SOLID ROCK CONSTRUCTION

Well. The process was very detail but Solid Rock stepped us through the entire process.

Solid Rock Construction (SRC) recently remodeled our friend's master bathroom who raved about the workmanship and the service. And, after seeing the results ourselves, we could understand why our friends were so pleased. SRC was always on time, cleaned up everyday, and came in UNDER budget. With that information under our belts, my wife and I approached Lain Chappell of SRC to build our home. We purchased 5 acres in Falcon in 2011 with the intent to build when the time was right. With 2014 approaching and a renewed 3-year contract at work, we knew the time was now. We had an initial meeting with Lain at his office and discussed what we'd like to do, the approximate square footage of the home, and even brought a copy of floor plans of a house design we saw online. The education process began. Lain taught us more about the building process (and the mortgage process) than we'd ever known. Of course, this was our first time "building" vs. buying a pre-built home so the learning curve was steep. First, Lain asked us to save money by not purchasing home plans from an online source. There are too many variables caused by soil conditions, local codes, etc. that would make the plans barely useful and we'd end up paying twice for a final product (since a local architect would have to alter the online plans). Next, we learned that we needed to save about 20% of the construction costs for a loan. That was another learning point. As a retired military member, I thought I could use my VA-guaranteed loan to build a home. VA loans don't require a down payment, Private Mortgage Insurance, or (if disabled) a VA funding fee. What I didn't know is the VA loan can't be used for construction in most cases. It can be used for the "permanent mortgage" but not construction. Therefore, we'd need two loans: a construction loan and a perm loan. That was the end of our first meeting. My wife and I decided to go home and save more money for the down payment. A few months passed and we approached Lain again to get a better grasp of the costs associated with building so that my wife and I would know how much money we’d need to save to get started. Lain had several architects he'd worked with in the past and for our particular style, he introduced us to someone who had done similar projects. After we met with Lain and the architect, we got a cost estimate for the architecture products, soil tests, foundation engineering, structural engineering, and topo survey. Armed with information and dollar figures, we approached several lending institutions. Unfortunately, almost all of our investments are tied up in IRAs and our liquid assets don’t come close to the amount required for down payment. It would take a year or two (or more) for us to set aside the funds. Therefore, we came to the conclusion our home plans were not executable at this time and are now on hold. In any case, through 3 different meetings, we learned a lot. Lain wanted to make our dreams to come true and tried several different ways to make the process easier on us. He gave us the names of lenders that would be the most flexible and hard working. He even offered a few strategies that blew me away! Lain is the most knowledgeable, professional, and kindest man who constantly encouraged us. It's a shame. My ignorance of the lending process thwarted our plans. We don’t know when we’ll be ready to break ground (if at all). We’ll most likely look at purchasing an existing house that satisfies most of our desires. This I do know, in the future if we do a renovation or add an addition, I'll be calling Solid Rock Construction first!

We had done a remodel before. When we moved into our 1975 home in Black Forest, we did a large remodel. Pretty much the entire house. We used a different company and the results were mixed. So much so, when we decided on this project we elected to search out another company. This was truly an addition. We planned to connect the house to a small 10 foot area of our existing house. The rest was all new. Other than drawing floor plans in Powerpoint, we didn't know much about how to plan and design the addition. Lain has an excellent architect that works with him on many projects (Gregg Conforti of Conforti Architects Group - also highly recommended). Gregg really took our floor plans and added much needed design and architectural similarities to our existing home. From there, we sat down with Lain to hear that our dream addition was something we couldn't afford. It's the process that good home-builders take you through. So plan on it. You will plan your dream addition or remodel. Then reality sets in when he tells you how much it will cost. From there, with Lain's expert guidenace and help we were able to get it within a budget we could afford. What's extremely important here is that Lain brought the project in under budget. That doesn't usually happen and our first remodel with a different company was well over budget (and I'm not talking about finishing decisions, I'm talking about poor estimates). You will always have issues with a few sub-contractors on a large project. The trick is working with a GC that will stand behind his subs even if the subs don't. Lain made sure we were happy with the final result and he wouldn't stop until we could say that we were completely happy and satisfied. There were bumps for sure, but he made certain that we were happy with the results. Lain had a secret weapon. He goes by the name of Mat Muldoon. He was Lain ace-in-the-hole. Mat was the best superindendent I've ever worked with and ever heard of. He was as detail oriented as any technology project manager you can think of. He's worked in construction so he understands the work, but his skills and attention to detail are without match for someone in his position. Ever call I made to Lain or Mat was answered (90% of the time) or returned within a few hours. Mat never shied away from difficult news or a challenge. He met the situation with a smile and came back with answers, solutions, and resolutions that many times were superior to the original idea or plan. He's a real prince of a guy and has found his niche. For all Lain's skills and talents, he's also lucky to have Mat. Together they make a great team and I can fully and completely recommend them for any size remodel or basement build-out. They also build custom homes in case you own land or just want a brand new home. I wish I had known about them during our first remodel in 2005.