Workspaces: In My ToolBox

Despite the images a home builder might conjure up in the average person’s mind — a guy in jeans with blueprints in one hand and a hammer in the other — a lot of builders spend more time nailing a deal in a boardroom than they do nailing a board in a bathroom.

Not so for D.C. Durano, a custom builder in Albuquerque, N.M., who takes "hands-on"to heart. So what is his most important "business"tool?

There are lots of them — and all can be found in the toolbox of his truck.

A former framer, Durano has subcontractors who do the bulk of the work, but he says he handles a lot of the changes and detail work himself on the $500,000-plus homes. For trim and detail work, Durano likes to use his belt sander, jigsaw and finish palm sander.

"A coffer here and there, niches, built-in shelving — I don’t want to slow them down, so I work on Saturdays with a part-time person."