WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE ELEGANT HOMES DESIGN BUILD:
TOM & Mary W./addition-remodel
When we first decided to go forward with our project we didn't know who to turn to for advice. Everyone we knew was telling us to consult an architect first, get your design developed, then get it bid out and select a contractor from that process. After speaking with several architectural firms and hearing a variety of different budget price ranges for essentially the same design for what we had in mind for design. We then began to conclude that having an architect do the design only, may not be the best route to go, and WOW were we right. What we discovered after searching and viewing Elegant Homes Design Build's website, became a real eye opener. And that is, there really isn't a direct financial link to your budget when hiring an architect to do ONLY your design and then hire a contractor through THEIR bidding process. When the architects are doing only the design you can easily be deceived by being told what you want to hear,and that amounts to,an erroneously low budget in order to capture you as a client. A deceptively low budget up front entices you to get a design started and you never even know that its too low until bidding actually occurs, and the fact thats its too low is still cleverly concealed in their process of bidding. It's all done, in an effort to capture you as a client. Granted its difficult to provide an accurate build price range up front but what Elegant Homes Design Build has posted at their website section "About Us" makes perfect sense and something EVERY potential client must become aware of.
So after a lengthy chat with Kevin we decided to hire them to do our project. We are so thankful we choose Kevin and his team. We have heard so many horror stories and we needed to feel comfortable we were not going to become one of them. They are truly a wonderful group to work with. Every aspect of the design and building process was clearly detailed and if we had trouble visualizing things Kevin and his team were there to assist in any way possible. We would definitely recommend them to anyone.
Thank You Again.... Tom & Mary W.
Frank & Missy H...addition/remodel
First of all I want to thank Kevin, and his team for such a great job. Our home came out as beautiful as we hoped. His team was there everyday and there workers were very respectful and friendly. Any questions we had were answered promptly by Kevin or one of their subcontractors.
Our project got off to a rocky start when we had gone the conventional route with an architectural firm and had our plans developed by them.Now they discussed with us our budget after getting a sense of what we had in mind, and they told us that what we had in mind would be around this range to build,so we hired them. But once our project went out for bid by their so called "select bidding contractors"we found that the bids were all over the place and none actually near our initially discussed budget.So upon returning back to the architect to discuss the variations in bid prices and how to proceed, my husband and I thought let's just check and see where a company that does design/build might fall for a bid price. We were thinking, in that senerio there has to be a link between the design drafted and the actual build cost.Well, after viewing Elegant Homes Design Build site we got an eye opening view of what was going on. So after contacting Kevin and hearing how common what we were NOW experiencing, that of UNDER BUDGETING truly is, we decided to give them a shot at bidding our project, and looking back, what a wise choice that was. Im sorry for the rambling but i think this needs to be known by all.
Once again Kevin, thank you for doing such a wonderful job on our home and we highly recommend you and your team.
Sincerely Frank & Missy H.
Frank & Dale P...addition/remodel
Our project turned out incredibly beautiful and I'm amazed how much more open and free flowing the new space really is.Our addition encompassed a new rear house addition with a full unfinished basement section under a brand new expanded kitchen, separate laundry room and separate hall closet space, which also included a new side entry at the first floor.
Newly remodeled spaces included our foyer entry way and archway. A new twin french door entry into the dining room with new built in cabinets either side in the new kitchen space.
At the second floor of our home a new master bedroom, bath suite incorporating a large walk-in shower with a frameless glass enclosure, radiant tile heating, separate his and hers vanities with make up area, and a separately housed commode area. Also included, the alteration of an existing bedroom into a large walk in closet with part of that space creating a hallway into the new master bedroom. Im sure there are other details i'm forgetting...lol
Well we watched very closely the entire process and I can't say it's not stressful, but I have to say that Kevin truly had our backs every step of the way. He and his brother Brian are true master craftsman. Even their team of subcontractors were friendly and skilled professionals.
One thing I need to mention is our project was designed and bid in the conventional manner through an architectural firm. My husband, a retired engineer and I are very detail oriented. That said, one of the glaring things that stood out between Kevin and his competition, was his attention to detail. Virtually NONE of the bid proposals were as detailed as his or presented with as much detail. He even told us at our first meeting with him, prior to bidding, that we would see a discernible difference between his bid and any of the competing bidders. He also told us that we will see a huge variation in bids,which he also said is very common, and that our build budget we got told would most likely be too light..Well every one of the things he stated were true. Needless to say,our project had to be down sized from what was drafted and we did finally decide to hire them to do our project.
We would highly recommend them to anyone. You will get true professionals,that are friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable.
Sincerely Frank & Dale P.
Dee R & Bob K addition/remodel
Kevin I want to thank you for the beautiful job you did. I absolutely love the new sun room and spend a majority of my time in there. The two car garage with all kinds of storage above I love too! You and your team truly did a wonderful job.,
Now to give a brief history, we first crossed paths with Kevin when he was doing the construction side of the business only, where we had plans developed by an architect to build a substantial sized addition.He was brought in as one of several bidders to bid this project by the architect we had hired to draft our plans..Needless to say,this project never even got built, due to the architects gross underbudgeting of the project, which, its worth noting that we had no idea that serious underbudgeting was even occuring until we had the project out for bid.To add further insult, this architectural firm has been in business for DECADES. During the design process we even questioned the architect after he handed us preliminary plans for bidding of our project, saying are you sure we can do this project for our budget we discussed.He assured us with a response "absolutely we will find a contractor that will do it within your budget" Well guess what, what was drafted for our design was a high 400K plus project, and the bidders came in all over the place. Our cap budget we clearly discussed was 275K.To be fair to Kevin he did not ask us our budget until after he presented his detailed proposal.We could see the amount of time and effort spent to put together his proposal,and his far exceeded all the others in detail. He was also very annoyed once we told him that we could not justify spending that much when our entire budget was 275K.
Fast forward from that time period where Bob, my long time love of my life had died that winter due to health issues, God rest his soul. After some grieving period and the settling of his estate I decided to make some of the changes we had in mind yet on a more modest scale.Thats when i had Kevin back to give me an estimate on my new set of plans.Once again, i could see more detail in his estimate and a more thorough evaluation of the project. The rest is history..lol as one might say, where he and his team built a new tudor style stucco finished detached two car garage to match the main house. Also at the rear of the main house they removed an existing 4 Seasons sun room which had a full basement section under it, which constantly leaked, and built a beautifully intergrated tudor style stucco finished addition with large Andersen casement windows surrounding the room for light,high vaulted ceiling,stained hardwood floors with an inviting twin french pocket doors to enter the space. This room I absolutely love which provides a nice view of the back yard and provides tons of natural light where the room is always nice and light.
Kevin once again thank you for such a great job!......Dee R
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We can also design and build your kitchen, bathroom,basement or attic into beautiful functional living space.To further enhance your building needs we also have an interior design service, if you so desire. 
