Planning for a new home can be an exciting and challenging experience. Whicker Construction is committed to taking your vision and bringing it to life, detail by detail, in a timely fashion, with the utmost integrity. We want to be the hands that build your dream.
Prospective clients often want to know more about the home building process and what kind of experience you’ll have with us. If you’d like to learn more about what we can provide for you, contact us at 317.839.8353.
About Whicker Construction
The kind of experience you can expect:
Whicker Construction is a custom design/build firm that has been serving Hendricks and surrounding counties since 1989. We create between 6 and 10 high-quality custom homes and 4 to 8 remodel/restoration projects, as well as several small projects each year. By handling a limited number of projects and maintaining a steady workload, we’re better able to uphold our exacting standards for quality and keep the best trade contractors working on our projects.
Most of the custom homes we’ve created have been valued between $600,000 and $2,000,000+. Our remodeling projects usually fall in the $100,000 to $500,000+ range.
Brad Whicker, owner of Whicker Construction, will be personally involved in the construction of your home. That’s important to Brad, because each completed home stands as evidence of the quality of craftsmanship and workmanship that Whicker Construction provides.
Your day-to-day contact will either be Brad or our Project Coordinator, who will work with you on all technical and building-specific questions, keep you up to date on the home’s progress, and work with you in scheduling and selecting design details.
Your Design Or Ours?
If you have a rough idea of what you want, but not an exact design, our design/build approach is perfect for you. We will take any ideas you have and work directly with you and our draftsman to create a one-of-a-kind design that has everything you need and want in your home. We’ll enter into a Design Services Agreement with you that covers our draftsman’s time and the involvement of our staff. This includes up to two revisions of the design.
Our team will sit down with you, look over your blueprints, and give our thoughts and any concerns about the function and value of the design. We’ll use this opportunity to learn exactly what it is that you need from your home before we begin the building process.
If the blueprints prove to be a good fit for you, and we believe that they meet our standards, we’ll develop an estimate of the building costs. If one of us isn’t satisfied, we will even offer suggestions on how you can move forward, whether it’s with us or another company.
What will our Partnership Look Like?
Our goal is to design and build a home exactly how you want and need it. When we’re all done and you’re ready to move in, you won’t have to worry about spending another penny. We develop realistic estimates for our clients’ homes, based on real-world costs. We’ll even add allowances so there are no surprises if you find out you want to change something.
In addition, we will not spare any cost by using low-grade materials. We’ve worked too hard to build our company’s reputation, and you’re investing too much in your home for us to cut corners.
Seeing a house on paper is very different from seeing it being built in front of you. For example, maybe you’ll decide you want to add a window to give you a better view. Or maybe you found an appliance that suits your needs better than the one you first decided on. We’ve been there, and we understand.
When you ask us to make a change, we’ll draft and submit a change order form that details your request, how it differs in price and the revised contract amount. If it all looks good to you, just sign the change order and pay any additional amount for the change. We’ll then handle all of the modifications to the trade contractors’ specifications.
What About Moving Day?
We call this the Homeowner Orientation, and it’s our favorite part. Much more than just a walk-through, it’s a break-down of every inch of your new home and a detailed review of all the important information related to its maintenance.
Your orientation will be scheduled approximately one week before closing. That day, we’ll inspect everything with you and create a detailed “punch list” that will include any points in your home that may require further attention.
Sometimes after settling in, you may discover minor issues such as misaligned drawers, doors or windows. For this exact reason, we schedule a 60-day follow-up with you. We’ll walk through your home and address any issues you’ve found, as well as answer questions that have come up since closing.
While we strive to build defect-free homes, we know that mistakes and problems can happen. We personally stand behind our craftsmanship and refuse to sell or sub-contract your warranty to any third-party vendors.
Your home is backed by a two-year warranty against defects caused by faulty workmanship, defective materials, faulty installation of plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, ventilation systems, exclusive of fixtures, appliances or items of equipment. The roofing system is backed by a four-year warranty for any defects caused by faulty workmanship or defective materials. We also warranty against major structural defects for a period of ten years following your closing date. During your Homeowner Orientation, we’ll describe your coverage in detail and explain how to request warranty service.
Once Your Home Is Finished…
Our favorite part of any homebuilding project is what we call the Homeowner Orientation. More than just a walk-through, it’s a detailed demonstration of every facet of your new home and a review of important information related to its maintenance.
We’ll schedule your Orientation for about one week before closing. That day, we’ll inspect your new home with you and create a written list – commonly known as a punch list – that details any items that require further attention. It’s important that we examine everything thoroughly so that we can make any needed adjustments.
We always try to, but it’s impossible to promise. Sometimes, specialty items needed to complete the work may be on backorder, so we won’t be able to finish until after you have moved in. However, we’ll do our best to complete the work as soon as possible with the least amount of inconvenience.
We know that timing is critical when it comes to locking in a loan rate, so we try to set your closing date as far in advance as possible. Once construction reaches a point at which weather and other factors outside our control are unlikely to affect the completion date, we can determine a specific date. Usually, we set that date two to four weeks before the actual closing, giving you time to finalize any financial matters or other loose ends.
We don’t recommend that we touch up paint and drywall that soon after completion. It takes time for a new home to settle and adjust to changing seasons. For that reason, we recommend that you schedule an appointment with us on your home’s first birthday so that we can correct any minor cracks and other issues that have cropped up during the year.
When you ask us to make a change, we’ll draft and submit a change order form that details your request, how it differs in price, the revised contract amount. If you decide to proceed with the change, simply sign the change order and pay any additional amount for the change. We’ll then handle all of the modifications to the trade contractors’ contract specifications.
While your home is being built, we’ll provide regular summaries of change orders, listing accepted, rejected and outstanding change orders, as well as their effect on the total price.
Absolutely! While we strive to build defect-free homes, we know that mistakes and problems can happen. We personally stand behind our craftsmanship and refuse to sell or sub-contract your warranty to any third-party vendors.
Your home is backed by a two-year warranty against defects caused by faulty workmanship, defective materials, faulty installation of plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling, ventilation systems, exclusive of fixtures, appliances or items of equipment. The roofing system is backed by a four-year warranty for any defects caused by faulty workmanship or defective materials. We also warranty against major structural defects for a period of ten years following your closing date. During your Homeowner Orientation, we’ll describe your coverage in detail and explain how to request warranty service.