When it comes to craftsmanship, experience is essential for success. One of the best ways to multiply experience is to pass it on, and who better to pass it on to than your family? That philosophy shines through in September’s HARDSCAPE HERO winner Christina Speiden and the team at Pro-Built Construction. The father/daughter duo who secured their first win with Belgard’s program is creating extraordinary outdoor living spaces and certainly caught our attention with a one-of-a-kind project.
Everything at Pro-Built Construction is a family affair. Christina’s father Edward started the business in 1976 doing home improvement and construction work. Three years later the company pivoted to outdoor living, primarily building decks until moving to hardscapes in 2005. “I got tired of saying no,” laughs Edward. Christina explains that she “found that the homeowners wanted a more full outdoor living space with kitchens and fire features, and they wanted to deal with one contractor that they trusted. That’s when we decided to shift our focus toward hardscapes.” After nearly a decade teaching biology, Christina left her career to work for Pro-Built designing beautiful exterior spaces. As a family business, each member takes on a different role. Edward acts as the face, meeting with clients and selling jobs, then passes things on to Christina who designs the plan for the project. Christina’s husband Ryan is the project manager who takes her designs and builds the outdoor spaces.
When they submitted this project they knew it was special, but couldn’t have anticipated that their first time in the program would end with them winning the 2024 HARDSCAPE HERO of the Year Award. This incredible project had been over a year in the making when they finally completed it in September. When Pro-Built initially pitched a design for the space, the homeowners weren’t 100% sure what they wanted to do. The biggest question was the pool placement, and so they took some time to consider everything. “They actually went and met with other contractors and landscape architects, and during that time the homeowner was able to refine her vision for the space,” remembers Christina, “and then they actually came back to us and said ‘we want you to do this,’ so we took her vision and made tweaks here and there until it was absolutely perfect.”
Several factors made this huge project a year-long process. The trouble with the pool placement was partially due to the water and septic situation, which involved a well and septic field. “Even though we signed in September, we didn’t start the patio portion until February,” Christina explains, “which is a hard time of year to start breaking ground.” The scale of the project meant they needed to have everything checked by engineers to ensure stormwater would run off correctly. All things considered, the operation went smoothly and the homeowners couldn’t have been happier.
One of the keys to Pro-Built’s success is their communication skills and the family approach they take. “The homeowner likes to know they’re dealing with us,” says Edward, “they don’t have to worry about talking to a bunch of different contractors, they know they can voice their concerns with us and it’ll get taken care of.” That trust goes a long way when you’re dealing with someone’s living space. “I’ll talk to the homeowner and tell them ‘My husband is the project manager, and I’ll be talking to him tonight over dinner about your patio,’” Christina adds, “and just knowing that we live our work day in and day out and that it’s such a huge part of our lives inspires a great deal of confidence in them.”
When asked what their greatest takeaways from years in the industry have been, each had a different answer. Edward said that listening is the most important thing. “You want to listen and take notes,” he explains, “because everyone is different. So you want to understand what the homeowner’s expectations are, and what they’re really hoping to get out of the project.” Christina contributed her thoughts saying, “If his word is ‘Listen,’ then mine is ‘Change.’ It’s important to understand that nothing will go perfectly and that you have to be able to adapt. People’s opinions change, the weather changes, the industry changes, you hit hurdles, but if you can be flexible things will go so much more smoothly.”
That intergenerational wisdom is just one of the many reasons Pro-Built has been such a success, and if their first HARDSCAPE HERO win is any indication of the future, then things are only going up from here. While Christina couldn’t attend the annual HARDSCAPE HERO celebration to accept her award, Edward received the honor in her place. As he took to the podium, tears welling up in his eyes, he spoke about what it means to be a hero, to put your family, your employees and your business before your own needs. The crowd met his words with a standing ovation, most of those present resonating with his message to his fellow small business owners. We were also incredibly moved by Edward’s speech and can’t wait to see what comes next for him, Christina and the family business.
To see Edward’s full acceptance speech, head to our YouTube channel
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The following Belgard products were used in this project:
Cast Stone Wall – Allegheny
Trilogy – Tucson ColorTech
Belmont Caps – Bluestone