"2012 has been a big improvement over 2011," says Doug Storey, managing partner of Two Storey Building, a custom builder and remodeler in Bolton, Mass. When LowesForPros spoke to Storey in 2011, he had given up on home building and refocused his business on remodeling. But today, he's much more optimistic.
Half of Storey's gross revenue in 2012 came from new home construction, while the other half resulted from remodeling — the majority of which were $100,000 projects or more — including a second-story addition and a kitchen-and-bath gut remodel.
To support the increase in business, he hired two full-time carpenters and a part-time bookkeeper, and for the first time since 2010, he's been able to walk away from projects that are too small or fall outside his specialty.
While Storey doesn't expect a huge spike in 2013, he's confident things will keep improving. "The housing market is improving and people have equity in their homes again," he says. "Those are good signs for continued growth next year."