Behind B&D Builders

B&D Builders was born out of a longstanding friendship between Ben Esh and Daniel Glick. The two met as teenagers working for the same small construction shop, where they hammered together backyard storage sheds and pole barns. Their career paths took a turn toward timber frame construction when their work caught the eye of John and Leslie Malone, the largest individual landowners in the United States and a couple with a passion for horses and equestrian facilities. Their first official project was Riveredge, a world-class equestrian facility in Chesapeake City, Maryland.

Today, B&D Builders—along with sister companies Mid-Atlantic Timber Frames, Vintage Homes and Millwork, and Mid-Atlantic Steel Fabrication—is a leading design-build company. Mid-Atlantic Timber Frames focuses on sourcing quality timbers for residential and commercial properties, while Vintage Homes & Millwork constructs custom homes and custom-crafted wood doors. Mid-Atlantic Steel Fabrication is a full-service metal fabricator providing laser cutting, CNC forming, welding, powder coating, countersinking, and more.

The family of specialized companies offers a team of skilled custom builders, designers, millworkers, project managers, timber suppliers, and fabricators expert in the use of quality materials and time-tested construction practices such as mortise and tenon. All four companies are managed out of their parent facility in Paradise, Pennsylvania.

“Our growth has been deliberate,” says Ben Esh. “We added the companies we need to do our job well, which also allows us to keep strict control of the materials, construction process, and finishing details.” B&D has come a long way since its first job in 2008. Today the company stamp is on residential homes, restaurants, and office spaces built in the same mortise-and-tenon timber frame style.

Ben and Daniel attribute their successful evolution to a simple craftsman’s creed: Build it right, or don’t build it. Early on, B&D Builders established a reputation for finishing projects on time and on budget. It wasn’t long before a bedrock of traditional bank barns became orders for horse barns, sprawling equine facilities, and full-scale riding arenas, as well as high-end timber frame homes.

Their old-world craftsmanship proved valuable for preservation and restoration projects as well, from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Middleburg, Virginia. They hammered new life into early 19th-century barns by repointing stone walls, replacing roofs, and styling historic doors, often recycling reclaimed wood and comely old barn beams into other projects. One notable project is the recently completed reconstruction of the historic Star Barn Village, now located at Stone Gables Estates in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Even as their business grows, Esh and Glick remain stalwarts for quality work made to last, blending handmade millwork with modern technology. Inside their Lancaster County facility, which serves as a showroom, is the latest CNC technology and software to create computerized 3D renderings, providing layer-by-layer blueprints. 

▪️ Posts and beams are carefully fashioned to fit seamlessly together

▪️ Trusses assembled in shop

▪️ Timbers are connected at the site using the mortise and tenon method

▪️ Timber is custom-cut for individual job with CNC machine

▪️ Natural energy efficiency of timber improved upon with SIPs (structurally insulated panels) installation

▪️ Complete customization, turnkey service

▪️ For reclaimed wood, Nylon Brush Machine cleans and removes raised fibers to create a rugged look with a clean feel

▪️ Doors are designed with kiln dried, quarter-sawn wood and use engineered side stiles for durability and strength

▪️ Use traditional building methods known for reinforcing and utilizing the strength of timber frame beams