Early in 2014 I was referred to Randy & Sandy B by friend and real estate associate Linda Ireland. Soon afterwards I met with Randy and he later sent a letter outlining what he had planned and what he was looking for in builder services.
Randy & Sandy B (L) and Steve Crook (R) at the custom mountain home built by Steve Crook Design and Construction
Unlike many of my design/build projects Randy had already completed many of the steps I usually help clients with. For example, if I am hired to do a design/build project I refer clients at no charge to the civil, environmental and structural engineers I usually like to work with. Randy already had a home design drawn by his friend Doug Knop and a set of plans engineered by structural engineer, David Pence, PE. Randy also had a grading plan completed by Jennifer Milagro of 285 Engineering, Inc., who specializes in civil and environmental engineering. While I had not used any of them in the past I quickly developed a good working relationship with them.
For Randy and Sandy’s custom home project, I was in a position of being one of other competing contractors, which is something I don’t usually look for when considering doing a job. However, having met Randy and his significant other, Sandy, I realized that I really liked and trusted them. As well, I loved their building site and project. For these reasons I pursued the project as a competing contractor, eventually winning their confidence. Subsequently, I got the job of building their dream home.
I believe that a significant part of building Randy’s confidence in choosing us was through his introduction to my subcontractors, who shared their experienced, skilled advice in preparation for starting the project. Also, by providing Randy and Sandy with a transparent, detailed cost breakdown for completing the project (which included showing what I would make for doing the job), they became more comfortable with the full extent of the work and my capabilities.
Once given the job, the fun part began… first of all by taking their ‘house footprint’ made with ropes, flags and rocks and converting it to a full-scale, accurate house stake. This would be kept until all excavation; blasting and foundation work was completed to be sure the home was in the exact orientation they desired.
We broke ground (or in this case solid rock!), in July of 2014 and we were awarded a Certificate of Occupancy from Jefferson County in May of 2015. I’m very happy to say that we remain friends to this day and I have completed a couple of consulting projects for Randy since the completion of their home.