Branch & Beam

Experience before the name.

Branch & Beam was founded by a husband-and-wife team whose residential building experience predates the company.

Lera brings a background in housing, design, estimating, and project management across custom and luxury residential construction. Bobby brings site sourcing, negotiation, business operations, and field supervision. Together, they have already taken a home from land acquisition through construction and completion.

2018Residential experience began
2020Founders' home completed
Central IABuilt for how people live here
Open kitchen and living area

Designed for the way people actually live.

Storage, natural light, circulation, durability, and the small daily decisions are considered early—not treated as afterthoughts.

Living room with stone fireplace
Custom mudroom built-ins
Built-in wine storage
The Name

Branch & Beam.

The name brings together two ideas we want every home to carry: life and structure.

Branch

Growth, stewardship, family, and a home that becomes part of the life lived inside it.

Beam

Strength, structure, craftsmanship, and the discipline required to build well.

Our Christian faith shapes the way we want to do business: serve people well, steward resources carefully, keep our word, and build with integrity.
Our approach
Good homes are built long before the finishes go in.

Site selection, accurate estimating, sequencing, trade coordination, design decisions, and field execution all shape the finished result.

See Our Process

From raw lot to finished home.

The Holcomb Residence documents the founders’ approach from site acquisition and planning through construction and completion.

Rear elevation of the completed Holcomb Residence
Selected Project

Holcomb Residence

Urbandale, Iowa · Completed 2020

A custom residence developed and built by Branch & Beam’s founders before the company was formally established.

View the Project

A coordinated build, one stage at a time.

01

Site & Planning

Lot, goals, feasibility, budget, and design direction.

02

Design & Estimate

Selections and detailed cost planning before construction.

03

Build

Scheduling, subcontractor coordination, supervision, and quality control.

04

Details

Finishes, millwork, fixtures, and the practical choices that make a home work.

05

Finish

Final walkthrough, punch list, and delivery.