While Danny Carpenter – “DC” – may be one of Bronco’s newer team members, he’s been building houses all his working life. Through the years, he’s mastered virtually every facet of residential construction and built custom homes of up to 14,000 square feet and $6.5 million. Yet Danny is equally proud of the smaller but no-less-grand dwelling that has absorbed much of his recent attention: a 1,200 square-foot guest cabin on the shores of Lake Toxaway. “It’s an example of the one-of-a-kind projects Bronco specializes in, and that I enjoy for their challenge,” Danny notes. “Every exposed surface is made using recycled lumber and logs. When you use old wood, nothing is perfectly straight. You have to scribe and fit and take your time.” The results are well worth it. With details like staggered dovetail corners, interior stairs notched into the log wall, and Dutch doors built with old wood, restoration glass and period hardware, the finished home looks like it has stood here since some master craftsmen first dressed, notched and fitted the fresh-felled timbers. In fact, a passerby paid the cabin an unwitting compliment when he gazed back and forth between it and the nearby new main house, now nearing completion. “When they finish the new house, will they tear down this old one?” he asked. As adept with a digital camera and notebook PC as he is with a sledge, wedge and adze, Danny thoroughly documents each project stage by stage, promoting smoother inspections and proud, well-informed owners. In turn, Danny makes sure to sound out the owners as projects progress. “One fellow, now a good friend, gave me a whole chalkboard talk,” Danny recounts. “I learned a lot from that meeting, and all of them, really. Because to truly build well, you have to understand each person you’re building to please.”