Paul Gray Homes: Three Generations in Wichita Homebuilding Raising the Bar for Custom & Luxury Homes
Some families pass down heirlooms. Ours passed down lumber lists, jobsite stories, and a deep respect for doing things right the first time.
At Paul Gray Homes and Graycon Building Group, building isn’t just a business model. It’s a family language that has touched three generations in Wichita homebuilding.
The story starts with Billy Gray, a young man who turned high school votech classes and real-world jobsite experience into a lifelong career as a production home builder in Wichita. His son, Paul, grew up learning the trade by watching and working with his dad, eventually building his own name as a custom Wichita home builder and commercial builder in competitive communities across the area.
Now, a third generation is preparing to write his own chapter. Paul’s son, Cohen, is studying Construction Science at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, and spends his summers working with Paul Gray Homes—combining classroom learning with field experience on real projects.
Three generations connected to the building industry. Three different paths into the craft. One shared commitment: building homes and spaces we’re proud to put our family name on.
Billy Gray: Learning the Craft from Votech Classrooms to Wichita Job Sites
The Gray family’s building story began with Paul’s father, Billy Gray. Long before construction management software and online training, Billy was learning the fundamentals the old-fashioned way: through hands-on vocational training and real-world experience.
In high school, Billy enrolled in votech classes, where training wasn’t limited to textbooks. He spent time in the classroom learning the basics of construction, then stepped onto actual jobsites to apply what he’d learned with real tools, real materials, and real timelines. That early mix of education and experience shaped the way he saw the craft of building for the rest of his life.
After graduation, Billy went to work for the City of Wichita as a building inspector. That role gave him a perspective most home builders in Wichita, Kansas never get. Instead of seeing one project at a time, he walked through countless homes and structures and saw what passed, what failed, and why. He saw firsthand how small details in framing, foundations, wiring, and plumbing could impact safety, durability, and code compliance.
With that foundation, Billy moved from inspector to framer for a local builder, trading the clipboard for a toolbelt. Framing taught him the rhythm of a jobsite—the pace of a project, how trades coordinate, and how the skeleton of a home comes together piece by piece.
In 1981, Billy took the leap and started his own home building company in the Wichita area, bringing together everything he’d learned from the classroom, the city, and the field. As a production Wichita home builder, he wasn’t just building houses; he was building a reputation for dependable construction and integrity in neighborhoods across the area.
In 1986, he took another step and started a land development company, helping create the neighborhoods those homes would live in.
Billy is now retired, but the lessons he learned—in the classroom, as an inspector, as a framer, and as a builder—still shape how the next generations think about quality, codes, and doing the right thing. His career set the foundation that Paul and Cohen continue to build on in their own ways.
Paul Gray: From a Hammer and a 2×4 to a Custom Luxury Home Builder
For Paul Gray, life in construction didn’t start with a job application or a college class. It started when he was barely old enough to hold a hammer.
When Paul was just two years old, if the family couldn’t find a babysitter, his dad Billy would take him to work. On the jobsite, Billy would sit Paul down with a hammer, a fistful of framing nails, and a 2×4 and tell him, “Nail that board off.”
To anyone else, it might have looked like a way to keep a toddler busy. To Paul, it felt like he was one of the framers. He worked his little heart out driving those nails into that board, convinced he was contributing to the house going up around him.
As he grew, the jobs grew with him. Sweeping out houses turned into carrying lumber. Watching turned into helping. Listening to conversations between his dad, trades, inspectors, and homeowners turned into understanding how decisions got made and problems got solved.
While Billy’s journey had started in votech classrooms, city inspections, framing, and eventually starting his own building company, Paul’s education was very much on the jobsite. He learned:
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How a set of plans becomes a real home
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How to coordinate multiple trades and keep a project moving
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How to balance quality, schedule, and budget when things don’t go exactly as planned
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How much trust matters when you’re building someone’s largest investment
Over the years, the industry around him changed. Building codes tightened. Energy efficiency moved from a luxury to an expectation. New materials, products, and technologies entered the market.
Instead of doing everything “the way Dad did it,” Paul carried forward his father’s values—craftsmanship, honesty, and doing the right thing—while embracing modern building science, better processes, and improved project management tools. Over time, he shifted from the production model he grew up in to focus on being a custom Wichita home builder and luxury home builder, with a more personalized, design-forward approach.
Today, through Paul Gray Homes, Paul builds in communities and neighborhoods alongside other respected builders. That means every home is an opportunity to stand out on the merits of design, quality, and the client experience. Buyers often have several home builders in Wichita, Kansas to choose from on the same street, and Paul has built a reputation for thoughtful floor plans, attention to detail, and a genuinely personal approach to the building process.
On the commercial side, Paul is also involved with Graycon Building Group, which focuses on commercial projects. Together, Paul Gray Homes and Graycon connect the legacy Billy started with the fast-moving world of today’s residential and commercial construction.
Cohen Gray: Construction Science, Summers on Site, and the Future of the Family Craft
The third generation of Grays connected to construction is already stepping into the story. Cohen Gray, Paul’s son, grew up much like his dad did—around job sites, lumber stacks, and conversations about homes, projects, and clients. But his path adds something new to the mix: a formal Construction Science education.
Cohen is currently taking Construction Science courses at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, studying the technical side of what his dad and grandfather have spent decades doing in the field. During summers and school breaks, he comes home to work with Paul Gray Homes, gaining hands-on experience on real job sites while applying what he’s learning in the classroom.
In class, Cohen studies:
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Structural principles and how loads move through a building
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Scheduling, estimating, and project management methods
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Building codes, life safety, and modern energy requirements
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Construction technology, software, and industry best practices
Where Billy’s training came from votech classes plus real-world work, and Paul’s came from growing up inside the family businesses and job sites, Cohen’s education blends both worlds. He has a front-row seat to the history and stories behind Paul Gray Homes and Graycon Building Group—while also getting the up-to-date theory, calculations, and tools that today’s construction science programs provide.
Like Billy and Paul, Cohen also has a strong independent streak. Every generation of the Gray family has found its own way to leave a mark—Billy by stepping out on his own as a builder and developer, Paul by building the Paul Gray Homes brand as a custom Wichita home builder and expanding into commercial work with Graycon Building Group.
Cohen is still writing his chapter. Whether he eventually chooses to work within the existing family companies, collaborate with them, or one day build something entirely his own, he’s carrying forward the same love for building and problem-solving that has defined his family for decades.
What’s clear already is that Cohen brings fresh eyes and new ideas to the table: different ways of looking at schedules, new technologies to help manage projects, and a deep appreciation for building science, energy performance, and long-term durability. At the same time, he’s grounded in the values that Billy and Paul built their careers on—honesty, hard work, and pride in putting the family name on anything he touches.
Lessons for Future Construction Professionals
Because the Grays span three different eras of construction, their story also says a lot about what it takes to build a lasting career in this industry—whether you’re heading to votech, straight to the field, or into a Construction Science program.
From Billy:
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Learn the fundamentals and respect the code.
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See as many projects as you can; every jobsite is a classroom.
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Details matter more than most people ever realize.
From Paul:
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Growing up in the business is one thing; earning trust is another.
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Good construction management is about people as much as plans—coordinating trades, communicating with owners, and solving problems on the fly.
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You have to adapt as codes, materials, and expectations change, especially as a luxury home builder with clients who expect more from every detail.
From Cohen:
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Classroom knowledge and field experience make each other stronger.
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Technology and building science aren’t buzzwords—they’re tools that can make projects safer, more efficient, and higher performing.
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There’s still room in this industry to create your own path and your own brand, whether that’s residential, commercial, or a mix of both.
Whether a student is writing about the role of the construction manager, the evolution of construction education, or the balance between field experience and formal training, our family’s story is one small example of how those worlds come together on real projects.
What This Means for Our Homebuyers and Clients
For our homeowners and commercial clients, all of this boils down to something simple:
When you work with our family of companies, you’re not just hiring a builder for one project. You’re tapping into three generations of experience connected to homebuilding in Wichita—from production roots to today’s custom Wichita home builder and luxury home builder approach with Paul Gray Homes, plus commercial expertise through Graycon Building Group.
From the first set of plans to the final walk-through, our goal is the same one Billy started with back in 1981: build homes and spaces we’d be proud to hand to our own family—and yours.
If you’re thinking about building in or around Wichita, we’d love to talk about your plans and show you what this family’s generations of experience can do together.
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