Custom Construction & Remodeling

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. We don't rush planning and designing. We call our specialty "customized, custom construction" because the universal home we build or remodel will be tailored exactly to you and your unique wants, needs and life circumstances.

Therefore we spend the most time on the front end asking questions, listening and observing. We want clients to ask everything they can think of, there's no such thing as too much information because one thing could make all the difference in design and ultimate performance.

Once we've got the plans set and signed off, everything clips along just as it does in most projects but we really take our time during the planning and design phase, which could take months depending on the circumstances.

Bottom line, we don't want to miss anything. The worst thing that can happen is our final product doesn't meet your needs perfectly.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. The seemingly insignificant is often most important and done least well because customers won't know or understand the difference and doing it the perfectly slows down the job (i.e. time is money).

Exhibit A: caulking and sealing, relatively inexpensive to the overall project costs, yet extremely important to the building envelop and energy efficiency; however, these tasks are time intensive when done right so subs often slop through or do the least they can get away with.

The optimum performance of the home is contingent on such "small things" being done properly at a minimum and excellently for maximum benefit. Done poorly, the homeowner will bleed money monthly, albeit a little at a time, but it adds up over the years and could lead to other problems if not corrected.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Our houses are livable for a lifetime to the easiest and safest degree. We design, build and remodel barrier-free, high performance homes that are convenient, efficient, comfortable and safe for all people of any age or circumstance.

Traditional building code has produced "Peter Pan housing", designed and built as if nobody changes. But life happens, families have children, abilities change and people age. We build easy living homes which ensure convenience and control for everyone from children to the elderly. We build homes which minimize the frequency of bending, stooping, reaching, stretching or straining to do anything in the house.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. We help people stay in their homes as long as they'd like. Even owners planning dream or "last" homes often don't account for their own aging and therefore face the prospect of a forced move sooner than later, particularly if they've got a lot of steps/stairs.

People just assume they have to adapt to their house instead of vice versa. It's gratifying when clients understand a universally designed home is preferable for all people simply because it's most convenient. UD is market appealing to a wider pool of buyers because it's simple and easy.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Is a universally designed home more expensive?

Depends on your selections. In many instances it's less expensive if we're not building certain things like exterior steps.)

Will UD make my home look like a hospital?

Because of aging Boomers, most all manufacturers offer a designer, UD line. UD done right isn't noticed. For example, do you notice a wider doorway? You do when carrying furniture but not otherwise.

Why hasn't construction always been done this way?

Literally just because. Building code after WWII was more concerned about fitting more people under roof. Life expectancy wasn't as long. UD involves more thought and planning but isn't rocket science, just traditional construction methods with more forethought for longer life times.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. Many things in standard building code aren't based in science. Many things contractors do are simply because "that's the way we've always done it". Period.

Think about it, learning anything new slows down your work, which slows down pay day, so many tasks and methods are performed by rote habit. Someone teaches someone else and that's the way it goes down the line.

For example, why should there be a stoop or step to an entrance door on a flat, level lot? Why not a zero step and flush threshold so you can simply roll right in ? (Because moving dirt and siting the foundation differently takes a little extra time and that slows down the job.)

Another example, on new 2-story homes (especially over a basement), why not stack two closets between floors (so you've prepped future capacity for an elevator shaft)? This doesn't cost extra if you're already planning closets, it's just positioning and longer term planning.

Most things in construction aren't performed with much forethought. You do the same things repeatedly, not necessarily because it's the best method, but because that's just the way you were taught. Hopefully, you weren't trained by an idiot.