Phillip Gamble and David Early of Sundog Design + Build

Sundog Design + Build — Est. 2008

Our
Story.

After a decade working together in Central Florida for a Fortune 500 home builder, Executive Vice President Joel Sowers and Southeast Region Division President David Earley moved to Jackson County in 2008 to combine their expertise in finance, construction, and engineering into a new venture: Sundog Homes.

Sundog quickly earned a reputation for reliability, quality, and professionalism—and with it came strong demand from the market. The next 17 years saw the growing team complete hundreds of projects, ranging from custom homes to commercial properties to residential communities, throughout Western North Carolina.

A new chapter

But even after years of building at scale, we never lost sight of our passion— and the projects we do best: bespoke, one-of-a-kind homes that celebrate the incredible natural beauty of the Western North Carolina.

So in 2025, our tight-knit team, led by President, David Earley, and Vice President, Phillip Gamble, re-focused our efforts around these kinds of builds.

But we'd only take on a few per year. They'd all be on, or around, the Cashiers Plateau— always our favorite place to build. And we'd approach them with a refreshed identity: Sundog Design + Build.

These days, we still leverage the tooling, infrastructure, practices, and partnerships we developed to build at scale— just for the benefit of our small roster of clients.

That means our projects operate orderly and efficiently; our supply chain is mature and fault-tolerant; our industry partnerships—intentional, not incidental—are predicated on a track record of integrity and performance.

But most importantly, it means we get to spend more time with our clients.

More time to understand precisely what they want, and precisely why they want it. More time to develop deeper, richer context about their expectations. More time to build the kind of rapport that allows us to nudge them towards reality when that's needed, and towards the dream when that's possible.

And at the culmination of all the work, all the decisions, and all the patience, it means we have more time to celebrate with them when, with the exchange of a key and the turn of a knob, reality and the dream finally converge.

SDB

Leadership

David Earley

David Earley

President

20th year with Sundog

Western North Carolina native David Earley has been with Sundog Builders since its inception, helping Joel Sowers start the company in 2007. He got his start in the construction industry after graduating from Clemson University in 1992 with a degree in Civil Engineering. For 15 years, he held various positions at Centex Homes and Centex Destination Properties, including as Division President of the Southeast Region.

As president of Sundog Builders, David is responsible for leading and managing the team, and guiding customers through site planning, architectural design, and budgeting.

Phillip Gamble

Phillip Gamble

Vice President

17th year with Sundog

Phillip grew up in central Florida and graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Business degree in 2002. It was in Florida that he began his career in the building industry as a construction manager for Centex Homes.

He got his start at Sundog Builders in 2010 and now serves as vice president. He is responsible for working with new customers and guiding them through the building process.

Every project starts as a conversation.

Let's explore whether your vision, your timeline, and your priorities align with our areas of expertise.

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