Our Favorite Outdoor Spaces (And Why They Work All Year Long)
These aren’t just nice backyards. They’re built for the real stuff—freeze-thaw, muddy kids, fire pits in January, and furniture that stays where it’s supposed to. At Duet Build, we don’t design outdoor spaces. We build them to work—through every season, and every reason a family needs to use them. HERE’S WHAT WE’RE PAYING ATTENTION TO […]
Duet Build Partner Spotlight: Bespoke Cabinet Maker New Mountain Design
DUET BUILD PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: BESPOKE CABINET MAKER NEW MOUNTAIN DESIGN Ever wondered where we find the awesome custom cabinetry you see in Duet Build projects? The kitchens or home offices or bars that you literally cannot find anywhere else? We work with talented craftspeople, like the team at New Mountain Design, led by Jason McConathy, […]
Before You Build: Why Pre-Construction Saves Time, Money, and Your Sanity
You’ve heard the horror stories—delays, surprise costs, scope creep, and miscommunication that frustrate everyone. Truth is, most of those headaches aren’t caused mid-project. They start before the first shovel hits the ground. At Duet Build, we don’t just manage construction; we lead with strategy. Pre-construction isn’t a phase we just check off. It’s where smart, […]
Devon & Caleb Tobin: The New Perfect Duet
For 15 years, Caleb Tobin—husband of Duet Design founder and principal Devon Tobin—has watched his wife build a beautiful and powerful brand, under which she has run both Duet Design and, most recently, Duet Build. Now, the firms are pleased to announce Caleb’s new role as owner and president of Duet Build! WHAT DOES THIS […]
4 FAQs About Building a Custom Home
Building a custom home is a big deal—exciting, nerve-wracking, and full of decisions that you didn’t even know were things (Why are there 47 types of grout?). We get it. So, we asked Karen Hoskinson, Project Manager at Duet Build, to answer four of the biggest questions people ask before diving into a custom build […]
Why Custom Cabinets & Millwork Are Worth the Investment
ONE OF THE FINEST ELEMENTS OF A CUSTOM HOME IS CUSTOM MILLWORK. Homes that feel distinctive often have beautifully crafted doors, molding, trim, siding, cabinetry, wainscoting, and/or built-ins—all of which fall into the category of millwork. As the homeowner, you want a home that fully achieves your goals for aesthetic beauty and function, and custom […]
High-quality Subcontractors: The “Secret Sauce” in Your Construction Project
We’ll let you in on an often-overlooked fact of custom home building and remodeling: Your general contractor is only as good as his or her subcontractors, especially on high-end projects that rely on exquisitely detailed work. A significant part of our job is coordinating subcontractors and tradespeople: the tile setters, cabinetmakers, finish carpenters, masons, paper […]
What Role Does an Architect Play in a Remodel?
The short answer: a crucial one! For large-scale projects like ours, Duet Build needs an architect to create stamped drawings to submit to the city for permitting. But even beyond that requirement, homeowners need an architect to help them figure out how to transform their spaces from what they have into what they want. Because builders use the […]
5 Tips to Hiring a Great General Contractor
We’re not exactly unbiased when it comes to the topic of hiring building contractors, but we have a lot of experience in this arena: On one hand, we’ve seen truly great projects (by our crews and by our competitors), and on the other hand, we’ve heard horror stories from broken-hearted homeowners who dropped their GCs […]
The Duet Build Difference
Duet Build is a new, old company: It’s been nearly a year since Doug Canady’s retirement, and Duet Build stands on the foundation of the excellence he established over 30 years and innovates every day. Here’s what sets us apart: + We are design-centric, custom-home builders and remodelers. Duet Build principal Devon Tobin and Duet […]
