Exterior of a custom home at dusk, with the space empty in Ridge Lakes of Heath

Building in Ellis County.

Q: Will you be on the job?

Yes, every day. Thatu2019s the reason to hire a builder rather than a broker, and itu2019s why I keep the number of concurrent jobs small.

2 cities, and I drive to all of them. That isn’t a marketing radius.

Talk to Aaronor call (972) 528-5668

What building in Ellis County is actually like

Building in Ellis County means working with what the lot gives you. Lots where soil, drainage and orientation decide the foundation before anything else.

Interior of a custom home toward the adjoining room, mid-build at Wimberly Place, Allen — Wimberly Place, Allen

Every house here deals with heat, wind and clay. Handling those well isn’t a feature. It’s the baseline, and it’s mostly invisible when it’s done right.

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing get coordinated before anyone cuts anything. Where the ducts run, whether the trusses can carry them, where the panel sits and how far the longest plumbing run has to travel. Done early, on paper, it costs a few meetings. Done in the field by whoever shows up first, it produces drilled structural members, soffits nobody planned for, and rooms that are colder than the rest of the house for reasons no one can trace.

Interior of a custom home from the far corner, mid-build on private acreage in Heath — Heath acreage

I’d rather spend an extra two weeks in planning than an extra two months in the field. That trade has never once gone the other way.

A custom home is a long relationship with whoever builds it. You’ll talk to me more in eighteen months than you talk to most people in your life, and a good portion of those conversations will be about things that didn’t go to plan. That’s normal. Weather moves, materials arrive damaged, an inspector reads something differently than expected. What matters is whether the person telling you has a plan attached to the news, and whether the same person is still answering the phone a year after you move in. One family has brought me back for a fourth project. That only happens if the earlier ones went right.

I don't chase the lowest bid on trades. The cheapest framer is expensive twice.

I have watched the alternative, and I’m not interested in it.

You’ll get the bad news early, when it’s still cheap to deal with.

Motor court between two wings with dark carriage-style garage doors on both sides and a side entry door at Craig Ranch, McKinney — Craig Ranch, McKinney

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing get coordinated before anyone cuts anything. Where the ducts run, whether the trusses can carry them, where the panel sits and how far the longest plumbing run has to travel. Done early, on paper, it costs a few meetings. Done in the field by whoever shows up first, it produces drilled structural members, soffits nobody planned for, and rooms that are colder than the rest of the house for reasons no one can trace.

Drainage is the quiet one. Water has to leave the property somewhere, and where it goes after it leaves your pad is a question the city will ask and your neighbor will ask louder. Getting the grades right the first time is a small line in the budget; getting them wrong costs a foundation.

Work from around Ellis County

Aerial view of a custom home site from above, mid-build in Ridge Lakes of Heath — Ridge Lakes of Heath

Interior of a custom home from the doorway, with the finishes in on the Mesquite remodel — Mesquite remodel

Interior of a custom home from the doorway, mid-build at Wimberly Place, Allen — Wimberly Place, Allen

Interior of a custom home along the main run on private acreage in Heath — Heath acreage

Wine room with floor-to-ceiling bottle racks, a rolling library ladder and a glass wall onto the dining room at Craig Ranch, McKinney — Craig Ranch, McKinney

Interior of a custom home looking toward the windows at The Providence, Heath — The Providence, Heath

Every home with photography has its own page in the portfolio.

Where I build in Ellis County

Red Oak

What shapes the build here: lots where soil, drainage and orientation decide the foundation before anything else.

Glenn Heights

What shapes the build here: lots where soil, drainage and orientation decide the foundation before anything else.

How the build runs

Seven phases, running roughly a year to eighteen months end to end.

1The lot
We walk it together. Grade, drainage, trees, access, where the sun comes from. I tell you what the site will and won't allow before anyone draws a plan.
2The plan
This is where we decide the things that can't be undone later: where the house sits, which way it faces and how the rooms stack.
3The numbers
A real budget separates what the dirt costs from what the house costs. Most surprises in this business are site surprises, so that line gets honest numbers first.
4The dirt
Clearing, cut and fill, drainage structures and the slab. Nothing here shows up in a photograph and all of it determines how the house ages.
5The frame
The skeleton goes up and suddenly the plan is a building. It's also the last cheap moment to move a window or raise a ceiling.
6The finish
Everything you'll actually put your hands on. It moves slowly on purpose, because rushed trim work shows for as long as the house stands.
7The keys
Walk-through, punch list, and a builder who still answers the phone afterward. One family has now brought me back for a fourth project. That only happens if the last one went right.