Designer Builders Inc

Todd Gaul and his team at Designer Builders are incredible. Their dedication to personalized service and quality craftsmanship and the reasons they are one of three trusted builders here at Woodside.

Designer Builders did an outstanding job of keeping us informed of all aspects of the job. Followed through with maintaining high levels of workmanship and professionalism.

As Northerners moving down to South Carolina, we were very concerned our traditional-colonial home design sensibilities would not suit our new neighborhood. With our “wish list” in hand, Todd designed and re-designed our dream home. We could not be more pleased with the outcome. Living in New York, and building in South Carolina is a worrisome process, but Todd has a computer application that kept us up to date with the build. We have built and renovated homes in the past, and have experience in managing a contractor. Every week Craig would photograph and upload the progress for the week. We could see everything from the grading of the home site, to the paint colors! The photographs let you feel like you were on the home site, rather than miles away. Everything was seamless, worry-less and everyone on the staff so competent! Melody the business manager will take are of any question, and get it answered quickly. Genevieve helps you pick out every last finish in the home with great design acumen. Craig and Shawn run the job site like it was their own home, and our house was completed on budget and on time! No delays! We moved in as planned and are so proud and pleased with the outcome. The whole team at Designer Builders are consummate professionals and concerned about making a truly special home. Our home shows that commitment to quality. I would highly recommend using Designer Builders for any home project you have. Our home is showcased on Designer Builders Facebook and web page. Look for yourself!

My husband and I were extremely happy with the staff at Designer Builders. Todd helped us design our contemporary mountain home, which required thinking outside the box. Genevieve Balogh was our rock throughout the process. She guided us every step of the way helping us select everything from paint colors to granite to cabinets. We could not have built the home without her. Melody, the Office Manager, is the most organized woman on the planet. The organization exceeded our expectations.

Our Experience With Designer Builders It’s hard to sum up our experience with Todd Gaul and Designer Builders, much less our somewhat unusual post-build adventures, in a just a few paragraphs, but knowing that the choice of a builder can be a complex decision we wanted to share our experience with others who may be at the beginning of that process. For starters, we knew that our new retirement home at Woodside Plantation in Aiken would have to be built while we were still living and working in New Jersey. Having lived in the same house there for 38 years, the prospect of doing new construction for the very first time from 800 miles away was fairly daunting. After interviewing multiple builders, we were impressed with the responsiveness and imagination of Todd and his architectural team (both long distance and in person). They showed us several interesting plans based on our wish list, and would revise them quickly when we’d request a different scenario. When we finally sat down with Todd to talk in detail, prior to making our final decision, he was a great listener - patiently working through multiple tweaks with us, and giving us the benefit of his extensive experience in shaping a final home design that we really became excited about. Meanwhile, we’d had a chance to speak to many of our future neighbors during our early visits, and those that had built with Designer Builders were uniformly enthusiastic about the experience. Not a discouraging word was heard. They praised the commitment to quality, reinforced by a great team of on-staff specialists and top subcontractors who delivered what Todd promised. Long story short, we can now add our endorsement to theirs, and are pleased to say that our relationship and the final product definitely exceeded our expectations. To share our experience in more detail, please read on. The Process As we got further into the process we would come to understand the benefits of DB’s well integrated “full service” support that previous clients had described to us. Before we actually broke ground, it was time to start making decisions on a mind-boggling array of interior and exterior details. We were introduced to Genevieve Balogh, DB’s design consultant, who proved to be an incredibly enthusiastic, talented and fun advisor as we tackled selecting everything from exterior and interior color schemes to tile, stone surfaces, bath fixtures, lighting, kitchen design, custom cabinets, closet configuration, flooring, decking and more. Needless to say, all these decisions in a short period of time can be challenging for a remote buyer who can only visit Aiken every couple of months during the building process. Not to worry - Genevieve beautifully orchestrated meetings with DB’s high quality local vendors, taking us through their showrooms, quickly understanding our tastes and consulting with us as we made every choice. It helped that she is not only an interior designer with great (and flexible) taste, but also has an excellent understanding of the functional aspects of home construction and design. She was terrific at showing us both the beautiful and the practical. We could not have put together the home that we love today without her. We were also assigned a Project Manager - Robert Girardeau – who would oversee the entire job. Robert has extensive experience as a builder and effectively coordinated all aspects of the construction, staying in close touch with Todd, who frequently inspected the site himself assuring that everything was up to Designer Builder’s standards. Robert would walk us through the home every time we visited, updating us and asking for our input whenever options presented themselves. We should also mention the helpful guidance that Diane Darr, DB’s Financial Manager, provided at the start to help guide us through the financing and insurance aspects of new construction. Our primary “liaison” coordinating overall communication and scheduling between the DB team and ourselves was Office Manager Melody Binion. She was great to work with, and before we broke ground introduced us to our dedicated online web page that would allow us to follow every phase of the job from home, including specs, our product selections, weekly and monthly construction calendar, progress photos, change order requests, running budget details and the ability to email any and all members of the team with questions at any time. That system and Melody’s oversight greatly facilitated communication throughout the project, which we felt was key. Speaking of budgets, DB did a good job of providing realistic initial cost estimates and letting us know whenever our change requests affected the numbers. There was no “low-balling”, which we appreciated. We also noted that the build site was always maintained very well, which our neighbors appreciated and said so. Detailed pictures were provided from Robert at every stage of construction via the website. Closing Closing went very smoothly. Robert conducted a thorough walk-through, explaining sytems, warranties and the “punch list” process for correcting anything that needed attention. Our punch list was short. Melody was marvelous at scheduling any fixes needed. It was really during the move-in phase that Designer Builder’s commitment to customer satisfaction was most evident. No detail was too small when it came to making us happy with the final product. An impressive part of that “make it perfect” effort was the tireless work put in by Shawn Bowden, DB’s dedicated “service technician” and jack-of-all-trades par excellence. If it needed fixing – he fixed it, professionally and with a smile. And he didn’t disappear after our preliminary list was done. Shawn is a resource we are very happy to have available to us going forward. He exemplifies DB’s customer service philosophy. We wish we could end there, but the story had an unexpected chapter. Two weeks after we happily settled in, Aiken was visited by a very rare wind storm one Sunday evening. It was highly localized, but we found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the wind and rain subsided we were left with several shattered windows, some tall pines on (and through) the roof, others covering the yard and a badly damaged chimney. Rapid mood swing! Not knowing what to do next, we called our builder. Todd was out of town for the weekend, but picked up his cell. He had heard about the storm and shared our disbelief that it had hit our neighborhood. Within 30 minutes he called back as darkness fell to assure us that his roofer would be there that night to button up the leaks. Working under lights, they had us water-tight by 9 pm. At 8 am the next morning, as we contemplated a massive clean-up effort, we were elated to see DB’s landscaper arrive in force. By mid afternoon Rankin Jolly’s crew had the trees off the roof, uprooted plants replanted and the lot totally cleaned up. We began to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Todd then gave Melody the go-ahead to schedule their subs to repair the roof, soffits, gutters, stucco, windows, and a variety of other bruises, and in a couple of weeks we were just about back to normal. This was all long after we had made the final payment. We can’t think of a better “outside the box” example of Designer Builder’s commitment to go the extra mile for their clients than that one. We will never forget it. And now life in Aiken is good once again. Carolyn and Dave Wilson

We are an Electrical contracting company that has worked on many upscale homes, equestrian facilities, and commercial projects for Designer Builders over the past few years. Todd Gaul and his staff are professionals in their fields. From the time we are contacted about a new project to setting temporary electrical service through meeting with home owners to " roughing-in" electrical components to installing the last light, we are kept up to date on the process of the project. If we ever have a question or concern "we don't have problems, only challenges" our answer is only a phone call away. We are a 47 year old family owned business that has worked with many of Aiken's finest builders and I can can honestly say that Designer Builders is at the top of that list. Thank you, JB Services of Aiken,inc. Chip Jones Owner/Partner

Todd Gaul and Designer Builders build an incredible home and make the entire process a positive experience. From the initial meeting with Todd starting to turn a dream into reality, to this point in time six months after having moved into the house, we have been impressed at every turn with the entire Designer Builders Team. Todd has a great knack for translating ideas, however vaguely presented, into a well conceived blueprint. He is attune to budget limitations and can adapt the plan and finishings to suit your needs. His attention to detail throughout the entire construction process reflects his high standards of excellence and 25 years of construction experience. Another reason for the success of Designer Builders is Genevieve Balough. She serves as your personal consultant accompanying you to all of your vendor meetings to assist in picking out your appliances, lights, plumbing fixtures, cabinets and everything else. She is an incredible asset as she takes meticulous notes and, based upon her background in design, is very helpful making selections and helping create your personalized finished product. Todd uses a cast of sub-contractors with whom he has been working with for over 20 years. They understand the high standards that Todd requires and they work hard to meet or exceed those standards. The work of the sub-contractors is overseen by one of Todd’s two building superintendents or Shawn Bowden, who is Todd’s finisher, any of whom will ensure that you are happy with the finished product. Another factor that separates Designer Builders from the other builders in the area is their exceptional customer service both during the building phase and after you move in. If there is any kind of a problem that you experience at anytime, a quick phone call to Melody Binion will ensure that someone on Todd’s team or a contractor will be at the house usually within 24 hours to assess and rectify the problem. We can’t say enough good things about how happy we are we worked with Todd and highly recommend Designer Builders as your choice to build your home. The team that Todd has formed is outstanding and will not let you down.

Designer Builders built our new house in Aiken, South Carolina. We were making the move from New Jersey to South Carolina for retirement. We met with the President, Todd Gaul and he was able to tailor a floor plan to our tastes and needs. We said that we would never do long distance construction, we were confident after meeting the staff of Designer Builders. They maintain a web site for clients to observe progress on their home. Any time there were questions about any issues, we were contacted immediately. Allowances for electrical, landscaping, etc. were generous, so our change orders and charge ups were minimal. After moving in, we had only a few minor issues and they were taken care of immediately. We would highly recommend.

There are so many builders and designers to work with in the industry, but when you find a few that you have great connection with, those are the ones you love to work with! Designer Builders is one of those great relationships were have developed over the years. Todd Gaul has done an amazing job of creating a staff that is truly customer focused, attentive to detail and build quality projects. Before turning over ownership to the client, when Designer Builders does their final walk through on a project, you know that the project is nearly flawless! This is hard to find in an industry rife with opportunity for error! We, at Bespoke, are delighted to be one of the firms which Designer Builders refers to their quality clients!

As interior designers we have had the privilage to work with Todd Gaul and Designer Builders on several major custom home projects ($700,000 and above). As a master builder Todd has all of the qualifications to exceed a client's expectations for quality, value, responsiveness and timeliness. What sets him apart is his ability to work with a design team and the homeowners to create something spectacular. He manages the building process with precision while facilitating and participating in the creative process of design. He has built a team of exceptional talent and their ability to "build outside the box" has developed a reputation of excellence for Designer Builders. Todd and his team consistently deliver an exceptional product and process! Sue Shannon, Owner/Lead Designer Susan Victor, Owner/Lead Designer Nandina Home & Design