www.mhb-magazine.com Summer 2017 Volume 3
Creative Custom Homes is unique in its market because clients work directly with Owner Guy Floyd throughout the homebuilding process. Floyd says this helps him ensure each project is an enjoyable experience for clients.
“People appreciate that they can say, ‘He delivered on every-
thing he promised.” GUY FLOYD, OWNER
Creative Custom Builders
Summer 2017 Volume 3 MODERN HOME BUILDER
MODERN HOME BUILDER
Summer 2017 Volume 3 www.mhb-magazine.com
Creativity and building one-of-a-kind homes are the backbone of Creative Custom Builders, with no design chal-lenge being too great for it to handle. “The greatest compli-ment is to get repeat clients because they chose to do the whole process again,” owner Guy Floyd says. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with many clients on their second and third homes because of the fun and enjoyable experience it is and should be. That’s what I do and people appreciate that they can say, ‘He delivered on everything he promised.’” Floyd founded the San Antonio-based custom luxury homebuilder 14 years ago after 23 years of previous expe-rience in the homebuilding industry. “One of the biggest differentiators of Creative Custom Builders is that my cli-ents deal directly with me during the entire homebuilding process and not a construction supervisor or other company
PROFILE
Delivering on its WordCreative Custom Builders values the thoughtful design and build of its clients’ homes
over quantity. BY JANICE HOPPE-SPIERS
CREATIVE CUSTOM BUILDERS
www.creativecustombuilders.com / Headquarters: San Antonio /Specialty: Custom luxury homebuilder
www.mhb-magazine.com Summer 2017 Volume 3
representative,” he says. “I help them during the lot search, archi-tectural stage, design, construction, finish selections and make sure they get everything they want and deserve.” Because of the one-on-one attention Floyd gives each of his clients, Creative Custom Builders only builds a small number of homes each year. “I’m at the job sites daily and the lines of com-munication with the homeowner are very open during the whole process,” he adds. “If something needs to be done I want to person-ally know about it and make sure it’s taken care of correctly. That’s huge because it’s not the way most builders operate.” The company works with clients who already have plans drawn up and those who come in at the beginning stages of homebuilding. The clients work directly with Floyd to create the home of their dreams. “I get inspiration from all kinds of places,” he says. “I have a family room in one house, the ceiling treatment is incredible and was inspired from a historic bus terminal in Canada. I kept that design in the back of my mind until a homeowner said they want-ed a unique ceiling treatment, something never done before. We modified it slightly, but that’s where the inspiration came from.” The bidding process with Creative Custom Builders is realistic because Floyd spends so much time with the homeowners in the be-ginning of the process. “It’s a complete and accurate bid,” Floyd says. “The only way clients spend extra money is because they choose to. I am going to give you a realistic number and not pull a number out of the air. My subs and suppliers are going to offer a quote based on the house plans and based on what you tell me you are looking for – if you love chandeliers, we will put more money in your lighting budget. We do this for every single item in your home.”
The company wants to deliver the homes of clients’ dreams, so it is happy to work with either those who have plans drawn or clients who need to start at the beginning.
Creative Custom Builders
Published by Knighthouse Publishing | Tel: 312.676.1100 On behalf of Creative Customs © 2017 Knighthouse Publishing. All rights reserved.
“Because I do spend a lot of time upfront with clients, I don’t have a lot of change-orders, which can slow you down,” Floyd adds. “If clients want to make a change, it’s not a problem and we don’t charge them a builder fee. We only charge them for the cost of the change – I don’t profit from it.”
THE HIGHEST STANDARDSCreative Custom Builders has developed long-term relationships with a core group of subcontractors and suppliers that understand the company’s expectations. “I have incredibly high standards,” Floyd declares. “It’s either right or wrong; there’s no in-between. My subcontractors know if something’s wrong they need to fix it and not try to pass it along. That’s unacceptable. My subcontractors have been with me for over 10 years and this understanding and these long-term relationships are just a few of the ways I’m able to control quality.” The total length of time to build a home depends on the weather and availability of subcontractors and suppliers. When the market is busy, the homebuilding process will take longer. Creative Cus-tom Builders is honest with its clients about this to ensure there are no surprises. Creative Custom Builders also prides itself on its in-house war-ranty. “If something goes wrong and needs to be fixed I want to know about it so I can contact the subcontractor or supplier,” Floyd says. “I then follow up with the homeowner to ask if it was fixed to their satisfaction. No one knows the house better than me, which is why we don’t use a third-party warranty company.”
TIMES ARE CHANGINGFloyd says new styles of homes, especially modern and contem-porary, are gaining in popularity in south Texas today. “Tuscan was ninety percent of the market up until three or four years ago,” he explains. “Austin, Texas, is about an hour-and-a-half north of San Antonio and they started building contemporary and modern homes, which started filtering down here. Even people who want a Tuscan style home now want what has been deemed Tuscan Tra-ditional because it’s a mix between Tuscan and contemporary. It looks like a Tuscan home, but it involves refining some of the de-tails inside and out with cleaner lines and the fixtures on the inside of the home lean more contemporary and modern.” Because no project is too great for Creative Custom Builders to take on, the company has a broad portfolio. Most recently, the company gutted half of a top floor of a high-rise building and modernized a penthouse; built a traditional farmhouse with shiplap siding interior walls and reclaimed trusses and beams; and delivered a number of traditional Tuscan homes and Tuscan Transitional homes. The company is always doing unique projects inside its homes, including things like one house which has a sliding marble back-
splash that doubles as a way to hide spice racks. “We just figure it out. It’s what I love to do,” Floyd says about unique requests from his clients. Home automation and entertainment continues to be one of the biggest trends among Creative Custom Builders’ clients because they want to control everything, Floyd says. “Lighting, window shades, pool features, etc., homeowners want to control everything with their smartphone or devices and it seems like the technology changes daily,” he adds. “We spend a lot of time de-signing custom systems for our clients’ needs and desires. Every time I have a new meeting, the technology has changed or the homeowner wants to do something unique. It’s changing so fast it’s amazing.” Moving forward, Creative Custom Builders plans to maintain the status quo and never take on more work than it can handle. “Quality and customer satisfaction mean everything to me so I will never hire a construction superintendent, so the volume won’t increase,” Floyd says. “Much of the same will continue, but the style of the homes and what goes in and on them will con-tinue to change. Right now, it’s moving to modern and contem-porary, but that will change when something else picks up speed and we’ll shift again. Trends run five to 10 years until something else comes along.” )
Creative Custom Builders has long-term relationships with a core group of subcontractors and suppliers that understand and deliver on the company’s high expectations.
