We build a new home every now and then. If you have something unique in mind, bring us your ideas. We will work with you to incorporate your thoughts into plans, and your plans into reality. Smoothly.

LAUTEN CONSTRUCTION CO. IS A CUSTOM DESIGN/BUILD COMPANY

Our goal is to be responsive to your wants and needs. The core of our business is remodeling, restoration and additions, specializing in historic renovations. We enjoy the challenges and have developed the skills and abilities that this demanding work requires.

Is that all?

Well, no. We build new traditional homes, not-so-big homes and even log and timber frame homes.  We've also successfully completed several light commercial projects within the Town of Leesburg.

Do you do the design as well?

We have in house design capability, as well as many long term relationships within the local design community, allowing us the opportunity to provide a tailored solution appropriate to each individual client. 

We don't like to bid. This "competitive" process is often not in the best interest of an owner who wants the best value. Even with a complete set of plans and specifications, there will be differing assumptions made in quality levels and variations in service delivery between bidders. The conscientious bidder who includes better material and plans a better managed job will lose out to one who has not when lowest cost is the deciding factor. We prefer a co-operative approach, such as the negotiated contract.

The job is not put out for competitive bids. Instead the owners hire the builder based on the quality of his reputation, the level of service he provides, and the degree of trust they have in him. Whether the job is built fixed price or cost-plus, the builders fee is negotiated between the builder and the clients. This approach frees the builder to base his estimate on the costs, not on the competitors numbers. Many negotiated jobs are "open-book", which means the builder ensures the clients trust by letting them see exactly what each item needed to build their project costs. In a negotiated contract, the builder, owner and architect work together as a team. Construction costs are established early in design, with the builder providing knowledge of construction techniques and material costs.

We find that each project has it's own particular requirements. People often use "dollars per square foot" method for estimating costs, but this can be a very misleading short-cut, since it is rarely clear what exactly is included. We prefer to discuss (on a case by case basis) the individual project each client brings to us and work together to develop a budget.

Our policy is to stay with a project from start to completion. We have experienced and very talented project managers.  One of the project managers will be assigned to your project, and stay with it until completion. The project manager will be scheduling, ordering materials, and available on a daily basis to answer questions and receive additional instructions and information. We send additional personnel as the job requires.

Once we know more about you and your project, we can provide, upon request, a list of completed projects appropriately similar to the one you are considering.

We will set up a meeting with you at your home or building site. We will spend time getting to know you and listening to your ideas. At that time we will discuss the scope of work and give you our ideas on what might need to be done to complete your vision of the project. We will ask questions. We need to obtain a few key pieces of information from you initially; these would be your budget, scheduling and quality expectations, as well as any technical restrictions to the project. (A copy of your property plat is always a helpful tool for us to see during the initial meeting if you are considering an addition to your existing property or building a new structure.) Most importantly, what is your vision for the project? How will you use it? What are your priorities? Likes and dislikes? We will work with you to create a realistic budget based on our estimating experience of over 30 years in the custom building industry.

We will communicate back to you to confirm our understanding of the scope of your project and your wants and needs. We will give you a written indication of the possible costs involved. If the costs we estimate are agreeable we will then proceed with either a Professional Services (Design) Agreement or directly to a Construction Agreement.

The Design phase begins with a deposit (usually a small percentage of your project total). Before we can begin drawing your dream home or addition, our designer will meet with you and spend time finding out what your needs and wants are in the new or renovated space. He will take detailed notes and measurements and then begin drawing your first round of sketches including elevations and floor plans. Several meetings are included in the design phase to ensure you have exactly your vision in great detail. Once you have accepted the concept drawings, we will prepare a concept schedule and budget. We will then obtain estimates for all major categories of the construction (i.e, excavation, framing, plumbing, electrical, heating and air, etc). and present it to you along with the drawings. If all of these documents meet with your approval, we move on to...

We will present you with a proposal for construction to begin the work. We will prepare specifications and general condition documentation and obtain the necessary permits for your project. Our construction agreements are generally done as "time and materials" which means: labor, materials and subcontractor costs, plus our builder's fee.