Career Biography

Monte Smith began his career in construction in the summer of 1978, while still in high school. He began working for a school friend’s father, who happened to be a roofing contractor. At that time, Monte’s experience with shingling houses and assisting crews with asphalt-shingle roofs began, continuing throughout the entire summer.

Monte’s next job allowed him to learn about the air conditioning business, where he worked with an a/c and heating company in Conroe, Texas. Monte was a helper, where he installed a/c and heating units and did the ductwork for Poinsett A/C & Heat, from September, 1978 through June, 1979.

In July, 1979, Monte was offered a job with a framing contractor, where he began as a carpenter apprentice, learning to frame walls, stairs and rafters. After three months, the framing contractor taught Monte how to install cornice work on new houses. Monte worked for Daryl Walker, from July, 1979 until March, 1980.

Monte then began his own framing company in April, 1980, under the name of MDS CONSTRUCTION CO. Monte would contract with local custom builders to frame and cornice their new homes. MDS CONSTRUCTION CO. quickly grew into a large framing contract company that eventually developed many as 17 framing crews by 1982.

In 1982, Monte began building custom homes on a small scale, building two homes per year through his MDS CONSTRUCTION affiliation.

In 1983, Monte started a second company, MASTERCRAFT HOMES, where he designed and contracted with customers to build their new homes. Monte maintained MDS CONSTRUCTION as an ongoing framing company, until MASTERCRAFT HOMES took on a life of its own, and he could no longer manage both. MDS CONSTRUCTION framed its last house in 1989.

Monte then established MASTERCRAFT HOMES in the Montgomery County-Lake Conroe area, located north of Houston, which has become one of the top custom builders in the area. He is know for his “hands on” approach to building high quality homes. Monte’s involvement includes: