Building the Foundation for a Lifetime of Memories

Between his background in construction safety engineering and going through the process of building four houses over the years, John Wagner is no stranger to the world of construction. When he and his family finally decided to realize their dream of building a family compound, John’s first priority when choosing a builder was to find someone he could trust. 

“We looked for land from Baltimore down to Charlotte, before finding 25 acres here in Raleigh. While we initially interviewed three local builders, once we talked to Rufty Homes, it was easy to make our decision. One of the things we evaluated when interviewing builders was their reputation with subcontractors. Rufty Homes has a pristine reputation with their subs and we felt that if they have their subs’ backs, they’d have ours too,” explains John.

The plan was to build a total of four homes on the property: one house for John and his wife, Suzanne, and three more homes for their daughters and their families. When they bought the property, it came with an older colonial home that hadn’t been touched in decades. The family decided to have Rufty start by renovating that home for their middle daughter. 

“Our project manager, Don Pegram, has a great background in historical renovations and he put a lot of thought into how to renovate the home in a modern way while staying true to the home’s roots. Going through that renovation project gave us an introduction of sorts to what it’s like working with the team and we were so pleased and excited to have them continue working on the rest of the property,” says John. 

Once the remodel was finished, the team began building John and Suzanne’s custom build from the ground up. Throughout the course of the project, the Wagners decided to add on to their original plans by renovating a tennis court and soccer field that the whole family could enjoy. John says, “The Rufty Homes team gave us contact information for subcontractors we could use for those projects, and everyone they recommended went above and beyond for us as well.”

While not all four of the homes are completely finished yet, the whole family is already enjoying the communal spaces throughout the property that were designed to give them a place to spend time together, making new memories. “We have a big deck off the family room with a large pond and fountain on it, giving us our own unique oasis in the middle of the neighborhood. We also designed a sports bar area with multiple TVs, a home theater, pool, and ping pong tables, where we can get together and just goof off, which is our favorite thing to do as a family,” explains John.

However, the most-used area of the house is the three-story pool house that includes a basement gym with glass garage doors that open on nice days. For this family of college athletes, having a state-of-the-art workout area right on the property feels like a dream come true. 

Looking back on the Oxalis project so far, John says, “We’re so thrilled with how everything has turned out and we look forward to enjoying this space with our family for years to come. We can’t thank Rufty Homes enough for providing us with a truly high-end, custom building experience every step of the way. After years of construction experience myself, I’ve never heard of such a highly complimented company like Rufty before. It’s clear that Jon Rufty is reaping the rewards of a lifetime of doing the right thing for people, which to me is the ultimate compliment.”