Cover story Builder/Architect Magazine 2008
“McSpadden Custom Homes
Quality is Only the Beginning
By Lin Loflin
Doug McSpadden is no stranger to Charlotte, or to the media for that matter. His work has been featured by many of the leading custom home building journals including Today’s Custom Homes, Housetrends, SouthPark, Charlotte Place, Today’s Charlotte Woman, Urban Home, and of course, he is certainly no stranger to Builder/Architect. His company, McSpadden Custom Homes has been in the spotlight of local and regional papers for award winning work, and leading-edge directions. After 20 years of service, Builder/Architect re-connected to better understand the evolution of one of Charlotte’s wonderful success stories.
Q. Before we get started understanding you as a builder, tell us a little about your personal background
I grew up in Gastonia, NC as the third of four children. Strong Christian and family values were the center of our family’s life. These values and the character development I learned as an Eagle Scout were major influences during my younger years. I attended the University Of Tennessee School Of Architecture and graduated with honors in 1983. During the mid-80’s, I began gathering the credentials necessary to design, build, and sell my own properties. By the time I moved back to North Carolina, I had studied and sat for my real estate broker’s license and general contractor’s license.
Q. What about your family?
My wife, Laurie and I were married in 1984 and have remained best friends and business partners. We have two wonderful sons, Harrison and Connor. Our family is extremely important to us, and we set aside evenings and weekends for our growth and enjoyment. We let our customers know early in our association that from Monday morning – as early as 4:00 am – until Friday afternoon, I’m focused 12 – 16 hours a day on their needs. But evenings and weekends are for family, and I guard this time as precious.
Q. Obviously, your family and your background have strongly impacted who you are today. How would you describe yourself in light of that?
First and foremost, I believe that we are not human beings having a Spiritual experience. We are Spiritual beings having a human experience. This attitude helps me keep things in perspective and remain humble. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale describes it this way - “People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less” I like that! The humility I strive for is not, however, a passive attitude but rather a “do-it-now” attitude. I thrive on production and getting things done. This translates into prompt return phone calls, efficient business meetings, and easy accessibility. Our customers like that.
“His work ethic is second to none. Just the simple fact that he returned my initial phone call within a day was enough.” – Steve Yoerg
“Doug is a longtime customer and friend of mine. That, plus his reputation as a fine home builder, led me to choose him. Building a house with Doug was better than I expected, in terms of both speed and quality. He stayed on top of everything, and he and his staff did a super job. If I were building again, I’d certainly choose him.” – Rob Watson
Our Company
