FAQ: Honest Answers
The questions below are the ones we actually get on discovery calls, at kitchen tables, and in the middle of projects. We'd rather plainly answer them here before you ever reach out. If your question isn't here, just ask us.
Cost & Pricing
How much does it cost to build a custom home in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.?
Plan on your home starting in the $250 to $275 per square foot range, all-in including soft costs, permits, and construction for a custom home at the quality level we build. That includes site work, stormwater, demolition of an existing house, premium windows, custom cabinetry, and quality finishes. Jurisdiction, lot conditions, and selections drive the variation. If someone quotes you $200, ask what's not in the number.
What is cost-plus and why do you build that way?
In a cost-plus contract you pay the actual documented cost of construction plus a builder fee percentage agreed before signing. Our fee doesn't change with your selections, so we have no incentive to put cheaper products behind your drywall (this is the fixed-price builder's quiet profit center). You get full product choice and complete cost visibility. If you're interviewing builders right now, we wrote out the ten questions worth asking before you sign, including how to ask about markup without it getting awkward.
Do you mark up allowances or materials?
No. All vendor pricing including the builder discounts we've earned over eight years passes through to you at our cost. On many products our clients pay less through us than at retail.
What do we actually see during the build?
A draw schedule set at contract signing and real costs to date at every draw. Invoices are available on request. If the project comes in under budget then the savings are yours. That's happened and we honor it every time.
Do your contracts include a price escalation clause?
No. Cost-plus doesn't need one. You pay what things actually cost, never a padded number protecting our margin against a guess. Material price changes are visible to you in real time and not hidden in a contingency.
How do most clients pay for a custom build or major renovation?
Most use a construction loan or renovation financing through their bank, but some customers pay cash. We're builders, not lenders, but we've worked with these structures for years so we can walk you through how draws work with your lender and point you toward local lenders our clients have had good experiences with.
Process & Timeline
How long does it take to build a custom home in Northern Virginia?
Plan on 14–23 months from first meeting to keys: 3–6 months of design and pre-construction, about 3 months of permitting, and 8–14 months of construction. A streamlined build on our own designs runs closer to 14 months.
How long do permits take in Northern Virginia?
About 3 months is the honest planning number across our Northern Virginia jurisdictions, depending on how many review cycles the plans need. Anyone quoting "a few weeks" hasn't pulled a permit here lately. We prepare, submit, and manage the whole process, and use the window to finalize selections so we break ground when the permit lands.
Why do renovations and additions sometimes take longer than building new?
Because the existing house gets a vote. Demolition before you can build, working around existing conditions, sometimes using smaller equipment, and the surprises every opened wall can hold. A large renovation or addition runs on a similar clock to a custom home, but can occasionally take longer. We'd rather you know that going into the build than find out later.
How will we know what is happening during construction?
You get a written recap every Friday for the life of the project: work completed that week, work scheduled for next week, photographs, and any change to the schedule. One of us writes it. Between recaps you have our cell numbers, and Clayton or Christian is running your job start to finish, so you are never asking where things stand.
Can we live in our house during a renovation?
Sometimes, but it depends on scope. An addition can often be sequenced so you stay in the house; a whole-home renovation usually can't be, and a kitchen means weeks without one. We'll tell you honestly in the first conversation which yours is and we create a dust protection plan and sequencing around real life either way.
Do we need our own architect or do you handle design?
Either works. Bring your architect or designer and we join the team, pricing the design as it develops. Starting from scratch? We'll introduce you to architects and designers we've worked with and trust. What we won't do is let design finish without real pricing attached. We’ve seen this too many times unfortunately and that's how projects end up 40% over budget with full design plans never getting built.
Quality & What's Behind the Walls
What makes your construction different from a code-minimum builder?
Code is a safety floor and not a quality standard. We design floors to L/480 deflection (L/600 under tiled baths) instead of code's L/360, use ¾" AdvanTech subfloor instead of stock OSB, full Schluter waterproofing systems in bathrooms, sound insulation, and spray foam entire lofts beyond code minimums.
How do we know what's actually inside our walls?
You get the complete pre-drywall photo record with every pipe, wire, and stud photographed before the walls close, delivered to you through your project portal, yours permanently. Hanging a mirror or diagnosing an issue in year eight, these photos help you see through your walls without opening them.
Who actually runs our project?
The owners, Clayton or Christian. On every project, from start to finish, no rotating project managers and no handoffs. The trades are subcontractors we've vetted and worked with for years, not whoever's cheapest this week (another difference with fixed price builders).
Warranty & After
What warranty do you provide?
A one-year labor warranty on our workmanship, plus manufacturer warranties on products and equipment passed through to you and documented in your move-in Handbook. We schedule a 30-day check-in and a 1-year check-in to handle warranty work proactively.
What happens if something goes wrong after year one?
Call or text us and you'll reach the same owners who built your home. The warranty has a term, but picking up the phone doesn't. Eight years of referral-driven growth only happens when the relationship outlasts the punch list.
Working With Us
Where do you build?
Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Arlington is home base and we build throughout the close-in NoVA communities. This includes Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Fairfax, and Alexandria, plus D.C., where we're licensed and permitted to work.
What size projects do you take on?
Custom homes, additions, whole-home renovations, kitchens, bathrooms, and ADUs.
Are we the right builder for you?
We're the right fit for families investing in a long-term home who want it built correctly, including where they can't see. We're the wrong fit if you're shopping for the cheapest bid, planning a flip, or if the numbers don't actually work for your project and we'll tell you that before we sign, not after.
What should we ask any builder before hiring them, including you?
Ask what they'd never cut when budgets tighten, who is running your project day to day, whether you can walk an active job site before drywall, and how you'll see real costs during the build. We put the full list, with what a good answer sounds like, in What to ask a builder before signing a contract.
What happens when something goes wrong during construction?
We tell you quickly, show you the real numbers, and fix it. We don't promise zero surprises, no honest builder can, and anyone who does is selling rose-colored glasses. We promise you'll never find out about a problem after it's been drywalled over.
Have a question that's not here?
Ask it. You'll get a straight answer either way, even if the answer is "you don't need us for that."
Ask the Builder
Straight answers about building and renovating in Northern Virginia, from two brothers who do it every day.
No trends, no fluff, no "10 stunning kitchen ideas." Real local numbers: what things actually cost here, how long permits actually take, what goes wrong and what it costs to fix. The kind of answers we'd give you over coffee.
If it's useful to you and you never call us, that's fine. That's the point. We’re here to support in any way we can.