North Carolina Builder Earns Custom Builder of the Year Award

A client-first mentality, top-notch attention to detail and award-winning body of work culminated in Mark Batson, owner of Tongue & Groove Design + Build in Wilmington, N.C. earning the 2020 Custom Home Builder of the Year award.

Batson describes Tongue & Groove as a boutique, luxury home design-build firm focused on building a select number of highly personalized projects. “Each home is designed and built specifically to our client’s taste and lifestyle,” Batson said. “We build beautiful homes of the highest quality while delivering superior customer care. It's an honor to be recognized for bringing this vision to life.” Over the years, Batson has successfully built and maintained a reputation of professionalism, innovation and quality. Those characteristics are witnessed first-hand not only by his former clients, but also by his industry peers.

"Mark and I collaborated on two award-winning projects within the past couple of years, and each time I was excited to work with him because he is committed to his craft as a master custom builder," said Phil Kean, president of Phil Kean Design Group. "I am very proud of the high quality of craftsmanship and sustainability Tongue & Groove brought to these projects, as they do to all of their projects."

Tongue & Groove proudly offers its clients a full array of in-house services — including real estate, home design and construction, interior design and outdoor living design — allowing the firm full control of project quality and scheduling.

Its clients also appreciate the comprehensive resources available that help maintain seamless and effective communication, which enable them to more easily visualize their new home and stay informed as the project takes shape. These include access to VR tours, 3D renderings and aerial drone footage during conference calls. Clients also have login access to CoConstruct software to track their budget and view project updates.

“My wife and I worked with Mark on building our forever home, and the process Mark and his team deployed made the experience one of collaboration, full transparency and ease,” said Todd Vasos, CEO of the Dollar General Corporation. “It was obvious from the very beginning Mark was a strong, strategic thinker with the ability to translate that thinking into action to make our home come to life. We could not be happier or more satisfied with our decision to work with him on this project.”

Batson was presented with the 2020 Custom Home Builder of the Year award by the NAHB Custom Home Builders Committee during a virtual awards ceremony held earlier this year in conjunction with IBSx. Batson had been selected as a finalist for the award on two previous occasions, once in 2017 and again in 2019. But 2020 was a year in which he says his business plan “fully blossomed.”

“From the very beginning, we set out to build beautiful homes of the highest quality,” Batson said. “Doing so requires a strategic approach with a cohesive team of industry professionals committed to a culture of honesty, integrity and innovation. Even as the company continues to grow and expand, these beliefs remain the same.”