“We can land rockets on the moon,” Carbon Custom Builders founder Sam Fertik laments, “but we’re still building homes the way they did in George Washington’s time.” Stepping away from the past, his firm moves beyond traditional methods of wood framing, creating concrete houses built for the future. Originally in the food business—a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America—Fertik was always looking for better methods. Working on a family renovation project in Vermont, the wooden floorboards and beams sparked a reaction: “There has to be a better way, we’re doing something wrong.” His solution was his radically different approach to home building with innovative construction techniques and state-of-the-art energy systems applied to produce sustainable luxury homes meant to last for centuries. The structure that brought together all his ideas for the first time—Carbon Home Zero—is Fertik’s residence in Pound Ridge, NY, where he lives with his wife, who works in the family bridal accessories firm, and their two young daughters. These days his culinary skills are confined to family meals. “I cook for a six-year-old—it’s mac and cheese,” he says.
You always loved drawing and creating. Why did you start along a culinary path?
Working with food was an easy way to create. A kid is not going to engineer a tunnel in the backyard or buy a kiln to be a sculptor, it’s too involved. But it’s easy to want to grill a steak.
What prepared you to become a builder?
I’d always wanted to be an architect. I’d designed kitchens and restaurants, and worked real estate projects on the side.
After pivoting to contracting, how did your building style evolve?
With every project, we’d try something different, push the envelope a little, not the whole thing. One day when we were installing an insulated concrete foundation for a home theater, someone said ‘why not use this to build the rest of the house.’ I did tons of research in applying commercial-grade practices to residential and was blown away by what you could do.
What are the attributes of these “obsessively better built” homes?
Uncompromising design, cutting-edge building techniques, insulated concrete forms, steel framing, state-of-the-art energy systems—structures that don’t rot or mold, they’re wind and fire resistant, require less maintenance. They are modern, beautiful, simple, finished, structural, healthy, energy efficient all wrapped into one.
Isn’t there a fear of concrete crumbling?
Not anymore. In the’80s, a bad material was used. But we use a very specific mix, reputable suppliers, core samples—test everything above and beyond what is necessary.
Doesn’t producing concrete use a lot of energy?
While making concrete is carbon intensive, the thermal mass and energy efficiency of the house compensates, and the carbon deficit can be paid off in a year or two.
How much are you constrained to boxy contemporary designs?
We can make anything look like anything. How the house looks is what you want it to be. A solid concrete foundation is the best guts on the planet, but how you want to clad it is your choice and budget. It’s like the strong muscular frame of a body builder—you can put any brand of bathing suit on it.
How do you make concrete luxurious?
You can use texture, in one house we did a palm frond finish, and it was beautiful. But mainly it’s the feeling of quiet, solidity, grounding that you don’t get in a conventional home, mentally knowing you’re in a bomb shelter but it’s beautiful.
Besides cooking, what lessons did you take from the food industry?
Repeatability. If you’re good, you’re following a recipe, a plan, a blueprint. It’s different from winging it.
How does contracting compare to cooking?
Preparing a meal or catering an event, you’re creating a moment that lasts for a second. When you craft a home, it’s meant to be relived over and over again. You have to create an experience that lasts.
What are your design ideas for the White House Ballroom?
I would create an outdoor spa with hot and cold pools, saunas, infrared. They’d have to soak, calm down a little bit, take a break.
