The FWI Difference

What sets us apart from other contractors is the fact that we have over 30 years of experience, but are constantly embracing change. This means whether is new materials, building methods or technology, we are always trying to get better. All of this is an effort to forge lifelong partnerships with our clients.

Speaking of partnerships, we have cultivated relationships with some of the top professionals in the industry. We have worked extensively with some of the top electricians, plumbers, landscapers, (you name it) for decades. This means that if our partners are required for your project, you will be getting top notch and trustworthy tradesmen who will get the job done right.

We know that the construction industry sometimes get a bad reputation. We hope that when you hire us, we can put those bad feelings to bed. This means you will get reliability, transparency and our never-ending aim to have the best process in town. Read on to see how that process works!

Consultation

The first step to any project is contacting us to set up an initial consultation. It is quick, it is easy and it is free. Whether you are looking for home buying advice or ready to tackle a full-scale home renovation, this is where the process begins. In most cases, we will look to set up a meeting to go through your project, your budget and how we can be of service.

What sets us apart

We are prompt, we are diligent and we will ALWAYS get back to you. We have heard horror stories of other contractors just being flaky. We are professionals and even if we know we cannot help you, we will treat you with the same respect as our oldest and ongoing clients.

Estimate, Revisions and Contract

After we get a good sense of your wants and needs we will work diligently to provide you with an initial budget. Here, we will provide a detailed breakdown of labor, material and subcontractor costs (if necessary). The key though, is a section we like to call “allowances.” This is where we use our extensive industry experience to provide our customers with a budget range for certain line items. For example, we may provide a range of price options for a specific material (tile, fixtures) or larger ticket items like cabinets and appliances. This section is where our customers can pick quality materials and really start to cater the budget to their needs.

Usually, we like to go through our estimates in detail with our clients face to face. This will allow us to make changes, provide advice and really get a better sense of what exactly the end goal is. Our customers always appreciate how detail-oriented we are and how honest we can be about how much things cost.

Once we get the hard part over with we will provide a clear and transparent budget, scope of work and timeline for the project. Furthermore, we start to build out an online/ app-based collaboration site to capture the whole project in detail.

What Sets Us Apart

We have developed a state-of the art system that digitizes this whole process. Everything from the original estimate to final invoice are all captured online. We build a customized web portal for each of our clients where they can track everything from their project in real-time! We even upload all of our receipts on a daily basis. We believe in transparency and more importantly collaborating with our clients!

Work Phase

It would be impossible to standardize the work phase process. The range of projects we see on a yearly basis would just not allow it. However, if we could make an attempt it would look something like this:

Demolition & Repairs: removing existing structures to prepare of the new.
Structural Work: if needed, making sure structural integrity is there to accommodate new work
New construction: adding walls, rooms, space whatever. We build the bones here.
Behind the Scenes: all the rough-in work that happens behind the walls
Prep: closing in spaces with drywall, tile, cabinets whatever.
Trim, Paint & Fixtures: all the pretty stuff! Painting and fixtures get installed and we tie up the loose ends.

What Sets us apart

First and foremost it is communication. Not everything can be predicted when doing construction. We are constantly communicating with our clients and will always put the safety and structural integrity of the space first! If we encounter an unknown that effects the project scope and/or budget, you better believe the work stops and our clients are notified immediately. This is also where our online portal helps. Clients can track our logs of receipts, hours, subs etc. in real time and from wherever they have an internet connection!

Secondly, we take great pride in doing quality work. We will never take short cuts or do things the “cheap” way. This is the exact reason we aren’t the cheapest guy in town. However, our work will speak for itself years down the road and will save our clients money in the long run.

Lastly, we know how hard it us to work in someone’s home and the toll it can take. We are always treating our clients’ homes better than our own. We believe in a clean job site and going above and beyond the call of duty. Don’t be surprised if you catch us getting the paper or taking out the trash.

Finishing Touches & Wrap-Up

Once a project is complete we like our clients to get settled in their new space. This usually takes a few weeks whether it’s small powder room or an entire new home. After a few weeks, we will always be back to go over anything that may have come up since we left. We want to make sure the new space is exactly the way our clients intended it and they are 100% satisfied.

Once the job is completed to our client’s satisfaction we will present them with the final invoice. This invoice will go over every dollar and cent and compare the project costs with the original estimate. As you can imagine, we are are extremely detailed here.

Lastly, we provide our clients the opportunity to help us improve. Good, bad or indifferent we want the feedback. We wouldn’t be here today if we weren’t constantly trying to improve.

What sets us apart

We don’t view this as a contractor/client relationship, we view this as a full on partnership and it is the only way we will do business. This means constantly working with our clients and making them as big a part of the project as they want to be (just leave the carpentry to us).

We work every single day with our clients to ensure they will be our partners for life. We know this means far more than working on your own future projects: it means working for your friends, colleagues and sometimes even your children’s projects too. Our family tree is always expanding and this is the thing that makes us the most proud to do what we do!