CLIENT FEEDBACK

Best experience ever! Garrett O’Dwyer and Rhian Hardy are a perfect team. People often asked me, “Isn’t building a home stressful?” And I always honestly answered no. It is fun! The home was planned before Covid struck and built while we were all dealing with the impact of it all, including supply chain issues and cost increases. Through it all, Garrett maintained a positive attitude and communicated so well with me. There were very few surprises and no surprises that didn’t have a work around or plan to deal with them. Rhian kept excellent track of budget and expenses and her reporting to me every two weeks was exemplary and accurate with detailed invoices.

The crew was excellent. We celebrated each week’s work every Friday I could be on-site and the progress they made. I lived part time in a tiny house on site that Garrett had built (long and sweet story) and where some crews might see an owner on site as being a negative, they were nothing but gracious and kind to me. Smiles hit their faces each day when we saw each other and they worked so very hard to create an outstanding product . Every single one took great pride in their work.

Garrett has a lovely way about him and managed to get well regarded sub-trades to work on the house. Between the electrical work (thank you Bobby Ackerman), the plumbing ( thank you Adam Milner) to the siding and roofing material (thanks to “Matt #1”) to the irrigation system (thanks to “Matt #2”!) and all the many other hands, they were all pros. And they were much in demand so Garrett is doubly appreciated for cajoling them, juggling the balls and getting things done promptly.

Every time I am in my house I marvel at how well it has all turned out. Lots of thought in advance about what I wanted it to look like, but more importantly, how I wanted to see it used by friends and family (one of my favorite features is the Harry Potter room we made under the stairs for my granddaughters!). The house has become a draw for friends and family and it is in large part to the care and creativity of Garrett and Rhian. Rhian has an eye for design and function and was very thoughtful about small details that make a huge difference. I often called her our secret weapon!

So as people tell me building a house can be stressful, I will respectfully suggest how not to make it so. You as the owner need a clear vision of what you want and can articulate that. You need to be able to make decisions effectively and often quickly. You need to spend time researching things and commit to that time. You need to respect that your builder is doing the best they can, sometimes in challenging circumstances as they work with other humans, product delays or shortages, delivery schedules and, in our case, health issues with a pandemic. But as I said to Garrett at the very beginning of the project, a contractor I worked with years ago said to me, “We will love each other, hate each other and then love each other again”. Kind of a joke but as I said to Garrett, if we communicate well, we can avoid that middle bit especially if you give me bad news quickly. And I have to say we did really well. We liked each other all the way through not in small point due to his excellent communication skills and Rhian’s regular emails and site visits.