What people actually fear is being walked out on
Most contractor horror stories are not about craftsmanship. They are about a deposit that got cashed and a phone that stopped ringing. This page is what we do so that does not happen to you.
The commitments
None of this is hard. It is what happens when the person on the machine is the same person holding the schedule, and when the scope is written down before money changes hands.
We answer, or call back the same business day
If we are in a trench when you call, the phone is covered and you get a text back. You should never wonder whether your contractor got the message.
A written scope before any deposit
What is included and what is not. Materials by type rather than described as quality. A payment schedule tied to milestones. What triggers a change order and how it gets priced.
One point of contact
Aryan Pfeuffer. He runs the machine and the schedule, so the person you talk to is the person who knows what happened on site today.
Progress photos as we go
Sent during the job, not requested after it. Especially on below-grade work, where the thing you are paying for gets buried before you can inspect it.
Problems surface the day they are found
Rock where there should be soil. Water damage under a floor. You get told that day with what it means for cost and schedule.
Warranty in writing
What is covered, for how long, and how to invoke it. In your scope document, not implied.
Money
How payment works
Homeowners read payment structure as a trust signal, and they are right to. So here it is plainly, before you ask.
Deposit
Sized to the materials that have to be bought for your job. Enough to order, not enough to disappear with.
Milestones
Progress payments tied to work completed, not to dates on a calendar. If the work has not happened, the payment is not due.
Final on completion
After the punch list is done. The last five percent of a job is exactly where people get abandoned, so it is the last thing we get paid for.
What we do not do
Being straight about the edges is part of the same idea.
We do not do electrical or drywall as services. Where a project needs them, they are subcontracted to the trades that specialize in them and coordinated as part of the schedule.
We are a general contractor, not a plumbing company. We do the excavation and trench work for water, sewer and gas lines. Where a connection requires a licensed plumber, we coordinate one. The county requires a master plumber for that work and we do not misrepresent it.
We do not remove large trees. Brush, saplings and stumps during site work, yes. Large removals are a tree service's job and they are better at it.
Questions
Fair things to ask
How quickly will I hear back?
We aim to answer or return every call the same business day. If we are in a trench when you call, the phone is covered and you will get a text back.
Do you take a deposit?
Yes, sized to the materials that have to be ordered for your job. Not an amount that covers most of the project before it starts.
What if you find something unexpected?
You hear about it the day we find it, with the cost implication, before we continue.
What happens if something fails after you finish?
You call and we come back. Warranty terms are written into your scope document, including what is covered and for how long.
Can I check you out before hiring?
Please do. Ask for the insurance certificate, search the county court records, and ask for references from the jobs closest to yours in size. Our Learn section has a page on how to vet a contractor, including how to vet us.
Tell us what you are trying to do
Send a few photos and what you have in mind. You get a straight answer about scope and what the job involves before anyone asks you for money.