How we work, from first call to final walkthrough

The short version

Most bad contractor stories come down to the same few things: a vague scope, surprise charges, a messy site and nobody returning calls. Our process is built to take those off the table. Everything is in writing, every change is priced before it happens, and the site gets cleaned up every day, in Terre Haute or anywhere else in the Wabash Valley.

Here’s who you’ll deal with. Doug Stoliby, our sales manager, is your first contact and reaches out within 1 business day. Derek Snyder, owner and CEO, writes your proposal and handles the paperwork. Ryan Bolinger, owner and COO, runs day-to-day execution on every project. Our internal team consists of professional carpenters, painters and other finish-work specialists, led by our project managers, and our crew are professionals at high-end finishes, including tile, millwork and trim. Roofing is handled by our union-trained roofers. Our roofing foreman, Timmy Burgess, leads that crew.

Design/build projects

Commercial build-outs, new homes, kitchens and bathrooms start with a meeting and a design, not a quick estimate.

1. Onboarding meeting — By appointment. We talk through your goals, your budget and your timeline.
2. Design agreement — Kitchen and bathroom design is $180 for the first room and $36 for each additional room. For new homes and commercial build-outs, plans and designs are discussed in the design onboarding meeting.
3. Design and selections — You work through the layout, finishes and fixtures with our designer partner.
4. Budget and proposal — One all-inclusive price, built from the design and good for 7 days.
5. Permits and scheduling — We pull the permits and put your project on the calendar.
6. Construction — Tracked in your JobTread client portal, with a written change order for every change.
7. Walkthrough and punch list — We walk the project with you, write the punch list and issue a Notice of Substantial Completion.
8. One-year workmanship warranty — It starts on the date of that notice.

More on design/build.

Roofing and contracting jobs

Roof repairs, gutters, decks, concrete, flooring, fences, trim and commercial trade work follow a shorter path.

1. Call or request an estimate — Doug Stoliby, our sales manager, reaches out within 1 business day to talk through the project.
2. Site visit — We come out, measure, see what’s really there and talk through your goals and your budget.
3. Budget and scope — Within 5 business days of the visit, you get a written budget and scope of work.
4. Proposal and agreement — One all-inclusive price with permits and sales tax built in, e-signed in JobTread and good for 7 days.
5. Client portal — Approvals, change orders, schedule updates and inspection results all live in your JobTread portal.
6. Written change orders — Every change, however small, is written up and priced individually, and nothing happens until you approve it.
7. Daily job-site standards — Cleanup and waste removal every day at our cost, ZipWall dust barriers, plywood over lawns and driveways, and magnetic nail sweeps.
8. Final walkthrough and punch list — We walk the job with you and write up the punch list, then issue a Notice of Substantial Completion, which starts your warranty.

Roof replacements follow our roofing process: we pull satellite measurements of your roof, walk you through pricing options using the exact measurements, then inspect the decking, attic ventilation and flashing on site before one all-inclusive proposal, good for 7 days. See roof replacement.

The first call and the site visit

When you call (812) 605-2560 or request an estimate online, Doug will reach out within 1 business day. The online form goes straight into JobTread, the system we use to run every job. Doug will ask what you want done, where the property is, when you’d like to start and roughly what you want to spend. The budget question isn’t a trap. It tells us early which materials and layouts fit.

On a site visit we measure and check the conditions that drive the price. For a roof, that means getting on the roof and into the attic to check the decking and ventilation. For a deck, it’s the grade, the height off the ground and where footers can go. Roof inspections and estimates for contracting work are free. Design/build projects go to the onboarding meeting instead.

Budget, scope and your proposal

Your scope names what we’re doing and what we’re using: Owens Corning Duration shingles, not “shingles”; Trex Select in Whiskey Barrel, not “composite decking.” The proposal and agreement, which you e-sign in JobTread, is one all-inclusive price. Permits and sales tax are built in, and there are no surprise line items waiting at the end. A proposal is good for 7 days.

Most projects can start 2 to 6 weeks after you sign, and later in peak season and after big storms. Your proposal lists approximate start and completion dates, and weather, material deliveries, inspections and change orders can move them.

How payment works

Short, single-trade jobs, including roofs (insurance roofs too), roof repairs, decks, fences, concrete, flooring, gutters, and commercial ceiling, framing, drywall and FRP work, are typically billed 75% at signing and 25% on completion. On a roof, the deposit covers the materials we order for your job.

Remodels, design/build projects, new homes and commercial build-outs follow a staged schedule: 25% at signing, 25% on the first day of work, 25% at rough-in (after the rough-in inspection is completed, or when drywall is ready to begin), 15% at substantial completion and 10% after the punch list. The last 10% isn’t due until the punch list is finished, and we think that’s fair.

Projects with a construction loan follow the lender’s draw schedule, and when we work as a subcontractor for a general contractor, we bill through the GC’s pay-application process. You can pay online through the QuickBooks link on your invoice, by check, or in cash. Financing is available through HFS, subject to credit approval; see financing. Price ranges are on our pricing page.

Change orders

Every change, however small, gets a written change order before the work happens. Each one is priced individually and shows up in your portal for approval. If you don’t approve it, we don’t do it.

Some changes are yours: a different tile, an extra outlet, moving the deck stairs. Some come from the house: we pull up an old bathroom floor and find the subfloor rotted around the toilet. When that happens, we stop, show you what we found, write it up with a price and wait for your answer.

What the job site looks like every day

• Cleanup every day. We clean up and haul away waste at our cost every day, not just at the end of the job.
• Dust barriers. Inside the house we put up ZipWall barriers, which hold plastic sheeting floor to ceiling so the dust stays in the work area.
• Plywood down. We lay plywood over lawns and driveways where equipment and materials move.
• Nail sweeps. We roll magnetic sweepers over the yard and driveway, especially after a roof tear-off.

Every Monday morning the crew meets to go over the week’s jobs, yours included.

Permits, inspections and 811

We pull every permit and schedule every inspection, and the results go in your portal. We call 811 before any digging, for deck footers, fence posts or concrete. Deck footers go 48 inches deep to get below the frost line.

We’re registered with the City of Terre Haute as a general contractor, Registration No. CL003471. Indiana has no statewide general contractor license, so registration is local. We’re bonded, and we carry general liability and workers’ compensation insurance. Ask and we’ll send you a certificate of insurance.

The standard we build to

We work to the NAHB Residential Construction Performance Guidelines, published by the National Association of Home Builders. It sets measurable standards for things like how far out of level a floor can be and what counts as a visible drywall flaw. If we ever disagree about whether something is a defect, it gives us both an objective yardstick.

Final walkthrough, punch list and warranty

When the work is done, we walk the project with you and write a punch list of anything left to finish or fix: a scuffed baseboard, a cabinet door that needs adjusting, a missing piece of trim. We then issue a Notice of Substantial Completion, which starts your one-year workmanship warranty and, on remodels, marks the 15% payment. Once the punch list is finished, the final 10% is due. On short jobs, the 25% balance is due at completion, after the walkthrough.

Our workmanship warranty lasts one year on all work, roofs included. It covers problems that come from installation or construction quality. It doesn’t cover normal wear and tear, manufacturer material defects (those fall under the manufacturer’s warranty), damage by others, or weather and other acts of nature. When you call about a warranty issue, we schedule a visit within 7 business days.

Manufacturer warranties pass through to you. Trex Enhance decking carries a 25-year limited warranty, Trex Select 35 years and Trex Transcend 50 years. Shingles and other materials carry their maker’s warranty on top of ours.

Ready to talk about your project?

Send us a few details and Doug Stoliby, our sales manager, will contact you within one business day to discuss your goals, answer questions and schedule a site visit.

(812) 605-2560Request an estimate

Doug Stoliby, Sales ManagerDoug will reach out within 1 business day.