When Mike Turner went into the home construction business in 1973, he often waited long periods of time for subcontractors to come in and build docks for his clients.

"When I get started, I'm the type of person who just likes to roll," he said.

As lake homeowners had their names on dock-building waiting lists up to a year in advance, Turner said he decided to shift his construction business to meet the need.

In 1976, he incorporated and formed Turner's Building, Inc. There was one other employee on the payroll and they focused almost exclusively on dock building.

"It's grown quite a bit," said Turner, adding that the company now has 20 employees on the payroll, half of whom have been with the company for more than 20 years.

"We grew at a very slow pace and we did that because we've always emphasized quality and service."

His son and vice president of the company, Jason Turner, said it's the emphasis they put on the customers that has allowed Turner's Building to stay in business all these years.

"A lot of the business comes from referrals and repeat customers," said Turner, who has worked with his father for 15 years.

In addition to dock building, he said they do dock renovations, remodeling and expansions, all within the parameters of the Shoreline Management Plan.

From consultation to completion, Turner said it takes two to three months. They can either construct a dock from a photograph or custom-design one to fit the customer's needs.

"We subcontract out very little ... if we get really busy," he said. "Other than that, we can do everything in house."

Looking to the future, Turner said the company is preparing to expand more business into Leesville Lake with floating boat houses.

When Mike Turner started the business 32 years ago, he said he had no idea the area and his business would grow so much. But his move to start his own dock building business has been as fruitful as the lake.