Coy Pence spent a year following Bob Weir's touring band across 15-20 states, selling Kirkland water and grilled cheese in parking lots to fund his travels. He was a Deadhead by culture and a hustler by necessity.

That chapter ended in Louisville, Kentucky, where his first construction job was rebuilding rotten apartment decks. One move to Minnesota, two years of framing log homes near Leech Lake, and a relocation to Tennessee later, Coy started Rough Ashlar Construction.

Three months in, his business partner Lucas relapsed and overdosed the week before Christmas. Coy rebuilt alone.

Now he's consistently booked six to eight months out in the Nashville area, focusing exclusively on high-complexity custom builds; compass rose inlays, steel framing, premium mineral composite boards. He doesn't take cheap jobs. He doesn't chase volume. He built his name one conversation and one difficult project at a time.

The company name comes from a Masonic symbol: a rough ashlar is a stone not yet carved into its final form. Always a work in progress. Always striving to be better.

This is one of the more quietly powerful stories we've had on the podcast.