Residential Design + Build

NOV-DEC 2012

Residential Design + Build provides architects, designers and builders of custom homes with the information they need to create high-end custom homes.

Issue link: http://residentialdesignbuild.epubxp.com/i/94237

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 10 of 35

C OR P OR A T E pr o f ile years. On the jobs I do, the house costs a mil- lion or $2 to $3 million, and usually are $325 a square foot. The home I'm working on now is 12,000 sq. ft., but house sizes in general have gone down to an average of 5,000," he says. Ideally, Hamilton is working on two homes at any given time in a year. However, that work- load has increased to roughly three or four during the past two years. Most of the homes are custom secondary homes for upper-end clientele. Occasionally he builds for first-time owners, who also fall into the upper end of affluent society. THE PROCESS As affluent people, typically they're coming from a big city environment in which they're used to a cutthroat lifestyle of doing business, and they want Hamilton to get three bids from every sub. Cutthroat, however, is not in his vocabulary. "Drywall is drywall, so I will shop that hard. But, as far as plumbing and electrical work, I've spent years developing relationships with these people, and I know that if the electrician needs help pulling some wire upstairs, my carpenters will drop everything and help him. And the same goes all around. So when they give me a bid, it's less than what they would give on a bid for a different contractor. I know it's going to come in at what they say it'll come in. It takes a while to get homeowners to trust this, but in the end clients often comment that when they're watch- ing work done on their house, they say it feels like one big company with flooring and electri- cal divisions rather than separate subs because all the guys work together well," he says. Hamilton occasionally becomes frustrated Ç Typical Hamilton Construction custom homes average 5,000 sq. ft. and take 18 to 24 months to complete. with clients' requests, including when they want an estimate of what their house will cost. They always want it done in four days, which Hamilton can't do. "What they don't understand is the level of finish they want, and they always pick something nicer than what I budgeted. Then, they change their minds, and it always costs more than the original budget. I have to keep explaining this throughout the project." A big misconception most potential clients have is, that in a bad economy they can build homes more cheaply than during good times, he explains. "I can't. Name me one material that's gone down in price. All material has gone up. The price of labor has gone down, but I abandoned the philosophy of hiring cheap labor years ago. You get what you pay for," he says. WORD-OF-MOUTH Ç Accommodating snow loads in Steamboat Springs, Colo., requires design and engineering not found in many other areas of the United States. Hamilton has no marketing plan. He has no website. All his business comes through word- of-mouth. The closest Hamilton comes to doing marketing is, for example, when a child kicks a hole in a wall, and he fixes it for free; a service which carries a lot of marketing value. "Or, I'll give them a company jacket or hat, and when they wear it they're my marketing. I need them going to dinner in the community and telling people to hire me. That's my marketing, and there's little cost for that. Just this morn- ing I was adjusting doors in a house I built six years ago. I adjusted them at no charge. Owners appreciate it, and they remember, too." F o r R e s i d e n t i a l P r o s . c o m r esidential design + build Starting as a laborer 23 years ago earning $7.50 an hour to support his skiing habit, Hamilton advanced to become a carpenter then a foreman after which he launched his general contracting business in 2005. Essentially, he stumbled into his success, and is loving every minute of it. ■ +COMPANY STATS Hamilton Construction Steamboat Springs, Colo. Full-time staff: 7 Average annual revenue: $2.5 million % Residential work: 100% % Single-family: 100% % New construction: 75% % Remodeling: 25% % Design/Build: 100% Homes built annually: 2 to 4 +PREFERRED VENDORS Alpine Lumber — Distributor of Ainsworth Engineered products Peak Excavating Coon Custom Electric Colorado Plumbing & Heating Kitchen Perfection Interiors with Attitude Columbine Insulation Huyser Drywall Architectural Hardwood Floors Spiegel & Son Painting N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2012 11

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Residential Design + Build - NOV-DEC 2012