# Fernando Pagés Ruiz

Fernando Pagés Ruiz is an Argentinian-American author, businessman, and construction consultant. He is the founder and owner of Building Affordable and a project manager at No Nonsense Housing. Ruiz is also the former president of Brighton Construction Company and a consultant to the Polymeric Exterior Products Association.

## Early life and education

Ruiz was born on April 29, 1956, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1970, he moved to the United States, where he pursued his education. He studied fine arts at Queens College before attending the California Institute of Arts, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1984.

## Career

Ruiz began working in the construction industry while studying at the California Institute of Arts. After obtaining U.S. citizenship in 1984, he became a managing partner at Prisma Construction and Development, focusing on property development in Santa Clarita, Val Verde, and North Hollywood, California.
In 1992, Ruiz relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established Brighton Construction Company, specializing in low-cost housing projects. Under his leadership, the company developed Liberty Village, a multicultural neighborhood. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development selected Brighton Construction to build the PATH Concept Home. In 2007, Liberty Village received the Innovation in Workforce Housing Award from the National Association of Homebuilders.
Ruiz has held various consulting and leadership roles throughout his career. He served as a consultant at the Vinyl Siding Institute starting in 2006 and worked as a commercial property inspector for SAS from 2009 to 2011. From 2011 to 2013, he was a board member and treasurer at Colorado CNU. In 2013, he moved to Ecuador to oversee a U.S.-Ecuadorian joint venture. He worked as the director of sales for Latin America at VehSmart-VISTASPAC and later served as company president, facilitating telecommunications contracts with the Ecuadorian government. During this period, he also developed two oceanfront neighborhoods in Santa Elena, Ecuador. In 2018, Ruiz returned to the United States, working in home construction and real estate sales in Vail Valley, Colorado, and Omaha, Nebraska. In 2019, he joined No Nonsense Housing as a project manager while managing development projects in Ecuador through a partnership with GeoBienes in Guayaquil. Ruiz founded Building Affordable in 2005, providing value-engineering consulting services. He also established CNU Latino in 2021 and began to manage its social media and YouTube presence.
In 1992, alongside his construction career, Ruiz developed an interest in writing. He became a contributing writer and business editor at Fine Homebuilding, where he has been associated as a contributor since. Ruiz has also written for Yoga Journal, El Nuevo Constructor, EcoHome Magazine, and others throughout his career. Later, in 2015, Ruiz became an editor for Latin America at Pro Trade Craft Magazine and started the Career Toolbox blog to promote workforce development.
As of 2024, Ruiz is serving as the owner and consultant of Building Affordable, architectural consultant at Polymeric Exterior Products Association (formerly Vinyl Siding Institute), project manager at Non-Non-Nonsense Housing, and contributor at Fine Homebuilding, Green Building Advisor, and Pro Trade Craft magazines. Ruiz has been consulting for different development clients focused on value engineering.

## Affiliations and memberships

Ruiz is a member of the National Association of Homebuilders, the Congress for New Urbanism, the International Code Council, and the National Town Builders Association. He is an ICC-certified Residential Building Inspector, a Licensed Realtor, a Property Adjuster, and a CNU-Accredited professional.

## Publications

* Building an Affordable House: Trade Secrets to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction (Taunton Press, 2005)
* Affordable Remodel: How to Get Custom Results on Any Budget (The Taunton Press, 2007)
* Architectural Design for Traditional Neighborhoods (Vinyl Siding Institute, 2019)
* Architectural Polymers: Best Practices For Architectural Specifications (Vinyl Siding Institute, 2021)
* Shallow Foundation Design, Construction, and Repair (Building Affordable, 2021)
* Construction Details for Energy Code Compliance: Polymeric Cladding Over Continuous Insulation (Polymeric Exterior Products Association, 2024)
* Building an Affordable House, Second Edition: Trade Secrets to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction (The Taunton Press, 2024)