Like so many home builders, Steve Yoder was practically born with a hammer in his hand.

Steve's dad, a farmer and part-time builder in Virginia, put him to work early and apprenticed him at almost every trade. By 15, he was running crews and supervising men more than twice his age. At 18, after moving to Oconee County, he was making a living as a brick mason and beginning to build spec houses on the side.

Since starting his own company in 1985, the scope of his work and his reputation as a quality home builder have grown with the region.

Yoder built small and midlevel specs in Clemson and Seneca in the late 1980s. His first Lake Keowee home was in Keowee Key in 1990. By 2001, he was tackling custom projects ranging from 2,500 square feet up to 10,000 square feet in the Crescent communities and The Cliffs communities.

"Steve has a great reputation up and down the lake," says homeowner Wayne Hobin, who selected Yoder to build his Santa Fe style custom home in Keowee Key in 2000. The design was unusual for this area, Hobin admits. "I interviewed several people and heard 'You can't do that' a lot. Steve looked at the plans and said, `This will be a challenge but it will be a lot of fun.' And it was!"

The idea that each new custom project brings a new challenge-a new opportunity to do something different, interesting and fun-is what keeps the building business alive for Steve Yoder.