EP #38 Building Dreams in Fredericksburg

What happens when a philosophy major picks up a saw for the first time after college? For Nick Covert, it sparked a passion that grew into Dream Builders, a thriving 19-year business specializing in custom decks, screened porches, and sunrooms throughout Fredericksburg.

Nick's unexpected journey from academic to entrepreneur forms the heart of this engaging conversation. Unlike many in his field who grew up with tools in hand, Nick discovered construction after completing his degree, finding immediate satisfaction in creating tangible structures and watching projects take shape daily. This fresh perspective gives Dream Builders its distinctive approach, combining practical craftsmanship with a thoughtful understanding of client needs.

The discussion challenges common misconceptions about deck building, revealing why today's outdoor structures are far from simple DIY weekend projects. Nick explains how modern decks require engineering expertise and must navigate complex county-specific building codes. He shares valuable insights about emerging materials and techniques that have revolutionized the industry, moving beyond traditional pressure-treated lumber to innovative metal and composite options.

What truly distinguishes Dream Builders in a competitive market is their commitment to education over high-pressure sales tactics. "If you don't go with us, at least you learn something from us," Nick explains, detailing how consultations focus on empowering homeowners with knowledge rather than pushing for immediate contracts. This refreshingly honest approach, combined with Nick's genuine enthusiasm for his craft, reveals why Dream Builders has earned its reputation as a trusted local business.

Want to see samples of decking materials and railing options in person? Visit their showroom at 77 Cool Springs Road in Fredericksburg, check out dreambuildersofva.com, or call [phone] to learn how they can transform your outdoor living space.

Nick Covert

Dream Builders

[phone]

77 Cool Spring Road Fredericksburg, VA, 22405

dreambuildersofva.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to another episode of the
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of
our favorite local brands.
Joining me today on the podcastis Nick Covert of Dream
Builders.
Nick, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, I'm excited to learn more about you and your
business.
So let's start there.
Can you share with thelisteners a little bit about
your business?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, we're a local company located at 77 Cool
Springs Road in Fredericksburg,right outside of downtown
Fredericksburg.
We specialize in decks,screened porches and sunrooms.
We're a small company.
We've been in business forabout 19 years.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Oh wow.
I had a chance to browse yourwebsite and your work is
beautiful, so congratulations on19 years.
That's a huge accomplishment.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour journey and how the
business started.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Good question.
I never really picked up a sawuntil I was out of college.
Most people start young.
That was not me.
I went to school, got a degreein philosophy, minor in
psychology.
Was really done with school atthat point, wanted to get out of
the classroom, kind of startthe real world, so to speak.

(01:39):
My first job was building homes.
I found I just loved it.
It was just such a sense ofaccomplishment.
You know, each day you knowbuilding something new.
So it was just.
It came easy for me, so it wasjust.
I just loved it.

(01:59):
Just being outside and you know, seeing what you could build
and what a group of a coupleguys could build in one day was
just amazing to me.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
So interesting that you completely switched career
paths, but I imagine that minorin psychology is helping quite a
bit when it comes to dealingwith your customers.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, that definitely comes into play sometimes.
So does the philosophy too, youknow.
Just, you know, just having agood background, you know, and
understanding people as a whole,you know, helps, I think.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Absolutely so.
Do you find that there are anymyths or misconceptions about
the industry or your business?

Speaker 3 (02:48):
Yeah, there's several .
One would maybe be just that.
Decks are like a DIY, you knowlike that anybody can do a group
of their buddies, you know,weekend warrior projects.
That might have been the caseyears ago, but decks today are,
uh, you know, highly engineered.

(03:08):
Uh, there, there's lots of coderestrictions that are
associated with these decks.
So, uh, the days of just acouple buddies building a deck
on the weekend, I, I think, aregone.
Uh, another one would be that,uh, pressure treated wood wood
for decks and porches would belike the only option for framing

(03:29):
.
There's new technologies thathave advanced to where now we're
using a combination of eithermetal products for framing or
even composite, so you don'thave to go with just like a wood
frame for your structural work,uh, project that's good to know

(03:52):
.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Thank you for for sharing that.
So I imagine over 19 years youhave seen quite a bit of
innovation in the industry.
How are you keeping up with newtrends?

Speaker 3 (04:07):
good question.
Uh, yeah, the codes changeconstantly.
So uh, and only that.
But there's different codeswithin the different counties we
work in.
So typically what we do is wepick the most strict county and
we just build to that county forall the counties we deal with.
Otherwise it's too difficultfor the guys even the office for

(04:31):
that matter to treat eachcounty differently.
So it just makes it morestreamlined and easier approach
for us building we just build tothe toughest county that we
work with.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
That's really smart and really efficient.
So I imagine that you havelearned a lot in terms of on the
business side of things over 19years.
What is something that you wishsomeone had told you when you
started your business, or whatadvice would you give a new

(05:10):
entrepreneur?

Speaker 3 (05:13):
That's tough, I would say, maybe don't wait.
You know, uh, if you know youwait for the right time, it's
just that that right timethere's always a reason to put
it off.
So, my, my, I would say youknow, get out there and start.
You know, uh, that's that'sreally the best way to learn is

(05:35):
to just dive right in.
So, um, I started when I my owncompany, when I was 27,.
Um and um, I look back on itand I think that was a good time
.
I mean, maybe I could havestarted a couple of years sooner
, uh, but I did need some timeto like learn the trade, really

(05:56):
get a good grasp of that, beforeI started something that was
new to me.
But I think starting young islike crucial with most
industries or businesses.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
That's really good advice.
The best time to start is now,and if you wait until you are
completely ready, you may neverstart.
Some things you have to learnalong the way, right.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
Correct.
I think I've always beensomeone that learned best by
experience.
I can read it, but if I don'tsee it firsthand, it's just that
lesson isn't always learned aswell when you actually
experience it.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Mm, hmm, so clearly you work very hard in your
business.
I imagine you have long days,so tell us when you're not
working, what are you doing forfun?

Speaker 3 (06:52):
I love working.
More I'm often doing, you know,like my kids and my wife are
always like you know, dad'salways got a project you know,
like dad's always doingsomething so like it's just.
I don't know, I'm just a busybody, you know.
So I think that's what makes megood at construction, that I
just, you know, I'm not a kindof guy that just pops on the

(07:15):
couch and just watches tv on myoff time.
I'm always doing somethingwhether that's you know building
, you know a garden box or, uh,you know taking the kids on the
boat or something.
It's always I'm, we're alwaysdoing something, that's for sure
.
And we love Lake Anna.
We live out here, so we're onthe boat a lot Nice.

(07:39):
That's what I like.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, what a great role model you are for your
children to see that your hardwork pays off and to watch you
building this business.
I imagine you get a lot of joyout of that as well.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Yeah, I would love for both of my kids one day.
I think they're both interestedin what I do and I think
they're both, in their ownaspects, like maybe plan on
helping in the future.
My daughter is going intomarketing here at JMU so she's
kind of she could help me out inthat aspect.
And my son he'll be a seniorthis year and he's been helping

(08:23):
out some just with, you know,this summer in the business, so
he's trying to get his feet wetand learn from the bottom up.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Nice.
That'll be so rewarding to haveyour kids involved in the
business someday.
I love that.
So what is something that youwish the listeners knew about?
Dream builders?

Speaker 3 (08:50):
Just that we're honest.
You know, like we don't, we'renot the high pressure there's.
There's several of them in thearea that are just like the
whole used car salesman approach.
They just come in and try towear you down Like that's not us
.
You know like we come in, wetry to educate people.
We try to give you.
You know, if you don't go withus, at least you learn something
from us.
So I do a lot of the sales.

(09:12):
I don't do all of them, but theother salespeople they're
handpicked by me so that whennone of us are high pressure,
we're always just easygoing.
You know an honest approach andwe're there to you know educate
you, if nothing else.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
I love that so much.
I love the education piece.
I've always believed that ifyou serve others, it you know,
it all comes back to you and andyou're right even if they don't
end up going with you, youeducating them, you're
positioning yourself as theexpert.
So it it, it all comes backaround in that, in that

(09:54):
situation.
So I really love that you putan emphasis on education.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah, I mean we're all good at something, I just
happen to be really good at thisstuff.
So, yeah, I mean we're all goodat something, I just happen to
be really good at this stuff.
So you know, I try to, in the30 minutes to an hour I try to
get you as much information inmy head that I can give you.
You know, whether that's youknow design or that's you know
products to choose, like there's, there's so much to go over

(10:19):
that you know.
I just try to give you a smallportion of what's in.
You know what I know.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
That's amazing.
So, Nick, if the listeners wantto learn more from you or want
to connect with you youmentioned your address Give us
your, your contact information,maybe your website and phone
number.

Speaker 3 (10:41):
Oh yeah, the website's dreambuildersofvacom.
I'm sorry, I almost gave you myemail and then, yeah, you could
contact me email as well,dreambuildersofvacom, or a phone
number, 295-4111.

(11:03):
And our office location is alsoa showroom, so there's some
samples decking railing tochoose and look at.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Nice, nice, well, nick, thank you so much for
being my guest on the podcasttoday and sharing Dream Builders
with us.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
My pleasure, thank you.

Speaker 1 (11:22):
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg
Neighbors Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tofxbgneighborspodcastcom.
That's fxbgneighborspodcastcom,or call 540-534-4618.