The Mason

Third generation builder. Both sides of the family. I started laying block when I was still in high school and kept at it for a long time. After that I moved into rough carpentry, then finish work and remodels, then supervision, and now I’m in the office. I’ve touched enough trades to know what I’m talking about and enough paperwork to know why most of it doesn’t work.

The name is just a name. Don’t read into it.

What this is

Construction is a customer service industry. I know that makes some people’s skin crawl, but it’s true. The problem is our customers don’t trust us. Not because we’re untrustworthy, but because we’re subject matter experts in a field where there are so many moving parts that nobody knows all of them. We know them better than any owner knows one. But YouTube tells them different, and now every homeowner with a phone thinks they know what a proper footer looks like.

We need to be able to talk to owners, teach them, bring them along, without talking down to them or scaring them off. It’s a tightrope.

I’ve also spent years watching the tools in this industry fail the people using them. When I started, nobody used software for anything. Then the field got a couple of apps for time tracking and light PM stuff, and most of them were trash. Then I moved into the office and learned some industry standard programs. Really learned them. And eveny they fall short, it just nearly there but never arives for me. The guys in the field still don’t use it because it’s too much computer for someone standing in a ditch. But it makes everyone in the office feel like things are up to date. Right up until a sub asks what the latest plan is because it turns out they couldn’t log in and just never said anything.

Every system in construction is either cumbersome or borrowed from another industry. Because we’re athletes and jocks and creatives. Not programmers. The tools should meet us where we are.

What this is not

This is not a how to site. I don’t care how to. If you want someone to show you how to frame a wall, there are a thousand videos for that.

This is not a “use my product” pitch. I don’t care if you use it or not.

This is not a look at me thing. Don’t.

Conwair is just a series of observations I’ve had over a long career, and sometimes the tools I wish I’d had to make a hard job a little easier. For me. If they help you too, great.

Get in touch

hello@conwair.com