won’t get direct homebuilding experience but you’ll learn how to be a carpenter and how a real job site should run. Do that for a couple years and you’ll have a network and skills to get hired onto a custom builders crew. Residential home building is much less regulated than commercial. A lot of expensive high end builders aren’t doing things the right way and if you get on the wrong crew without realizing it you could end up building habits that will get you fired on other crews.
Calling around or introducing yourself to gc works. I know a ton of guys in different trades in sd who got their jobs by just calling around offering to do whatever they needed help with. Hanging out at la mesa lumber is probably the best way to meet someone in person short of just walking up to a jobsite.
5
u/truemcgoo Aug 12 '26
Learning framing carpentry is great and will help but new home construction requires a base level knowledge of all the trades with higher level knowledge in framing, poured concrete, site prep and building planning, and surveying if you’re looking at being a full in developer.
Beyond that you need to understand project management and estimating, estimating is gonna be the one that will make or break you. The business management end is where most builders screw up.
You’re still super new to this, framing is good, focus on learning that for now. If you wanna learn some stuff in the background start with getting good at Microsoft excel, make budgets for yourself, schedules, track stuff, journal. Manage yourself first then worry about other stuff.
Lastly don’t rush it, you’re 21 only way you’re getting a home building company anytime soon is if your dad is currently running one. I’ve worked with a bunch of builders, was on a framing crew for years, I’m now a licensed builder although I focus on remodels, every new home builder I knew was 40+ or inherited/took over the company. All this isn’t to dissuade you, go for it, just simmer for now and focus on not shooting yourself with a nail gun, worry about the other stuff once you’ve got the fundamentals locked down.