Oxford, N.C. — Home builder Mike McNally put a door up inside a house under construction in Granville County, only to take it down a short time later.

“Once the sun goes down, I feel like everything is vulnerable,” McNally said.

McNally said thieves hit five of his home sites this year, stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of construction material.

“Someone's taking part of what I earned over my life that's not theirs,” he said. “It's ridiculous.”

McNally returned to work Monday to find tire tracks on his construction site and nearly $1,000 worth of wood gone. Determined to catch the building supply bandit, McNally now spends the night there. But McNally knows there is only so much he can do.

"I can't take everything home each day,” he said.

Construction site thefts are on the rise in Granville County, where sheriff's officials said eight to 10 have been targeted in the last few weeks.

"Everything that goes into building a house is a target,” said Granville County Det. Bryant Strother.

From lumber to siding, Strother said anything that isn’t easily unidentifiable when it’s sold is vulnerable.

The Granville County Sheriff's Department has increased patrols in communities under construction. Now, the sheriff is offering a $1,000 reward to help catch the culprits.

But they aren't the only ones dealing with the problem. Raleigh had 109 thefts at construction sites last year. That's down slightly over the year before, when they had nearly 200.

If you have any information on the construction crime spree in Granville County, call Crime Stoppers at (919) 693-3100.