When my wife and I decided to build a home, we were overwhelmed. We purchased "How To" books, toyed with the idea of being our own General Contractor, and viewed model homes from many, many different builders. Upon narrowing our search to two builders, we set up an interview with the owner of Kevin Jones Builders LLC. Immediately, we found Kevin to be knowledgeable, up front, friendly and the type that doesn't "beat around the bush." At the interview, we approached him with pre-made blueprints for our home and he immediately found cost saving changes for the same quality of work. Kevin provided names of references to contact from previous customers and showed us current construction projects he was working on as examples of work he does.
Ultimately, we scrapped our blueprints and had Kevin draw up a new plan for the same residence. We started building on August 25, 2015, one month before my wife's due date. We were extremely excited about this new endeavor but also nervous about having our first child the month after we broke ground. Kevin gave us a projected completion date of approximately 7 months.
Kevin utilizes an easy to read Google Doc to view and make selections for your home. The cost of the project utilized good quality materials but he also leaves you as the consumer the ability to opt for higher end or less expensive materials. This is unlike most other building companies where cost is set and everything is an upgraded item. The cost of our project was $310,000.
Not knowing the ins and outs of building a home, we relied heavily upon Kevin, Kevin's Project Manager - Ken Hartman and friends. I visited our work site almost daily and was very involved in the day to day progress of the home. My contact with Ken was in person or over the phone. One of my concerns prior to breaking ground was the horror stories I heard about owners with some companies trying to get a hold of their builder but calls were never returned. This was most definitely not a concern with Kevin and Ken. Phone calls were returned promptly and any concerns were addressed in a timely manner. If there was a situation where I wasn't getting the response I was looking for with Ken, Kevin made himself available to clarify, explain and address my concerns.
The ultimate time frame of our completed home was nine months, two months longer than the anticipated date. At the time, we were admittedly frustrated. We were living with family and had a now six month old. We pushed for faster progress. Kevin was understanding and did everything he was able to, to get us into our home more quickly.
The only criticism I had and still have with regard to building, was having our new furnace utilized as the sole heat source for our home through the winter months.
Prior to moving in, Kevin has the owner go through the entire house, room by room and create a "punch list" for each room with items that need to be addressed and corrected prior to occupancy. This is done with both Kevin and Ken. I remember at the beginning of the build, Kevin stated there will be minor imperfections in the building process, materials and / or craftsmanship. I kept this in mind throughout our build. While moving room by room with Kevin, he was noting the most minute imperfections to be corrected; Things I, to this day probably would not have noticed. Our punch list for the entire house was maybe, one page at most. By comparison, our next door neighbor who built with a larger building company, had a punch list one and one half pages long for EACH room in the house. Prior to taking over our home, each and every item on the punch list was corrected.
Each home has a one year warranty. Prior to the one year, Kevin ensures you are working on a list of any defects, accidents or other miscellaneous items that occurred during the past year. In fact, I purposefully waited to write this review until after our one year warranty check was completed. This was because I also had heard horror stories about builders not honoring the one year warranty, or builders becoming ghosts with regard to warranty work. Again, this was absolutely not the case. Kevin (and Ken) honored all of the one year warranty work and ensured it was all completed. By comparison, that neighbor from above who built with another builder still has work from their warranty they just gave up on after two years.
Though building, I've learned a few things. When you build a house, it should be expected that the unexpected will occur. This is true of any builder. Some things you can control. Others you can't. Time frames are generalized estimates from past practices and aren't a reflection on a specific builder. If Kevin Jones is wrong about something, he'll admit it and take responsibility.
Kevin Jones Builders was the most qualified builder we interviewed. He was beyond accommodating, reasonable, professional, understanding and a human being. Though we plan on living in our home for the next 20 years, I look forward to the next time we build (if Kevin isn't retired by then.)
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