When considering a major remodel, many clients are concerned with their return on investment.  This is especially true if they only plan on being in the home for one or two years.  In this case it may be wise to shy away from major projects if an immediate financial return on your investment is a…

Previously we discussed how to prepare for a renovation and covered some more tangible items, such as clearing rooms of personal belongings, making space for tools and materials, etc.  This time we’ll cover some things that would be good to think about and discuss with your contractor before beginning work.  We try to cover these…

Occasionally we have potential clients contact us who have foregone the design/build process and skipped straight to hiring an architect or designer for plans then contact us as a builder to build the plans that have been produced.  This can seem logical.  It sounds like a chicken or egg question.  Which comes first, the designer…

Preparing for the start of constructions with a renovation depends on the situation and expectations that are established.  We’ve had clients that were clear they were not lifting a finger to move a thing (which is fine if the expectation is set early on) to those who completely move out (ideal, but not usually necessary). …

In our last blog, we covered how we come up with our pricing for a construction project.  In hindsight, I realized I failed to mention why prices can still vary so greatly from one competitor to another.  There are many reasons for this, and, in part, it depends on at what stage pricing is being…

It seems to be a big mystery as to how remodelers and custom builders come up with their pricing.  I obviously can’t speak to how everyone else does their pricing, but I can address how we do things at Custom Dwellings.   What we don’t do is a square foot price.  In my opinion, there are…

One of the first questions potential clients want to know when they call Custom Dwellings is; how much will my project cost?  The short answer is, “it depends”. With the help (i.e., blatant rip off of a well written blog) of Marcus Sheridan, I’ll try to do my best here to explain why that question…

Going back to my business school days and in countless books and articles since, I’ve often heard of a company needing to define their core values.   I used to look at this as a bunch of theoretical academic mumbo jumbo and paid little heed.  My disinterested approach may have even been OK when our company…

Natural stone is a wonderful product for hardscaping, flooring, and even countertops, but I don’t think there is a builder out there who won’t have a disclaimer about the fact it is a natural product and colors will vary.  Each and every stone has its own unique texture and color.  This makes for a truly…