In the beginning
Michael Smith took his first job hanging vinyl siding at the age of 20. He liked the work. He didn’t love the way some of the bigger outfits cut corners on it. Within a year or two he’d filed paperwork on a new company, found a spot on North Broadway, and started hanging siding under his own name.
For the next 14 years, Michael hung siding himself every single day. He learned what every house in Knox County throws at you — the old plaster-and-lath, the half-rotted sheathing, the homes where the framing has shifted just enough that nothing is square. He hired one crew, then another, and started training installers the way he’d wanted to be trained: slow, careful, and with someone watching the work.
Eventually the business grew past one man on a ladder. Michael moved into a management role — supervising crews, walking jobs, signing off on workmanship before a customer ever saw it. That’s where you’ll still find him today. He doesn’t hang siding daily anymore, but he’s on a jobsite or in the shop every week, and he’s usually the one who answers when something goes sideways.
Family
Michael met his wife Wendy in high school. They’ve been married for more than 20 years and have two children they’re incredibly proud of.
Their oldest, Devin Smith, is a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s in Business Management. Their daughter, Makenly Smith, is a senior at Grace Christian Academy and has her sights set on a nursing career after high school.
The Smith family is the “family” in “family-owned business.” This isn’t a private-equity rollup or a multi-state franchise. It’s a Knoxville household with a contracting company attached, and that shapes a lot of how we operate — from how we treat customers to how we treat the 30+ people on our payroll.
Same family, same name, since 1996
Today, you’ll find us at 5618 N. Broadway Street in Fountain City. Same phone number we’ve had for years. We answer our own phones during business hours. We measure every window ourselves. Our day-to-day crews are our own employees — and when a project calls for additional skilled trades, we bring in vetted partners we’ve worked with for a long time. What we don’t do is rotate in day-labor.
Our manufacturers haven’t changed much either. James Hardie for fiber cement siding. Simonton for windows. CertainTeed for roofing and siding accents. LP SmartSide for engineered wood. These are the brands we’d put on our own homes — and in some cases, have.