Inside RR Buildings: How Kyle Stumpenhorst Built Rural Renovators and a 1.85M-Subscriber YouTube Channel
Sep 16, 2026
Kyle Stumpenhorst studied computer science in college. It wasn’t his passion.
“When I graduated from college, I got into the computer field, and I absolutely hated it,” Stumpenhorst said. “I didn’t even last a year. I could not stand being in the office.”
A project with his dad eventually changed the direction of his career. Stumpenhorst discovered how much he enjoyed working with his hands and building things. That interest quickly became a career.
Today, he runs Rural Renovators, a Northern Illinois company specializing in post-frame construction. His work has also built a large online audience, including 1.85 million subscribers on YouTube.
The Beginning of Rural Renovators
In 2007, Stumpenhorst started Rural Renovators. He did a wide range of projects while working in a small town, and word of mouth was key to his success right away, as he built his brand on delivering high-quality work.
Randomly, in 2011, a relative asked Stumpenhorst to build a post-frame garage. The rest was history after that. Since then, Stumpenhorst has specialized in post-frame work.
“When I kind of found a love for post-frame, I just really thought, 'I'm going to narrow this down. I'm going to get all the equipment, the tools, and the know-how to just build these structures.' They're super enjoyable, and the gratification comes pretty quickly,” Stumpenhorst said.
During that time, he began posting on Instagram and Facebook. It quickly blew up.
“People were in awe that just a couple of guys could build these big structures,” he said. “I had an eye for taking good pictures that showed quality details. Instagram, social media and YouTube really became a big part of my business.”
After successfully starting his business and growing on social media, Stumpenhorst hired Greg Haas, who, after 15 years, became his best friend and most trusted employee. Haas has worked on many projects with Stumpenhorst and appears in nearly every video on his social platforms.
"I think through my career, I've probably had ... a half-dozen people work for me and then go on and do other things at certain times, which has always worked out really well," Stumpenhorst said. "But the guy that works for me now (Greg Haas) has been with me for 15 years, and I didn't want to hire him. It just happened. I was just kind of doing him a favor, or actually I was doing another guy a favor. Funny story, but ... it's worked out and he's the best thing for me. We work great together. ... We basically do everything, just us two. So we're very efficient. We know exactly what each other's thinking before we need to say it at this point."
Building a custom shop
When talking about his favorite build, it wasn’t a hard decision. It would be his custom shop. Stumpenhorst wanted his new shop to reflect his current work and the changes that have occurred over the last decade.
"When I built the new headquarters ... a lot has changed in the last 15 years from when we started building post-frames, and I wanted to reflect that in the shop," Stumpenhorst said. "So it's not your typical metal-skinned pole barn that you see a lot of people doing. It's very high-end. It has high efficiency.... The blower door score was super low. It's got Rockwool insulation, SmartSide siding ... to showcase what's possible, even using what people would consider ... barn framing, even though that's kind of an uneducated way to think about it. I got a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in it, and spent a lot of time during the day with Greg out there.”
Stumpenhorst wanted to show people what you can achieve when you put the time and effort into a build.
He added, "It has always been my goal with my social media to showcase what's possible in this industry and educate people on the difference between... what we're doing versus maybe what they thought post-frame or pole barn builds were."
go to tools
As one might suspect, Stumpenhorst uses many tools. Here is a list of his favorites.
- RR Buildings Tool Belt – Custom-designed by Kyle for everyday jobsite comfort and organization.
- Milwaukee M12 FUEL 16-Gauge Nibbler – Used for making clean, controlled cuts in metal panels.
- Makita 40V Max XGT 16-5/16-Inch Circular Saw – A cordless beam saw capable of cutting large timbers such as 6x6s.
Advice for the trades
When asked what advice he had for anyone going into the trades, one thing came to mind for Stumpenhorst: just answer the phone.
"The number one thing to do is just answer your phone, give people ... honest bids, and then over-deliver on what you say you're going to do," Stumpenhorst said. "I've talked to many clients where I'm their third, fourth or fifth phone call ... and I was the first one, though, to give them a bid back or to give them even a call back.
"I've gotten jobs strictly on just being ... a respectable person. And I think in our trades, as sad as it is ... people get busy. They get a little bit like, 'I'm not going to worry about calling that person back,' or 'I got too much work,' or whatever it is. Maybe they're just lazy, but just calling back and having a good conversation with somebody and being a good person has gotten me more work than my skill set has, I think."
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