The word that is best loved in the language of every nation is home, for when a man’s home is born out of his heart and developed through his labor and perfected through his sense of beauty, it is the very cornerstone of his life.”

Gustav Stickley

Almost everyone has a place called home that they feel fondness for and gain comfort from. Those feelings don’t traditionally come from the construction phase, but that doesn’t prevent us from making your construction a pleasant memory – even years after your dream home is completed.

When Steve and I started Cornerstone, we knew what we thought were the cornerstones – essential qualities – of becoming and remaining a great builder. As most builders likely intend, we strive to hit that mark everyday.

However, we felt that our view wasn’t the best way to look at it. We needed an expert’s opinion. We wanted to know about the experiences other people had and what THEY felt were the characteristics of a great builder.

As a result, we had an independent researcher ask dozens of people across the country about their experiences with home builders and contractors. We wanted to hear both sides, the good and the unfortunate. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t missing something in the process we use to make the Cornerstone experience the best it could be.

In this case, the experts were our clients and many others who had never done business with us. You.

Wow. The reaction was amazing, eye-opening and best of all, rewarding.

What kind of builder do you want to work with?

It reinforced in us that our way of doing business wasn’t just another way to set us apart from everyone else – over the long term, it was the only way.

Read on and learn about what we feel makes Cornerstone Construction NW the only logical choice when you are ready to design and build a custom home for your family.

There are four cornerstones to doing business with our team: Organization, Communication, Respect and Making It Easy.

Organization

At Cornerstone, we put extensive effort into remaining incredibly organized. For a diverse business like ours, it is the only way to assure that we take care of our customers the same way that we would expect to be treated, day-in and day-out.

Building is complex work. It isn’t just about driving nails and sanding drywall. There’s a maze of legal, regulatory and financial details to manage – with and on the behalf of our clients – and all of them must be completed properly and on time.

A builder’s failure to routinely meet financial, legal and construction deadlines means delays. Miss a deadline and an inspector may not be able to return for weeks, often delaying work on the project until their return.

Delaying work causes scheduling problems. The best of the best subcontractors are very busy. Busy subcontractors who move on and (rightly so) put you at the end of their list for a return trip. Again, this can cause weeks of delays.

No one likes delays and missed deadlines. They almost always result in more expense for the home owner and the builder.

These things – and our goal to please our clients - are what drive our intense focus on staying organized. It’s the only way to keep our sanity while providing you with peace of mind and an on-time, on-budget project.

Communication

When we talked to clients and others about their frustrations and compliments of builders in their past, the chorus of “communication” was almost universal.

Everyone who responded found frequent, open communication critical to making the construction process smooth. Great communication was noted as reducing as much stress as possible, and to allowing clients to have the same warm, friendly relationship with a builder that they had when they started the project.

It’s one reason why organization was first on our list.

Without it, communication becomes incredibly difficult. “I don’t know, I’ll have to call you back” is the frequent result of disorganization, followed by calls and emails that go intentionally unanswered because they just don’t have the information they need. Yet.

When the information about a project is organized and easily accessible, it makes it easy to determine project status, provide answers and keep deadlines.

<what Cornerstone does to keep communication flowing>

Honesty and Respect

The construction industry hasn’t historically had the kind of reputation our industry could be proud of and we are acutely aware that we have to set an example for other builders to strive for – and do so every single day.

For Steve and Genia, that’s one more reason to emphasize that honesty and respect for our clients, our team and everyone involved in our projects not only comes first; but feeds every other aspect of our business.

Without it, our creativity and the desire to be the best would mean nothing.

We reward our employees with the pay and benefits that reflect their dedication to fine craftsmanship, which motivates them to do their best and keeps them on our team far longer than is typical in the construction business.

The result? Higher quality work done right the first time.

Respect for our clients, regardless of their power, gender or financial status; One of the benefits of choosing to build with a family business that it’s rather difficult to have a family without women. We’ve heard too many troubling stories about womens’ experiences with contractors.

It isn’t as simple as “We don’t allow that” here.

Women find it comforting when working with Cornerstone. Steve and Genia are partners in the business. Our front office staff is primarily women. Our team knows that treating women with the same respect and honesty as our male clientele isn’t a goal – it’s an absolute requirement that we seek not only during the interview, but every single day on the job.

Whether we’re building your first custom home or your last, we know that how we care for our clients is what brings you back.

Making it easy

Building a home can be a complex, difficult and stressful time in anyone’s life. For a couple, it is something often looked back upon as stressful, yet rewarding. Yet that doesn’t make it easier while the building is in progress.

Our checklists help you see exactly where your project is. Our private client communication area here on the website provides you with exactly what you need if you have to go to the bank, your attorney, accountant or a government office.

The Cornerstone Process is what holds all of this together and makes it so easy, you might forget you even built a custom home. 

Until you move in…

HowToChooseACustomBuilder.pdf (works on Windows, Mac, etc).

To view and print this checklist, you’ll need the Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer (free, click here). If you already have it (most computers do), you don’t need to install anything.

If you would prefer that we faxed, emailed or mailed this document to you, please contact us.

Want someone else’s opinion about how to choose a custom home builder? <- Use this link to find them.

Whoa. That’s a lot of work.

Yes, it is. Given that you will probably be going to the bank for the biggest loan of your life, a little research could save you a lot of pain – and a lot of cash. This is a situation where it pays to do it right the first time – as with brain surgery, the cheapest price is not always the best deal and some damage is impossble to undo.

However, we know there’s a lot to read, so we’ve done two things to make it easier:

1) A checklist (also a pdf, requires the free Adobe Acrobat PDF Viewer).

2) An audio of “How to Choose a Custom Builder”.

If you aren’t quite ready for all that reading, listening to the audio on your iPod is a great way to get you thinking about the process of selecting a builder – without all that reading.

When we get started

We will visit your land with you, help you set a budget, walk hand in hand with you through the decision-making process – while keeping your budget in mind.

We can make suggestions for colors, discuss appliance choices, as well as all of the many choices regarding tile, carpet, stone, brick, etc. We know that you might be overcome with “analysis paralysis” when faced with so many choices – and we’ll help you through it.

After many years of building, we know that one of our most important tasks is to escort you through the many styles and choices facing you during the design phase.

As a result, we’ve designed our building process around making those experiences easier to deal with. We won’t skip any detail, but we also won’t place you in a deluge of paperwork and decision-making all at once, and never by yourself.

We make it easier for you to get started

Because time and money assert their limits upon all of us, we’ve been there. We know how it can become stressful to have all those decisions facing you, along with time pressure, financing questions and everything else on your plate.

One of our most important responsibilities is to provide you and your family with the advice, assistance, experience and tools to build your dream home within those limits.

That starts with site selection, or if you have a piece of land already, helping you understand your options for home styles that best fit the lay of your land.

Next, drawings and design. Budgeting, scheduling, planning as much as we can beforehand, getting bids, firming up the budget and then…

Financing

In most cases, our clients need, or prefer, to finance the construction of their new dream home.

The financing process can be a confusing and sometimes frustration task, particularly if this is your first custom home.

You will need a construction loan. In some cases, the construction loan can be converted into a traditional mortgage loan at closing.

In other cases, you will need to apply and qualify for a separate mortgage that will take effect at closing, paying off the construction loan.

The construction loan is typically a short term loan that allows you to approve payments to suppliers, the general contractor (that’s Cornerstone) and sub-contractors as the construction process moves toward completion. You present the invoices that we gather from material providers, contractors and other to your construction loan officer and they issue a check. This process continues throughout the construction project.

One of the most important parts of the financing process is getting the loan approved. This requires accurate budgeting and cost research on our part and this is a task that we will work on with you.

Once you have financing, unless you already have funds in place, the fun starts!

Site preparation and rough in

During this step, excavation takes place, followed by installing roughed in plumbing and the steps necessary to prepare the foundation site for concrete pouring.

Weather can be a factor in this process, primarily because of the temperatures required to get a quality “cure” on the concrete that is poured to form the foundation and basement-level floors.

We’re very careful to manage the pour based on the forecast, ground temperature and other factors. Exterior coatings to prevent water seepage are applied once the concrete has cured.

There’s a reason it is called the foundation, so we make sure your home starts off right.

Framing

This is the part that will make you think we’re making such rapid progress that we’ll be done well ahead of schedule, when in fact we’ve only gotten started.

The reason for this is that a lot of visual progress occurs at this stage, as the shape of your home rises from the foundation and the vision of the completed dream forms in your mind as you watch it rise each day. 

One of the things that makes this process faster than in years past is access to pre-built wall and truss components.

The quality control of these factory-built components makes your home much more “square” and allows us to make rapid progress even in weather that would make traditional framing difficult, dangerous or almost impossible.

Finally, mold prevention coatings are often applied to the lower level beams during this stage. A proprietary spray-on mold prevention product protects wood components at the ground level. This is critical these days as mold remediation is a costly process when done after the fact, making preventative care essential.

Roofing, doors and windows

Once the framing process is complete, we are ready to “dry in” the home. When a home is “dried in”, it means that we’ve completed the roof, as well as installed doors and windows, making the home weatherproof. 

Ideally, we want to complete this process as quickly as possible, and without having snowfall or rain between the time we start framing and close that last door. It doesn’t always work that way, but we strive to dry-in your home without moisture getting in the way.

One of the nice things about living in Montana is that the low humidity lends itself to quick drying, even after a rain.

A lot of the budget latitude in a custom home occurs at this stage – and it relates directly to the actual (as well as perceived) quality of your home for years to come.

The reason? You can choose inexpensive (and often lower quality) doors, windows and door hardware, or you can select the best available.

The price ranges for window and door components can be astounding, but the difference in how your home feels will be significantly affected by your choice here. This is a major piece of the assistance and counseling we provide when helping you budget the project and select the components and materials used to build your new home.

Doors, windows and door hardware make a big impact on the quality of your home, not only on comfort, but on how solid and well-built your home “feels”.

Electrical, plumbing and insulation

Once the home is dried in, it’s time to complete the plumbing rough-in and run all electrical circuits in your home. This stage must be complete before we can begin the process of applying drywall to walls and ceilings.

Drywall

It’s amazing how quickly this step transforms a construction project into the home you see in your mind’s eye. Once the walls and ceilings come together, the excitement starts to build.

Drywall contractors have this down to an art form these days. An experienced team can complete a large home before you know it, leaving everyone to wait for the drywall “mud” to dry so it can be sanded.

Exterior finish work

Take a look at this photo of an Ashley Lake project that has interior and exterior finish work in progress. Note the difference in appearance of this site vs. that of a typical construction site. You don’t see piles of scrap sitting everywhere. You don’t see wrappers and other trash blown about. This is one of the results of the organization and order we talk about in our process. No one likes seeing those kinds of messes on a site – including your new neighbors. This site wasn’t treated differently than any other site. Our photographer didn’t tell us if or when he was visiting this site. He just showed up, and this is what he found.

Cabinets

Cabinetry is another place where your investment pays off in many ways.

Curb appeal and kitchens sell homes – and a properly designed and organized cabinetry have a lot to do with that fact.

Kitchens are today’s socializing room. Kids are raised, taught and learn responsibility here.

Cabinets are the built-in furniture for your kitchen. Even before your dining or kitchen table arrives, your cabinets stand out and make a statement about your kitchen.

Floors and interior finish work Other than windows, nothing seems to catch a visitor’s eye faster than an amazing floor. Whether the flooring is tile, stone, highly polished wood, carpet or even barn wood – it says a lot about your home. It’s one of the last things we complete so that your new dream home’s flooring is flawless on the day you move in.

Appliances and fixtures

Once the painting and detail trim work is done, the chance of causing damage to appliances, lighting and plumbing fixtures and various wall-mounted hardware is behind us.

In addition to appliances, these finishing touches can add a touch of class to homes in every price range.

Walk through and inspection

The big day for the Cornerstone team comes when we are confident that your new dream home is ready for a walk-through. You can do the walkthrough on your own, but we’d prefer to do it with you so that we can discuss - right then – any problems that you found, or items you have questions about. Once you’re happy with your new home, the only remaining step is the closing.

It’s yours!

Once the walk through and inspection process is complete, all that’s left is closing the loan (making it officially yours – along with the home), and filing deed /mortgage paperwork with the county and state as necessary.

Because our clients have dreams of all sizes, we’ve built custom homes for budgets of all sizes, ranging from the low 100’s to large private estates. No matter how big or small your budget, you get the same quality and care Cornerstone provides to each of our clients.

Contact us for our free “How to choose a custom home builder” checklist.

Whether you dream of a secluded waterfront escape, or a suburban family area close to schools, shopping and work – we’ve designed and built custom homes that Flathead Valley owners simply love.

If your budget ranges from $100,000 to $5 million, we’re ready to come in on time and on budget. We understand that dreams come in all sizes and we’d love to make yours come true.