DD Ford Construction demonstrated its multiple skills in one of Santa Barbara’s most audacious builds 

Prominent in the Santa Barbara, California area, DD Ford Construction (DD Ford) specializes in constructing, remodeling, and maintaining custom homes of all shapes and sizes. For DD Ford, the excitement of home building lies in the finer details, as it strives to deliver the highest standards of service and workmanship possible. Thanks to its extensive workforce spread across four distinct yet closely coordinated departments (New Homes and Major Renovations, Remodels, Maintenance and Finish Carpentry), the company sees project through from inception to completion regardless of their complexity or size. This comprehensive approach encompasses tasks ranging from general labor and demolition to framing, finish carpentry, project supervision, and project management. Ryan Prahm, Partner at DD Ford, shares some valuable insights into the company’s journey and evolution in the home building industry. 

“Doug Ford founded DD Ford back in 1979. Initially a furniture and cabinetry shop, the business transitioned into remodeling and constructing large homes in Santa Barbara and the Greater Santa Barbara area. Over the past 46 years, DD Ford has grown considerably from a small cabinetry and furniture shop with two employees into a home building business with a workforce of roughly 65 employees. Presently, the company undertakes the construction of some of the largest estates in Santa Barbara, alongside providing hourly maintenance services for many of the properties it has built over the years. Additionally, its expertise includes a wide range of services such as remodeling work, maintenance, and new construction,” he clarifies. 

Across these core offerings, DD Ford exemplifies unmatched know-how and craftsmanship that differentiate it among other home builders in the Santa Barbara area. “We are one of the few companies left that can truly craft homes from scratch,” says Ryan. “Indeed, we have numerous in-house trades working on many of our projects, albeit not all of them – we don’t have the capacity to handle all our own work in every trade. Our exceptional team is made up of finish carpenters, a select group of rough carpenters or framers, and a handful of tile and stone masons. In contrast to typical general contractors, we are still very much hands-on within our organization. We also continue to operate our cabinetry and furniture shop in town, which sets us apart as most contractors nowadays tend to subcontract all their work, whereas we like to retain a small percentage of our work in-house,” he goes on. 

Committed to education 

On a more personal note, Ryan discusses his career in the construction industry, which began at a young age. “I started working in the field as a kid and continued through junior high, high school, college, and beyond, focusing on the trades and hands-on work. Subsequently, I went on to work for a large custom construction company in San Francisco, where I gained tons of experience before returning to Santa Barbara and started at DD Ford Construction approximately 21 years ago. In 2010, Blair Edwards joined the DD Ford team as its Controller, and shortly thereafter the second generation of DD Ford Construction was formed in 2014. For the past 15 years, Blair has been an integral part of the company. As a result, he is not just a business partner but also my closest friend in the world, practically family to me. I feel incredibly blessed to have such a strong bond with Blair, as well as with our founder Doug,” he reveals. 

The DD Ford team is passionate about the home building industry, a love they are dedicated to instilling in the younger generation by engaging with different middle schools and high schools to introduce students to alternative career paths in construction. “This is an initiative we are all very proud of. Both Doug and Blair used to have a career as teachers, and my wife still is a teacher, so we all hold a particular appreciation for teaching and education not just in a school context, but also from a hands-on perspective. Over the last 15 to 20 years, we have prioritized supporting these values through financial contributions to an organization in Santa Barbara known as Partners in Education. Additionally, we enjoy a partnership with Tradart, which worked tirelessly with the public school system in town to reintroduce trade programs, specifically shop programs, in all the junior highs and high schools in Santa Barbara. Being involved with Tradart has been a pleasure and gave us the opportunity to hire a number of high school and college-aged interns who may have not considered higher education to be the most reasonable path for them. Our goal and responsibility is to show young individuals who may not have either the opportunity or passion to pursue higher education that a fulfilling career in the trades is within reach. Moreover, we strive to provide them with opportunities within our organization that they may not have otherwise encountered in life. At DD Ford, our primary mission consists in being an organization that offers opportunities for everyone to lead a better life than they could have ever imagined,” Ryan reveals. 

Montecito project 

Ending our conversation on the topic of projects, Ryan highlights a home recently built by DD Ford that truly showcases the extent of its abilities. “Currently, we are working on a good number of significant projects. Our portfolio includes projects that have been featured in every sought-after publication. Each of these projects was fun, yet provided challenging opportunities for everyone involved due to the level of design, details, and complexities they entail. Recently, we completed a home located on the beach in Montecito, which may have been the most complicated puzzle of a project that we have ever worked on. This project entailed a substantial amount of work as we essentially needed to build the entire structure from the ground up while suspending the third floor of the house in mid-air. While shoring up the third level of the house over the sandy beach, we were then craning equipment down and building a foundation to connect with the underside of the top floor roof ridge, which was an extraordinary feat. I believe that this is a project we will never forget, and it turned out exceptionally well,” he concludes. 

Santa Barbara’s home building landscape is safe in the hands of DD Ford as it cultivates the next generation of builders by transmitting its exceptional home construction expertise.  

www.ddford.com