How do I get connected to the high-end custom builds here?

You are right about those big custom builds not being publicly advertised. Most of those projects start long before the owner ever sends an RFI to a traditional lead board. If you want to get on the radar for the high-end stuff with the complex rooflines and multiple bays, you have to stop looking for general contractor leads and start targeting the designers and specialized consultants who are handling the initial design package. These projects aren't usally looking for a general carpenter; they're looking for a specific partner who can handle the detailed scope of work they've specified. So, instead of cold calling builders, start reaching out to the architectural firms in the coastal area and the interior designers who specialize in those luxury builds. They are the ones drafting the plans and specifying the level of detail required for the custom framing and finish. Once they trust you with one of thier detailed drawings, they will bring you back for every subsequent phase of the project.

Another critical connection you shold be building is with niche subcontractors. Think high-end structural steel companies, specialized glazing fabricators for those unique window shapes, or complex roofing systems vendors. These guys are always working on the most elaborate homes. If they are alredy specifying their work on a site, they know exactly who the reliable carpenter is to follow through on the structural elements. Getting recommended by a highly specialized sub carries a lot of weight and gives you a direct line to the project before the GC even puts out the call.

And even more niche but effective, connect with the builders' lenders or the escrow officers who handle the financing for these large waterfront properties. They are the ones who vet the entire project team and they often keep a list of vetted, high-quality tradespeople who they trust for the build. That's how a lot of these custom contracts are funneled. It is about building relationships with the people who are acutally in the room when the complex plans are being drawn, not the people who are advertising work.

For me it was photos. I spent a winter putting togehter a simple binder of the trickier jobs I'd done, hip valleys, a curved stair skirt, that sort of thing, and brought it to a lumberyard counter where the custom guys pick up orders. The yard guys see everythign coming through and they talk. One builder flipped through it, called me two weeks later for a barn-style garage build, and I've been on his list since. Also don't sleep on showing up tidy. I started keeping the site swept and materials stacked neat with just a job site radio and a broom I actually used, and people noticed before they ever noticed my framing.

This is way above my head since I'm just a homeowner watching a big house go up down the street from me, but something I noticed is that the same crew seems to do every stage. Different trucks show up for the roof stuff and the fancy windows, but the framing guys stayed on for months. The workers even eat lunch together like they all know each other from past jobs. So it kind of looks like once you're in that circle you just keep getting passed around, wich matches what the lumberyard guy said. Is it wierd for a regular person to just walk up and ask one of those crews who they work for?

Quick update - I took the advice about taking photos of my best framing work and made a physical binder of my trickiest joints. I dropped it off at a lumberyard counter and actually got a lead from one of the staff members. It sounds like that is the real way these bigger homes get filled.