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Crestwood builds and reworks modern and mountain homes on Lake Tahoe and throughout the greater Tahoe Basin.
Site
Every Tahoe lot arrives with its own constraints — slope, setbacks, trees that can't be touched, a review board with opinions, and a permitting path that starts long before anyone breaks ground. We read those limits early, with the architect, while they're still cheap to solve. What looks like site work is mostly sequencing.
Climate
The building season here is short and the winter is unforgiving. Snow load, freeze-thaw, and ice at every roof edge and transition decide more details than taste does. We plan the schedule around the weather rather than against it, and we build assemblies that are still tight after twenty winters.
Material
Cedar, board-formed concrete, steel, stone, zinc. These materials behave differently at six thousand feet than they do at sea level, and the difference shows up in the joints. We source with that in mind, and we care as much about how a material weathers as how it looks the week the photographer comes.
Construction
Drawings describe intent; construction resolves it. A roof plane held flat across a hundred feet, a cantilever that reads as thin, stone that runs unbroken through glass — those are built results, not drawn ones. The work is in the tolerances, and in raising the hard questions early enough that the answer is still the architect's to make.
Collaboration
We build from other people's drawings, and we've done it long enough with the same architects that the conversation starts before the set is finished. A good builder protects the idea through value engineering, weather delays, and the hundred small decisions a set can't anticipate. The relationship doesn't end at closing — we maintain the homes we build, exclusively for our clients.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do we need an architect before contacting Crestwood?
Not necessarily, and earlier is usually better. We're typically retained at the inception of a project, around the time the architect and engineer are secured, so constructability and cost can shape the design while changes are still inexpensive. If you don't have an architect yet, we can point you toward firms we've worked with.
How long does a custom home in the Tahoe Basin take?
Typically 22 to 36 months from groundbreaking to completion. The range is wide because size, number of structures, topography, and complexity all move it, and Tahoe weather can either accelerate a schedule or stop it. We give a project-specific schedule during pre-construction rather than a guess.
How does Crestwood approach budgeting?
With full transparency. Clients receive detailed cost breakdowns and ongoing budget tracking through the build, reviewed in regular Owner-Architect-Contractor meetings. All costs are open. The aim is that no one is surprised, and that decisions get made with real numbers in front of them.
What is included in pre-construction?
Feasibility assessment, working with your architect and engineer to test the design against what can actually be built, costing out assemblies, permit coordination, and building the budget and schedule. It establishes the path from concept through completion before anyone breaks ground.
Is Crestwood involved after the home is finished?
Yes, and it's central to how the firm operates. We remain a resource for ongoing maintenance, seasonal readiness, and support for the life of the home, exclusively for Crestwood clients. We still service homes we completed decades ago.
Does Crestwood do remodels and additions?
Yes. We regularly remodel existing homes and build additions alongside new construction.
How many years has Crestwood been building?
Marshall Williams founded Crestwood in 2005 and the firm has built in the Tahoe Basin ever since. Crestwood has held a California General Contractor's license since 2005 and a Nevada license since 2013, with no monetary limit on project cost.
Where does Crestwood build?
On Lake Tahoe, throughout the greater Tahoe Basin, and into the Carson Valley.
Does Crestwood specialize in a particular style?
No. Clients come to us for three broad approaches: modern, mountain modern, and craftsman. Our portfolio runs from one end of that spectrum to the other. What the projects share is that they're built to last generations, not that they look alike.
Does Crestwood do remodels and additions?
Yes. We remodel homes and build additions regularly.
Is building in the Tahoe Basin different from other regions?
Yes. Heavy snow loads, strict environmental regulation, difficult terrain, and a short season all constrain the work in ways a fair-weather climate does not. We've spent decades building relationships with TRPA, the associated agencies, consultants, trade partners, and vendors, and that history is a large part of how projects here get through approval and get built.
What do pre-construction services include?
Feasibility assessment, working with your architect and engineer to test the design against what can actually be built, costs attached to assemblies, permit coordination, budgets, and schedules. The result is a clear path from concept through completion.
Does Crestwood stay involved after the home is finished?
Yes, and it's a core part of how the company works. We still serve clients whose homes we completed more than 25 years ago — ongoing maintenance, seasonal readiness, and support through the life of the house.
How large is Crestwood?
Between 40 and 50 employees, held steady for the past decade. We've chosen not to grow past that so the work stays at the standard we want.
Who will we be working with?
The same people, project after project. Site superintendents average 11 years with Crestwood, project management 10, the accounting team 13, and carpentry crews over 9. Turnover is very low.
Does Crestwood work under NDAs?
Yes, regularly, along with family offices and owner's representatives. Client privacy is something we understand well.
Are there projects not shown on this site?
Yes. A number of Crestwood homes are covered by non-disclosure agreements and can't be published. What you see here is the work we're able to show.
How do we start?
Reach us through the contact page or call. We'll schedule an initial consultation from there.
Does Crestwood work with architects and designers from outside the region?
Yes. We partner with leading architects and interior design firms across the Tahoe region and nationally, from Los Angeles to New York. Working with a remote design team makes early integration more important, not less, since a firm that hasn't built here won't have seen what snow load and a short season do to a detail.