Building a custom home is one of the most exciting projects you can do in your lifetime. Before getting started, however, there are several important decisions you’ll need to make. If you find yourself wondering if you should choose an architect or custom home builder for your project, you’ve come to the right place for guidance.
We hope that reading this guide will help you start planning for your project so you’re one step closer to building the home of your dreams. If you’re interested in learning more about the luxury home-building process, we’d be happy to talk with you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by calling 919-460-8550 or contacting us online.
Architects play an important role in the home-building process, as they understand the mechanics behind how to design a structurally sound home. When you hire an architect for your luxury build, there are several important things they’ll do for you.
For starters, an architect will sit down with you to listen to your wants and needs. From there, they’ll create a complete design concept that not only fits your ideas but also complies with local building regulations.
If you already have a lot for your future home, they might also visit the building site to consider the landscape in their design plans.
After they complete the design sketches, they’ll prepare official construction documents and plans. This includes the specifications for the following:
Architects will not only make sure that any design plans comply with local building codes, but they will also give you guidance about how to move forward with your design without running into violations.
There are a few aspects of your home design that are non-negotiable, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, how many stories you need it to be, etc. An architect will ensure that all of your requirements are accommodated in the design.
Finally, an architect can give you insight into whether the land you’re looking at is appropriate for your design needs. If they notice any concerns that could lead to issues down the line, they’ll raise them now so you can re-evaluate.
If you’re not sure whether you need to hire an architect for your luxury build, consider the following benefits of doing so.
The reality is that not every architect will be the right fit for your needs. In order to find the right architect, we recommend following these tips:
Start with location: Designing a custom home is a personal experience. You should expect to meet with your architect multiple times throughout the design process, and it might be easier to meet in person. Even if you’re fine doing virtual design meetings, it can help to hire a local architect so they can visit your land in person as they plan your home design.
Find a style that matches yours: Next, search for an architect that has a portfolio of designs that are similar to what you want in your own home design. If you love the outcome of their previous work, there’s a better chance that you’ll be happy with your own design plans as well.
Make sure they have plenty of experience: Everyone has to start somewhere, but working with an experienced architect can help you have a better overall design process. In terms of experience, look for an architect who has designed homes that are similar in style, size, and budget to what you need.
Here at Rufty Homes, we’d be happy to give you recommendations for architects, interior designers, etc. We’ve worked with many local professionals over the years and are here to give you our vetted recommendations as needed.
Now that you know more about what architects do, let’s take a closer look at the role custom home builders play in your project.
That’s right! Your luxury custom home builder will work closely with your architect during the design phase to ensure that it’s possible to bring the design to life on the lot you’ve chosen. In doing so, they’ll coordinate with your architect on how to build the design in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.
Once your design plans are finalized, your custom home builder will work to make sure that your build stays on schedule by coordinating workers and materials to make sure they arrive on time. If a delay does come up, they’ll work to get the project back on track and communicate with you so you never feel out of the loop.
Your custom home builder is also responsible for bringing in the right subcontractors for the job and overseeing the work that’s done to ensure it meets your standards. The right custom home builder will also have the necessary knowledge to make sure that there aren’t any corners cut during your luxury build.
When you hire an experienced custom home builder, you can have peace of mind that they know about the most common problems that come up during a build. But, more importantly than that, they know how to prevent some of these issues from ever happening. When a problem does arrive, they’ll also know how to solve it in the most efficient way possible.
Finally, your custom home builder will evaluate your home at the end of the project, making a punch list of the finishing touches that need to happen before you move in. This helps to take the stress off your shoulders knowing that every little detail will be attended to.
When you want to truly build the home of your dreams, there’s no better choice than hiring a custom home builder like Rufty Homes. Here’s a closer look at the benefits of doing so.
Choosing the right custom home builder is just as, if not more important, than choosing the right architect for your home. Here are some tips to help you feel confident in your decision:
Look at their portfolio of work: If you don’t like the completed work of a custom home builder, you probably won’t be happy with the final outcome of your home either. We recommend looking through a builder’s portfolio so you can find a good fit.
Ask questions: Building a custom home is a big decision. Before committing to a builder, take the time to ask any questions you have. The right builder will be happy to sit down with you and answer them before starting on your project.
Read reviews and ask for referrals: Finally, we recommend reading through testimonials from past customers or asking a builder for referrals to get a better idea of what it’s like to work with them from the people who know best.
If you’re wondering, “Should you choose an architect or a custom home builder for your project?” we recommend hiring both. An architect and custom home builder can work together to ensure you get the home you’ve always wanted. If you’d like to learn more, please call 919-460-8550 or contact us online.
If you love certain aspects of your home, but it’s no longer fully meeting your needs, upgrading it with a luxury remodel is an excellent alternative to moving. When you’re planning a luxury home remodel in the Raleigh, NC area, one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the process is the company you hire to complete the project.
Many of our customers have come back to work with us on more than one occasion. Whether you’re deciding to remodel or build, or you’re actively planning a Wake County luxury remodel, continue reading to learn more about what brings customers back to our team time and time again.
Our team here at Rufty Homes knows that building great relationships with our customers is just as important as building quality homes. We do this by genuinely getting to know our customers. Whether you choose to remodel or build a new home, the nature of your project is very personal.
When you trust our team for your project, we take that seriously. By getting to know you, it’s easier for us to help you create a beautiful, functional home that truly fits your family’s unique needs.
The nature of a building or remodeling project also requires near-constant communication. It’s not uncommon for us to meet with our customers multiple times per week and talk on the phone in between those meetings.
We believe it’s important to build a good rapport with our customers and in doing so, we develop ongoing friendships that last well beyond the completion of the project. As a result, many of our customers come back to us when they want to build or remodel a new home.
Over the years, we’ve had 16 families come back to us for another project, some more than once! Currently, we’re in talks with 4 more families about their ideas for a second project.
We’re beyond proud of these ongoing relationships and we look forward to continuing to build new ones with our future customers as well.
Below, let’s take a closer look at a few specific projects where homeowners came back to Rufty Homes for their custom-built remodeling needs.
Our team built this luxury custom home for the Buckley family based on a lovely home they had seen in Southern France. Spanning across two beautiful lots in Raleigh, the home includes a ball field for their children and a resort-like pool.
When the Buckley family was ready for an upgrade, they came back to the Rufty team. During the remodeling project, we renovated the exterior and did miscellaneous interior renovations so the home better fit the family’s changing needs.
See more photos of this stunning home here.
The Dancik family bought a Rufty-built home back in 1994, not realizing it would lead to a connection that would span decades. In fact, our team has worked with the Danciks numerous times over the years.
Fast forward 15 years after they moved into their home, the Danciks noticed that their basement was flooding. Unsure what to do, they called Jon Rufty, who personally showed up at the house within minutes, helping to coordinate subcontractors and coming up with a remodeling plan to fix the damage.
When the Dancik family decided to remodel their home a few years after that, they didn’t hesitate to hire the Rufty Homes team for the project. The remodel included building an in-home music studio, designed with the help of a renowned music studio architect. The project had no room for error, as the studio needed near-perfect dimensions in order for the mathematics of neutral frequency response to work correctly.
The result is a professional music studio, in which Mitch Dancik even wrote a song inspired by his Rufty Homes project manager, Don Pegram!
“After working with Rufty Homes so many times over the years, why would I ever want anyone else to touch my house?” - Mitch Dancik
Read more about this remodel, see the photos, and listen to “Hanging With the Don” by clicking here.
The Andersen family lives in a beautiful home in Chapel Hill. The home featured 1990s cherry wood that, while classic for its time, the Andersens wanted to update to be more modern.
We’ve been fortunate enough to work with the Andersen family on three separate projects over the years:
Throughout these projects, we’ve reconfigured their space, improved the overall lighting, and added more liveable space so the Andersen’s friends and family can gather in their home.
See the project photos here.
When the Abbott family moved to Raleigh, they envisioned buying a chic, modern home. But, when they actually started to search for a place to buy, they realized they were more drawn to older, colonial-style homes. They decided to buy a colonial home with the bones they liked, with a plan to remodel it to be more modern.
While the Abbotts had completed small home projects themselves over the years, they knew a remodel of this scale was not something they could do themselves, so they turned to Rufty Homes.
There were renovations to nearly every part of the house, but the bulk of the work included the following:
After an amazing experience that resulted in the home of their dreams, the Abbotts once again turned to the Rufty Homes team when they decided to add a screen porch to the back of their house.
“Every single staff member and subcontractor we worked with put in 110% effort throughout the project. We could tell that everyone took a lot of pride in the work they did, working to make sure that no detail was overlooked. Working with Rufty Homes truly eliminated any of the fears we had about taking on such a large remodeling project.” - Carolyn Abbott
You can learn more about this extensive remodel and see all the project photos here.
Frank and Barbara originally worked with Rufty Homes on a custom build, where one of their top priorities was to put an emphasis on their beautiful backyard space. To do this, our team built a large, picturesque window in Frank’s office, which looks out over the spectacular view of their backyard.
We also built a back porch near their small waterfall so Barbara and Frank can sit outside, relax, and soak in the sounds of their water feature. The porch features phantom screens, allowing the couple to become fully immersed in their own personal oasis on fair weather days.
Frank and Barbara were so pleased with Rufty’s custom-build process that when they decided to build an addition to their home, they didn’t think twice about hiring our team for the job.
Learn more about the custom build and see photos from the project by clicking here.
As you can see, it’s not at all uncommon for our clients to come back to us when they want to transform their homes to better fit their family’s needs. We understand that home renovations often have a reputation for being stressful and overwhelming, which is why we’ve worked hard to simplify the process.
Here’s what you can expect when you hire our team for your home remodel.
We’ll use this time to introduce you to our team, find a home site (if needed), outline the details of your project, and talk to you about your budget.
Once you’re ready to move forward, we’ll create preliminary sketches for your design, finalize the details and budget for your project, and reserve a spot in the schedule for your remodeling project.
At this time, we’ll finalize your proposal, and having you sign the remodeling agreement. This is also when we’ll schedule an official start date for your project and schedule design appointments.
This is when the real fun begins! During this phase, we’ll begin construction on your project, you’ll meet with your project manager, and we’ll secure any permits as necessary. Once construction is complete, we’ll take you on a final walk-through to make sure you’re completely happy with your updated home.
When you’re planning a home remodel in the Raleigh, NC area, trust the name that countless homeowners have relied on… over and over again. The Rufty Homes team is proud to be the Triangle’s top choice for custom builds and luxury home remodels and we’d be honored to work with you next.
You never know, it could be the first of many projects we work on together! Contact us today to talk to us about your remodeling ideas.
When the Laber family moved into their home in 2014, they knew they would eventually remodel. While they loved their neighborhood and the bones of their house, they knew a well-planned renovation could turn it into the home of their dreams.
Over the years, their remodeling wish list continued to grow, but before they took on a full-scale project, they opted to do a smaller one in their garage. “The work we had done on our garage wasn’t a good experience. We weren’t happy with the contractor we hired and knew we wanted to go in a different direction when we were ready to remodel the inside of our home,” the Labers explain.
One of their neighbors was having a house built by Rufty Homes, which is what first put the luxury home building and remodeling company on the Labers’ radar. “We contacted several contractors before making our decision, but the Rufty team stood out above the rest. We loved that they were transparent about pricing, not just talking about actual numbers, but the reasons behind those numbers. We felt we could trust them and that’s ultimately why we hired them for the job,” the Labers go on to say.
As is often the case with remodels, once the project began, the scope continued to increase as it went along. The Labers explain, “We were so impressed with our project manager, Chris Bridgewater, and the rest of the Rufty team that we decided to tackle our whole list of projects at once.”
In all, the project included:
“One of the many reasons we loved working with Rufty Homes is that while they provide a vetted list of designers, they let us bring in anyone of our choice, which was Heather of Heather Holcombe Designs,” say the Labers.
Together with Heather and Chris, the Labers created a space that’s not only more functional for their family but also better matches their design aesthetic. Heather Holcombe explains, ”The Labers are the sweetest family and it has been rewarding to watch how they have been able to fully utilize each space in their home. They were able to capture new square footage and also repurpose existing square footage to make the home best fit their needs.”
Now that their remodel is complete, the Labers are spending their time enjoying their upgraded home and singing the praises of the Rufty team to their friends and neighbors. They say, “We lived in our home throughout our remodel. As a family with two small kids and a dog, it meant the world to us that Chris and the rest of the Rufty Homes team went above and beyond to keep the work area safe for all of us. Having that trust in the team throughout the project was so important to us and we can’t recommend them enough to anyone planning their own remodeling project.” Check out the before and after pictures, for the finished project in 2023.
We’d like to offer our sincerest thanks to everyone who voted for us in the Midtown Magazine’s BEST OF RALEIGH! 2023 Diamond Awards and Cary Living Magazine’s BEST OF WESTERN WAKE! 2023 Diamond Awards for Best Builder.
We’re thrilled to announce that we were named the Gold Winner in Cary Living Magazine and the Silver Winner in Midtown Magazine.
You can see the announcements in Cary Living Magazine and Midtown Magazine, either in a physical copy of the magazines or by reading the digital versions at the links below.
Cary Living Magazine January/February 2023
Midtown Magazine January/February 2023
We couldn’t have done this without you! We can’t thank you enough for your support over the years. It truly means the world to us.
Like most great remodeling projects, Fred and Janette Cunningham’s all started with a small idea about how to make their home more functional.
When Fred had knee and ankle surgeries a few years ago, they began talking about how much more convenient it would be to have a first-floor master bedroom. A self-proclaimed car enthusiast, Fred also dreamed of having a shop to work on his sports cars. After talking it over for a few years, the Cunninghams eventually decided to bring those dreams to life.
“We found our architect, Abbie Lee, through a friend. We walked her through our ideas and instantly fell in love with her plans to convert our garage into a new first-floor master suite and build a new four-car garage plus a golf cart garage to serve as Fred’s shop,” Janette remembers.
From there, all that was left was to choose a builder. “We ended up talking to three different builders, but it was clear right away that Rufty was the best choice for the job,” Fred explains. “They asked all the right questions, came to us with ideas about how to solve engineering logistics, and had the foresight to predict potential complications. We could tell they knew what they were doing.”
From the very start of their project, the Cunninghams also knew that the Rufty Homes team was looking out for their best interests. While they were planning to get started on the project in June 2020, they weren’t sure if they should continue due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. After holding off for a few months, talking it over, and weighing their options, they spoke to Jon Rufty for his opinion.
“Jon encouraged us to move forward with the remodel, as long as we were comfortable with it because he knew that while materials were available at the time, they might be hard to come by later. We’re so glad we listened to him because otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to get ahead of all the supply chain issues,” Fred explained.
The project officially got underway in September 2020 and included the following:
The Rufty Homes team, led by Project Manager, Harry Grube, thought of every detail along the way, including raising the floor and ceiling to match the rest of the house. “The way Abbie Lee designed the space and Rufty Homes built it, you would truly never know our house wasn’t always this way,” says Janette.
Of course, with remodels in particular, it’s not uncommon to discover underlying issues beneath the surface. When Harry noticed a leak around the fireplace, he quickly discovered that the original builder never properly wrapped the home beneath the siding.
“Even though these issues didn’t come up because of Rufty, Harry and the rest of the team quickly came up with solutions to fix them. They replaced the siding and even added foam insulation around the home so we wouldn’t have to worry about leaks in the future. When all was said and done, they left us with what felt like a brand new home,” explains Janette.
Now that the project is finished, the Cunninghams are thrilled to be enjoying their updated space. Fred is often out toying around in his new shop and Janette loves their more functional kitchen, laundry room, and first-floor master suite.
Fred goes on to say, “Our new layout is so much more convenient. With our bedroom downstairs now, we look forward to being able to stay in our home as we get older. We can’t thank Rufty Homes enough for getting everything done on time and on budget and breaking everything down for us so there were no surprises. We’re so pleased with the end result, in fact, that we recommended Rufty Homes without hesitation to my brother, who just bought a house across the street from us!”
In late June, we welcomed upwards of 500 friends and family members to visit our new space. Have a look at some of the fun photos from the event.
Our colleagues at Rufty-Peedin Design Builders recently shared a sneak peek at our new office space now underway. It's a treat to be the client in this commercial build-out project to create our new home.
Our own Harry Grube was recently featured in Hayes Barton Living thanks to his efforts to install the neighborhood's new Little Free Library. Well done, Harry!
Lifetime’s “Designing Spaces” paid a recent visit to the Triangle to talk natural stone and interview our friends at ROCKin'teriors. They toured a fabulous custom home by the Rufty Homes team. The episode also showcased many custom homes we've recently built to share how natural stone is used for more than kitchen counters, including fireplace surrounds, outdoor living areas, pools, and much more. The episode premiered Oct. 19, 2017, and will air again on Oct. 26, as well as in syndication.
Neighbors in the Hayes Barton community in Raleigh have a brand-new "Little Free Library" thanks to our remodeling guru Harry Grube. Harry's good deed this week was caught in-action by our friends at N2 - Hayes Barton Living.
Our Spring newsletter offers readers a peek inside recently completed custom homes to help spur your inspiration. We also showcase before/after photos of distinctive remodeling projects and answer common questions that arise early in the custom homebuilding process. In this issue, we answer, "How much does it cost?" for benchmarks in building a custom home. Have a look and let us know your thoughts. We pride ourselves on listening closely to your family's needs, and we're here to help.
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