The Building Process

Lehmann Construction is covered with General Liability insurance of up to $2 million. Working with an insured builder is always a good idea and should never be taken for granted. An insured builder is a responsible builder.

The state of North Carolina requires General Contractors to have a license in order to build. There are 3 classifications for a builder’s license. Lehmann Construction has an Unlimited General Contractors License for NC so there is no limit to the job value we can work on unlike the lower 2 qualifications.

Homebuilder’s Associations can provide peace of mind to both the customer and builder because they help maintain standards for the industry. We are proud to be a member in goodstanding with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the High Country Home Builder’s Association (HCHBA).

The HCHBA helps to promote ethical behavior among builders in Watauga and Avery Counties, professionalism and service, and continuing education on industry trends and new products.

In order to renew our General Contractors License, our company’s financial statements are audited each year. Only contractors with credit in good standing are eligible for renewal. Our license is current and up to date.

As a builder who has been in the home building industry since 1997, I’m proud to provide a list of references from my most recent customers. Please call my office at 828-387-7711 to request these names. In order to protect our customer’s privacy, we ask that you fill out a form with your information and the date of your request so that this may be provided to our reference list in turn.

To view pictures of our completed projects, please visit our Photo Gallery and check out our Video Tours.

It’s always frustrating to contact someone you’ve hired to do a job and never get a return phone call or email. The builder you hire should be available by phone, or have arrangements in place to handle return phone calls and emails to get an answer to your question. A qualified and honest builder should be able to give you some sort of status report on how the work is progressing within a couple of business days of the request.

At Lehmann Construction, we’re proud to offer our homeowners a variety of methods to contact us including email, telephone, cell phone and fax.

Before the building process begins, you should have a complete list of specifications you have both agreed to, a complete set of plans for the home, as well as a firm price. Any and all changes that are made throughout the process should be initialed by both parties before proceeding, especially when it affects the final price of the home.

The approval process should be relatively easy, even if you do not live in the area thanks to our use of conventional and electronic communications. Remember to have all correspondence documented and dated so that you and your builder can stay on the same page at all times.

No one likes surprises when it comes to money, and this is especially true when building a home. An experienced contractor should be able to give you a firm price based on the final house plans, requirements of the construction site to accommodate your new home, utility connections, pouring the foundation, and anything else associated with the process that is not defined in the blue prints.

There are two ways to handle an estimate: the Fixed Price method and the Cost Plus (or Time and Materials) method. Each situation is unique, so my preference for which method we use is based on the situation as well as the homeowner’s wishes. In the simplest of terms, a Fixed Price Contract means the contractor has agreed to supply all labor and materials for a specific – or fixed – price. With the Cost Plus Contract, the contractor agrees to supply materials and labor, and adds a percentage fee to cover overhead and profit.

With the Fixed Price method, you will know the exact cost of building your home and that can be a plus. Unfortunately, this also requires you to place a lot of trust in your builder. It will be important to finalize your decisions before requesting an estimate of any builder to avoid surprises later on.

If decisions aren’t finalized, then a contractor will use allowances to create the estimate. Some contractors will give a low allowance on many items to help keep the bottom line low, and to reduce the overall cost per square foot. Unfortunately, some contractors leave out big items, such as a septic system, well, or fixtures, in order to win a homeowner’s bid.

It is vitally important that homeowners ask a lot of questions of a potential builder, and to always read the fine print when reviewing an estimate.

Another common problem with some builders is that if they see they are “cutting it close” so to speak during the final stages of the home, that person may decide to cut corners in building your home to increase the profit margin.

The worst part of this decision is that many of these cut corners are things that the homeowner will not even realize until years after the home has been completed.

If a potential builder insisted on working with the Fixed Price method, be sure to ask the references whether they have experienced any problems with their home post-construction, how long ago the home was built, if they found out corners were cut, or if they felt the builder was straightforward and honest with them during the entire process.

It will be important to work with your builder closely and stay apprised of your home’s progress regardless of which method you choose. An experienced builder should be able to provide an estimate for stages of the home building process and be fairly close to the actual cost to help you avoid major surprises.

One negative to using the Cost Plus method is if your builder does not strive to get things done quickly, or shop prices on materials for the most advantageous price, your home will cost more. Paul Lehmann shops and negotiates for the lowest prices on high quality materials to keep your cost down.

Be sure to ask whether the builder was able to estimate well if the Cost Plus method was used. Did the house progress in a timely fashion? Were there any periods of time where things seemed unnecessarily stalled?

Lehmann Construction believes in high quality at a reasonable price—affordable elegance as I like to say. I charge homeowners for materials at their actual cost instead of inflated prices, and can assess potential problems with challenging home sites before construction begins. I’ll be honest in my estimates and will strive to make sure you are informed of your home’s progress and potential issues as they arise in a timely fashion. Ultimately, our work ethic revolves around the Golden Rule and every house is built as if it were my own personal home.

We have a comprehensive Estimating Worksheet to figure out the cost of building your home. At the very least, if you have a set of plans but no specifications, we can get a base figure to start out with. I will always work with homeowners to make sure their Dream Home is built to their specifications and in the budget they have to work with.

Building a home is a serious financial commitment, so it is important to have a strong rapport with your builder. Did you find that this person was accommodating to you in your requests? Was guidance offered to you when you were not quite sure of how to decide on something related to the home? Does the builder have a helpful staff member available? Do you feel that this person is trustworthy? Positive answers to questions like these can make or break your potential experience with a General Contractor. Consider the answers given to you by former customers carefully.

Sometimes a builder will tell a homeowner what they want to hear in the beginning, and then change things later. Lehmann Construction will always be up front with you, and to this day, my best source of marketing is my former customers. Visit the Testimonial page to get a review of Lehmann Construction.

There are generally two types of building contracts that a builder will use—a “cost plus” contract or a “fixed price” contract. The pros and cons of these methods were detailed on the Questions for Customers page, so it’s important to understand what this means when the terms are put into a contractual agreement.

Ultimately, your building contract protects both parties by avoiding disputes and helps to make sure everyone is on the same page. No detail is too small when it comes to building your dream home.

I have been building high end custom homes since 1997. In that time, I’ve built on home sites that were easy to build on, and sites that consist of challenging cliff faces that would make even the most experienced builder think twice. My experience is an asset to you as a homeowner because I can offer guidance with decisions as well as provide fair estimates for related work. Regardless of which method you choose for your final contract, I will follow through on your wishes for your dream home with integrity.

If you or your architect have questions about your contract I will make myself available to make sure you get the answers you need. Most importantly, I will not become less available to you just because signatures are in place and the deposit has been made. Our relationship will be a long standing one, even after your home is complete.

People can sometimes take for granted all the details involved in building a custom home, and sometimes assumptions can be made when it comes to thinking something is included. This is always a recipe for disaster considering that anything not included in the specs could turn into a gray area.

I would say the building specifications are the most vital part of your contractual agreement with a builder. This part of the contract details everything including but not limited to:

• appliances included or not included
• types of locks for the doors
• moldings and trim
• floor coverings
• electrical wiring and fixtures
• heating and cooling systems

As I’ve said before, no detail is too small, so it will be important to have a comprehensive list of specifications detailing everything, especially when it comes to items included in the purchase price. A high end custom home should have several pages of specifications.

Anytime you communicate with your General Contractor or a staff member, you should always send an email summary to the builder as a way of documenting the conversation. If the conversation results in a change to the contract or specifications, then proper initialing of said changes in the contract should be made by both parties to reflect the change has been agreed to. Proper documentation should always occur before any physical changes to the building process begin.

At Lehmann Construction we specialize in building luxury custom homes. A home that measures around 3500 s.f. to be built on a relatively easy home site usually takes 10 to 14 months to complete as long as no major changes are made to the specifications.

Sometimes delays are unavoidable and out of the builder’s control—but any delay will be communicated to you promptly as soon as the builder becomes aware.

Our billing system will also provide a written progress report for you as well, so between the two systems, you will always be informed of how your home construction is progressing

Some customers feel that a construction inspection will provide a safety net to insure their home is being built in a timely fashion and within budgetary constraints. This is not always the case. A homeowner should never rely solely on the construction inspection as a way to insure quality and progress.

Of course it cannot hurt to have construction inspections as long as they are done correctly. Having both a reputable builder and lending institution will decrease your chances of someone bloating numbers in order to meet a draw. Inquire about people’s experiences with their loans to figure out what is best for you.

I love having architects to work with and creating mutually beneficial relationships to help make people’s dream homes a reality. When a homeowner has hired an architect to create the vision, I take great pride in translating that vision into a tangible living space. Together we can work on your home from idea to blue print to a finished custom home.

You should be wary of any builder who offers a substantially lower estimate on a high-end custom home. Are you giving up quality? Are corners going to be cut? The old saying “You get what you pay for” certainly stands true in the custom home building industry.

You can get luxury at a reasonable price as long as you find a trustworthy builder like myself with the experience necessary and a long-standing history of meeting and exceeding customer’s expectations.

Customers often ask what my Cost Per Square Foot is, but this is a hard figure to come by. First off, you have 3 types of square footage: heated finished space (highest cost), covered space (mid cost), and deck and patio space (lowest cost). I rely the most on the Cost Estimate provided to you during the beginning of the process, and based on that total we can come up with an average for general square footage cost.

Something else to consider is that it does not cost that much more to increase your total square footage from 3,000 s.f. to 3,500 s.f. as an example. A good builder will be able to consult with you during the design process to see where you can maximize your cost effectiveness with square footage.