MAGLEBY CONSTRUCTION

note: dates and costs are approximate - i don't feel like going back and looking up the exact amounts, but these are pretty close.

we were planning on getting about a 1000 sqft add on constructed to our home w/ a pool.  it's a relatively high end home, so we figured it'd cost $150k-$250k.  we paid $5k to magelby to have them begin the estimate process.  i was crystal clear that i only wanted to pay $5k at this stage.  i explained the last time i did a big remodel project, i set the budget at 250k, and this other construction company (not magelby) went over to $500k.  it was a budget nightmare.  magleby assured me that they had cost controls, and that they were different.  i believed them, and wrote them a check.

long story short, when their estimates came in at $500k for a 1,000 sqft project i laughed and said no way.

i told them we were done, but the ceo convinced me to let them try again with a new bid.  i told him that it would probably require a bunch of work on their end, and that i didnt want to spend any more money with them.  he told me that it wouldnt cost anything more than the $5k we paid him.  they tried again, and it still came back with an estimate around $500k.  

so, i told them we weren't going to go with them.  about a month later one of their main project guys we were working with sheepishly contacted me about a new ~$12,000 invoice.  apparently they forgot to tell us that their architect cost a lot of money and was a separate cost, outside of the budget.  so funny how people in this industry all have a very special definition of the word "budget".  the magelby guy felt bad because he was on the phone with me and the ceo when we discussed the $5k budget, and he knew exactly what i meant and knew that magleby was full of crap and was doing exactly what i told them i didn't want to have happen - but he's not the boss, and so he brought us the invoice.

btw, the founder is paul magleby who used to be the ceo.  his son is the new ceo - that's the guy i was working with, along with his team.  i think he's just new and doesn't really understand customer service i guess.  great team, great guys - but ultimately, they didn't walk the talk.  hidden costs is the name of the game with construction i guess.  honestly, i don't know how i could have been more explicit about that being the critical factor in this arrangement - and they assured me, it was all above board and that they were different.

he emailed me several months later and we ended up splitting the cost of their architect.  good guys, but i'll never use them or recommend them anyone.  i bet they do great construction work, but based on their estimates, it was sort insane - $500K for 1,000 sqft?  i haven't found another company to do it (which is why i'm on angie's list now) but i'm guessing i'll get it done for about $300K.  i think these magelby guys are just used to dealing with people that have more money than sense, and they are just typical construction guys that you can't trust.

Overall we had a very good experience. We have never built before so it was a major learning experience. Magleby is at the high end of the range for the mark-up/profit margin charged by cost-plus custom builders but given our lack of experience, it was worth it to us to have a builder we could trust since we were not going to be on-site (the project was a cabin an hour away from our home) to watch the project closely. Kelly Ewell was in charge of the project and he has been able to solve so many problems in such creative ways and was always willing to make changes, adjustments and pointed out many issues that might cause future maintenance or other problems. It was a three year project from start to finish and we were pretty much a on time and on budget other than changes/delays that we caused.