How Wilmington homebuilder, Konrady & Son Construction, adapts to every client’s vision, brief, and budget
Through the front door of a historic home on 2nd Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, a corridor leads past a newly remodeled kitchen and towards a simply showstopping view: a backlit, infinity-edge pool framed perfectly by a bank of windows, complete with spa and fountain built into the heart of the backyard. It’s the centerpiece of a project that also features a detached garage, an outdoor kitchen, and a pool house with its own gym, wet bar, and sunken fire pit – all within the tight footprint of a protected district. For Tanner Konrady, Owner and President of Konrady & Son Construction (Konrady & Son) – the company behind this exceptional build – it’s a fitting illustration of a business built on solving these kinds of puzzles.
“The entire backyard was intentionally designed within a very constricted space, which is difficult to achieve with that many elements,” he highlights. “It had to be sequenced very strategically which extended the construction timeline, but it’s what the lot’s infrastructure demanded. It was a genuinely collaborative effort with Romero Architecture, M.J. Pools, and Element Landscaping, to tie all those independent spaces into one cohesive whole – it’s an incredibly unique project and an awesome space.”
Generational success
The firm’s roots can be traced back to the early 1980s, when Ralph Konrady began building houses in Wilmington. His son, Tanner, joined the business full-time in 2007, earned his general contractor’s license in 2014, and helped rebrand the company as Konrady & Son to mark the milestone. Tanner took full ownership of the business in 2023 and, today, he leads a company that has grown significantly while maintaining the hands-on, relationship-first approach that built the Konrady name in the first place.
Specializing in luxury custom homes and renovations across Wilmington and the surrounding coastal areas, the company takes on everything from kitchen and bathroom remodels through to full-gut renovations and new builds. However, its portfolio spans a wide range of architectural styles. “I often describe us as being a chameleon,” reveals Tanner. “Our job is to be proficient at executing exactly what the client is asking for – we want to guide them, so they understand the value of their dollar, while ultimately delivering what they’re looking for in terms of design and architecture.”
Additionally, the business has also expanded far beyond construction itself. Not only does it offer a dedicated property services division – managing and maintaining homes post-build – but Konrady & Son also acts as manufacturer’s rep for a range of outside product lines, including cabinetry, motorized screens, storm protection, pergolas, saunas, and cold plunges.
According to Tanner, client sophistication is a defining trend in the current Wilmington market. In a region that has grown rapidly since the pandemic, new residents and second-home buyers are being drawn to the coast – yet with usable land increasingly scarce and expensive, many are choosing to renovate rather than sell and rebuild elsewhere. An influx of remote workers and secondary-home owners means space planning has become a central design consideration for new-builds. “Our clients expect more than an owner-operator relationship,” Tanner elaborates. “They want a dedicated, professional project management team behind their build.” And it’s a shift that has allowed the company to scale without sacrificing the high-touch service for which it has become renowned.
Beyond construction
What’s more, that expectation shapes how Konrady & Son structures every job. Project managers are deliberately scheduled a low volume of work, devoting each build – and each client – focused attention amid an increasingly complex product landscape. Nowhere is that proactive philosophy clearer than in the property services division – where custom schedules lay out every visit, from bi-monthly walkthroughs to seasonal HVAC servicing, generator checks, and pressure washing, tailored to how each home is used. The payoff for clients is swerving the kind of scenario any second-homeowner dreads: arriving for a family holiday to find a system has failed after months of disuse, with no local tradesperson on hand.
“Our goal is to be proactive throughout the year,” adds Tanner. “With proactive home management, if a client tells us they’re coming to town outside our standard visit cadence, we can often catch the issue beforehand, solve it during regular business hours, and avoid emergency callouts altogether – creating real savings and value for the client year-round.” This approach has become a genuine point of differentiation in a market where salt air and seasonal occupancy take a steady toll on a home’s systems.
It’s a mindset that extends to the company’s relationships with architects, interior designers, and realtors, described by Tanner as an extension of the firm’s own marketing effort; a network built and sustained through years of mutual referral and goodwill. Looking ahead, Konrady & Son’s ambitions are less about scale than about legacy. “Revenue has never been my target goal for growth,” concludes Tanner. Instead, his aim is to build the Konrady name to the same standard his father established: one recognizable enough that it adds value to a listing simply by association. “That recognition and respect is exactly what I’m trying to achieve. My dad built the Konrady name – I’m striving to build the & Son name to a level that matches, or even exceeds, everything he has built.”
www.konradyandsonconstruction.com
All images © Will Page Photography
