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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 have many questions about the custom home building process. If you have a question that isn’t included here, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 317.839.8353.
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.
Brad Whicker 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 be with Brad Whicker 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.
We’ll be happy to sit down with you, look at your blueprints, and share our thoughts and any concerns about the function and the value of the design. Our years of experience have taught us that some design approaches may detract from a client’s satisfaction with the finished home, so we want to make sure that you’re not being set up to be disappointed. When we sit down with you, we’ll also work to develop a better understanding of your needs and goals, so we can help you evaluate the design more objectively.
If your blueprints prove to be a good fit for you, and we believe that they meet our standards, we’ll be happy to develop an estimate of building costs. If they don’t appear to be right for both of us, we’ll offer suggestions for steps you can take, whether you choose to build with us or someone else.
If there is a good possibility that your project will involve significant changes during the construction process, or if your new home’s cost will exceed $1 million, this may be the right option for you. When there are many changes during construction or when a home is large and distinctive enough to warrant a higher cost, the selections and allowances can vary widely from the initial bids through the building stage.
Working from detailed specifications, the builder estimates the cost to build your home and agrees to take responsibility for any overages that are not related to change orders or allowances.
Because the builder’s expenses and profit margins are not transparent, you have no way of knowing how much of a markup the builder is taking. In addition, if your details and specifications are not comprehensive and clear, the estimate may vary widely depending on the amount of allowances and the quality and grade of the products the builder uses. For example, if you do not specify a particular type of wood trim, the builder may use a lesser grade than what you expected. Changes to the original design can also add up quickly, so the more you know about what you want before you start, the better off you’ll be.
It may sound simple, but our goal is to design and build your home exactly how you want it, so you’re ready to move in without having to spend another penny. We develop realistic bids for our clients’ homes, based on real-world costs. If a client isn’t sure about a particular selection, we’ll include generous allowances so there are no surprises.
In addition, we refuse to pinch pennies by specifying or using low-grade materials. We’ve worked too hard to build up our company’s reputation – and you’re investing too much in your home – for us to cut corners. Sometimes, that approach means our bids may seem a little higher at first, but in the long run, you’ll find them to be far more accurate.
Our bid package includes a detailed proposal and set of specifications allowing you to see exactly what materials were selected for your home.
That’s not unusual. After all, seeing a house on paper is very different once you begin to see it going up in three dimensions. For example, you may decide that adding a window would give you a beautiful view of sunsets. Or, you may become aware of an appliance that suits your needs better than the one you initially selected. 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, 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.
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.
Whicker Construction offers custom home construction & remodeling services in Indianapolis, IN.
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