PassivWorks, Inc. - Better Buildings

My husband and I hired PassivWorks to remodel an existing pool house structure. We were never disappointed with our decision and we plan to hire them again to remodel (major) our main house in 2015. Passivworks was one of several bids we considered, they were certainly not the cheapest, but they were by far the most thoughtful and complete bid we received. Most every aspect of the job was considered from the beginning, they excel at comprehensive knowledge of quality building and remodeling of structures. All of our personal selections for materials and hardware were well planned out with plenty of time for us to make careful choices. Their work was masterful and thorough. All PassivWorks employees and subs were well vetted and were extrememly professional on the job site. The job site was cleaned up at the end of every workday. Rick Milburn, was our main contact and he was on site everyday to make sure our project was on track. The project completed in the agreed to time and a tad under budget. Speaking of budgets, Passivworks uses a good mechanism for progress invoicing, everything ties back to the original agreed to budget. Everything is upfront with Rick and PassivWorks! We highly recommend them.

I have done two remodel projects with Rick Milburn and PassivWorks, one 6 years ago and one just recently completed. I wouldn't even consider working with another contractor. Rick is honest, knowledgeable and extremely helpful with decision-making. He is a great problem solver and his crew is efficient, polite and punctual. The house was left clean at the end of each work day, the remodel was completed on schedule and within budget. I am very pleased with the outcome.

We've built a number of houses over the years and worked with some pretty terrific people. Rick and his PassivWorks team take building to another level. The workmanship is outstanding. He provides terrific advice and guidance on thinking through the thousands of decisions, large and small, that you go through. He communicated well, was personally involved every day, never surprised us, and kept meticulous care of the schedule and budget. Usually we're educating people on green building but Rick's enthusiasm and knowledge of green building is among the top in the country. Rick proves that you don't have to give up comfort or style to build a net-zero energy house. A few months after we moved in, we experienced a 6.0 earthquake with the epicenter 5 miles from our house. The house was so well built, we had no damage, faring better than most of our neighbors. Rick was knocking on our door the next day at 8am to check on us. He was making the rounds with all of his clients to make sure they were OK. We have a new friend for life.

My wife and I have been helped with two very substantial residential construction projects by PassivWorks. In 2002 Mr. Milburn and PassivWorks completely reconstructed our home with structural and floor plan changes. Also in 2009 the company built a two car garage with additional space for a home shop, and a living unit on the second story, plus solar electrical power. The workmanship was exceptional, and the workers were knowledgable and conscientious. In my lifetime of home owning, this is the first time I have ever been completely pleased with help of a builder/contractor. I am very comfortable recommending PassivWorks, for any home contracting or energy related needs.

I am a design professional who worked with this company. Having twenty four years experience in the interior design industry and specializing in interior architecture and construction specifications as well as on site supervision, I found PassivWorks, Inc. to be extremely professional in representing the client's needs and budget concerns at the same time carrying through our specified design direction, as not always experienced in our field with a general contractor. We were very proud with our project and with our continuing relationship with PassivWorks, Inc.

We have worked with Rick on several projects and he has done a wonderful job for our clients. He is excellent at finding materials that are "green" and takes extra effort to make sure the products are correct, from the main product to installation materials. I would highly recommend his work.

PassiveWorks brings a wealth of knowledge to a project. Rick Milburn is passionate about his work and the quality of the product delivered. Extensive time and effort have been invested into learning ways to build better and projects are a true collaborative effort. It is a pleasure to have a builder, subs, and architect always striving to deliver the best product possible for a given budget.

From the time of my interview with Rick Milburn, I knew that the addition we were planning to our home was in good hands. I had interviewed other contractors before meeting Rick, and he was, by far, the one I felt best about. I knew he would stay close to the job and be on the job site everyday . . . and I was absolutely right about that. Rick is a true professional, and his work is of the highest quality.

PassivWorks built our incredible Passiv house in Sonoma. Rick Milburn is extremely knowledgeable about energy efficiency and is a sought after speaker on green building practices. He is practical, knows what works and is constantly researching the latest sustainable materials and processes. Through his guidance, we were able to strike a perfect balance between recent technological advances in energy efficiency and the old world charm of a tuscan inspired home. We're thrilled with how our home turned out! It was a pleasure to work with such a high integrity guy as Rick and I would highly recommend him for any construction project.

Rick Milburn of Passivworks is the most thorough, honest and knowledgable professional I have ever had the pleasure to work with in building a home. I have built far too many in my lifetime, but I have never experienced such passion for excellence that Rick and his team display.You'll find less expensive quotes, but you'll likely end up paying more for that underestimate from contractors wanting to get your business. I've been there. Rick sticks to his promises on expenses and is incredibly diligent about reviewing each invoice in detail - down to the last nail. I can't recommend Rick and Passivworkds highly enough.