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…