We hired IronWood Custom Homes to take my childhood home and completely remodel it from top to bottom. It was a large project that required changing the entire inside footprint of the home. As it was an older home, we weren't sure what we would uncover as we got into the project and our biggest concern were the cost increases that might hit us. Kelly and team were very thorough on the front end. We pre picked everything we wanted in the home to ensure that we were on the same page in terms of quality and details.
While it wasn't a perfect process from start to finish, I found Kelly and his team to be an invaluable go-between with the subs and when problems did occur, we generally resolved them to our satisfaction. I would say that I'd definitely be better at this the second time around and I learned alot. The cost increases we hit up against were because we hadn't thought through an issue, as opposed to being surprised by something Ironwood sprung on us. For instance, we realized we couldn't put a beam where we wanted and had some work arounds, but Kelly did not pass on the increased costs because he stuck with his bid. But when I changed my mind on how I wanted the fireplace finished, it cost us quite a bit out of pocket for the changes. We did have a few snags midway through the project on quality, but as soon as we brought it to Kelly's attention, he rectified it for us.
Most of our friends who have built or remodeled like we have have hated their builder by the end. I would say we had an overall positive experience. My biggest concern was getting the last little items on our punch list completed. But they eventually were completed and we love our home. If it's any indication of our experience, we continue to call Ironwood as we have new remodeling projects such as basement finishing. My greatest compliment to them would be how accessible they (and Kelly in particular) make themselves to us, and how quickly they step up to get issues resolved when they surface. For someone who is new to building a home, I would suggest that every moment spent on the front end to get as detailed as possible would help the process run smoothly--something Kelly and team reiterated as we began. I would strongly recommend Ironwood