30 years in the industryMeet Wes

Higher Ground Outdoor Living was founded in Cornelius in 2022. Wes Priddy's construction and inspection experience goes back three decades — including years as a former building inspector. That perspective changes how we build.

30 yrin the industry

Wes Priddy, founder of Higher Ground Outdoor Living and a former building inspector, on site in Cornelius, NC

Why it mattersBuilt by a Former Inspector

Before Higher Ground existed, Wes spent years as a [building inspector / code enforcement officer — CONFIRM] in [region — CONFIRM]. He wrote the citations. He knew where corners got cut, and which builders were burning through inspections hoping nobody looked too closely at their framing.

When he started Higher Ground, that background became the standard. We build to pass inspection with room to spare — not to slide by. That means:

Framing that exceeds code

Because "code" is a floor, not a target.

Every permit, every inspection

No work off the books. No surprises when you go to sell.

Material matched to use

Not just what fits the budget — what survives lakefront humidity for 25 years.

Documentation you keep

Sealed permits, warranty registrations, and material specs handed over at final walkthrough.

The storyWhy Higher Ground

Before Higher Ground, Wes worked as a building inspector. The job is walking onto other people's jobsites and looking at what actually got built — not what the contract said would get built.

He saw a lot of bad work. Corners cut in the places nobody would ever look at again. Framing that hit the letter of the code and stopped there. And he saw homeowners who had paid for something better and had no way of knowing they hadn't gotten it.

That last part is the one that stuck. The bad building was something he could write up. The disrespect wasn't.

So he went and built the other version. Higher Ground opened in 2022 on a simple premise: build like the inspector is coming, because Wes spent years being the inspector. He knows where the shortcuts hide. He knows which ones surface later. He knows what a homeowner is never in a position to check on their own.

What he is after is the part that comes after the crew leaves — a deck a family uses without a second thought, a space that holds up, and something they are glad they built and happy to have people over to see.