Dvorak House Project of Distinction
2021
The Dvoraks came to Holtz Builders in the Fall of 2020 with a vision for a new 4,655 square foot home. After consulting with a different contractor, they wanted to find a contractor that shared their vision and was willing to work with their design. When we first budgeted their project, we were over budget. Holtz Builders took the time to listen to the homeowner’s requests and assist them with the design process. We were able to decrease the budget substantially through value engineering. One example is substituting faux beams for the main living area ceiling rather than timbers. Also, we were able to secure most of the products prior to seeing price increases as the market fluctuated due to Covid-19 shortages.
One of the greatest challenges for this build was the weather. In the months of January and February alone while framing the walls, there were at least 17 disruptions to the schedule due to sub-zero temperatures or snowfall, including delayed starts and early releases. Upon return, snow needed to be removed from the construction site and surrounding area for safety. To help speed up the process of snow removal, a skid loader was brought to the site. In addition, we had issues with machinery not starting and needing to be jumped. As the winter turned to spring, it brought about new issues. A road ban delayed the drywall being delivered by one week. The site was extremely muddy and made deliveries to the jobsite difficult. Rain throughout the months of March and April caused delays with the siding and the driveway. The wind had blown down plastic in the garage and some in the house. Despite all the weather related delays, the Holtz Builders team was able to stay on schedule by working longer hours and weekends.
Building a new home has an overwhelming amount of decisions that need to be made for a homeowner. For these first time builders, Holtz Builders helped make the process easy and enjoyable through a proactive approach. A homeowner doesn’t always know what they want until they are able to visualize it. Holtz Builders helped to break down the decision-making process into manageable steps. For example, our team met with the homeowner to discuss all of the electrical work for switch locations and lighting before installation. After installation, they had requested a couple of switches to be changed in their location and added more canned lighting into the ceiling. After the covered deck was finished, the homeowner decided that he would like the cedar planks on the ceiling stained. The driveway plans changed a few times before the homeowner decided on asphalt. We were able to work with the architect and subcontractors to accommodate the owner’s wishes. In addition, the home owner contracted a few of their own contractors for materials, which included a family friend that did all of their flooring and cabinetry. In our experience, increasing collaboration leads to better project outcomes, more efficient delivery of schemes, and greater client satisfaction.
Holtz Builders was honored to work with Max and Kalene in helping them design their dream home. We delivered the features they wanted without breaking the bank through value engineering. We navigated the first-time homeowners through the construction process when tough decisions needed to be made. Our Project Manager and Superintendent maintained communication during every step of the process to ensure that their expectations and needs were met. Even with so many weather delays, we were able to adjust the schedule to complete this project on time and on budget.