As it happened, a lot of people loved the results of his blend of design vision and meticulous execution. In 2013, he re-visioned the endeavor as Ingrained Building Concepts, Inc. to emphasize the firm’s comprehensive capabilities. And as 2019 drew to an end, the Wappingers Falls native found himself busier than ever.
“Fall’s a crazy time,” he says. “We were going a mile a minute, six if not seven days a week, long hours, trying to get people’s homes ready for them to move in, trying to get concrete poured before the ground froze.”
Yet in all the madness, Jones has never strayed from his philosophical foundation: Do the design the right way and everything else will flow from there. “Planning is the key to any success. There are always going to be variables even with a plan; the quality of the plan itself should never be one of those variables. A lot of people don’t invest enough time in the planning and design; our approach is to start with a plan that is cohesive enough that the execution just flows from it.”
Ingrained Building Concepts won Best of Houzz 2017 for client satisfaction, and the company stays busy doing the kind of work its founder enjoys. “I love doing a bedroom or kitchen remodel that’s complex and interesting, that calls for extreme attention to detail,” he says. “A mindful approach. It’s not the size or scale that draws me, it’s the type of work—going very hands-on while staying focused on both the design and the function. Everything has to look clean and integrated and work together seamlessly.”
For the past dozen years, Ingrained Building Concepts has been working with Bensonwood, a custom building company based in Walpole, New Hampshire with a focus on sustainable passive houses and timber framing. “They just keep getting better and improving their product,” says Jones. “What they do is pre-fabricate these panels—not like log cabin-style, more the way a barn is framed—that are state-of-the-art efficient, airtight, and insulated. They’re conversant with everything from traditional timber frame skills to cutting edge technology, and they always deliver a beautiful product. Having them build the panels and deliver them means that we can deliver a closed-in structure on a foundation in just a couple of weeks; then Ingrained takes over from there and handles all the other stuff.”
And he does mean all the other stuff. Actualizing that fully realized plan means getting deep into every process from HVAC and electric to roofing and trim—and each detail and product needs to be on point, which in today’s world means constant research. “It’s a challenge to keep up with the latest products out there and the methods involved,” says Jones. “Everything is much tighter—spray foam insulation, flashing—and you have to be careful of every detail, otherwise you can trap moisture and have water issues and not know it right away. Different materials are suited to different situations; different architects may or may not have a handle on that aspect when they do their drawings.”
Jones, who grew up exploring the Hudson Valley outdoors, has found his niche in adding just the right energy-efficient homes in just the right spots, done just the right way. People are taking notice: besides the Houzz recognition, Ingrained has had recent work featured on Dwell.com and in Residential Design Magazine after collaborating with Bensonwood and Texas-based architectural firm Lake Flato on a lakeside vacation home in Clinton Corners.
Another collaboration with Lake Flato is just gearing up: this one a modern timber frame in Rhinebeck. “It’s gonna be a monster,” says Jones happily. “It’ll keep us going through the next months. Right now it’s a hole in the ground, a batch of drawings and a vision.”
