PROVEN PROCESS
Ruebl Builders has been been building custom homes in Southeast Wisconsin for over 69 years.
uebl Builders has been been building custom homes in Southeast Wisconsin for over 69 years. The process of Building a Custom home whatever style From a rustic timber frame, Or Craftsman home, Arts and crafts, cottage, Modern home or to a farm house we make sure you understand the whole building ins and outs before, During and after the custom home is complete. We have built on some of the most challenging lake home sites on Lake Geneva, Pine lake, Lake Beulah, Lauderdale Lakes, Whitewater Lake, Oconomowoc Lake, North Lake, Lake Lac La Belle to Pewaukee Lake and so on.
Ruebl Builders provides design coordination services if wanted for interior and exterior finish selections including shingles, siding, plumbing and lighting fixtures, hardware, cabinetry, stone work, and floor coverings. We recommend interior designers and home automation consultants that can provide more extensive design services based on client taste and needs. Our designers remain on the cutting edge of each facet of what makes a home timeless and efficient, working with the architect/draftsman on the home’s design they will work together to give our clients one of the most unique and timeless custom homes.
Above all things this might be one of the most important meetings we have with our clients! We go over each and every client needs and wants in conjunction with style and budget. We believe this is a stepping stone to the beginning of your dream home. Along with all of the above we would like to tell you about us as a family company and how we build each and every home as if it where our own!
- Structural engineering
- Surveys
- Site grading plans
- Soils testing
- Soil engineering
We like to visit each site with each and every owner to go over house presentation, setbacks, views, solar gain, etc. for the start of the plan phase. We like to go over everything from shore land zoning, grading issues or concerns, septic, well, utilities and possible retaining walls. You will see the benefits of this as long as you own your home.
We have a relationship with some the best and most professional architects and designers for all types of styles of architecture. Each are selected based on a number of things that best fits budget, personality, scope, size, style of you the client. They also work with you with what sustainable products to use, engineering, cost analysis and energy saving design.
Ruebl Builders believe when the architect and builder work as one and there a team there is more value and it is more well managed more effective and Builder are the lead and we handle all the professionals that handle the Architect, Structural engineers, Interior designers, Cabinet designer, Mechanical engineers Energy consultants and so on. In this fashion everything is under one roof and well managed and cost effective.
We have a relationship with some the best and most professional architects and designers for all types of styles of architecture.
If you have a Architect on the other end of the coin. Most architects love working with us so we are more than happy to collaborate with them to create a team to achieve the design aesthetics and details your trying to achieve. The scenario is where the Architect is the lead during the process but by getting us involved early on we can help ensure that the plans are being optimized but keeping the budget and goals in check. This process we like to weigh in on constructability, construction details, energy efficiency and overall structural design.
At this point we have a full set of plans so we will go over all the products in your home to fit your needs, wants and budget. This may come as a surprise but most builders use the same product on every home regardless of style and budget but we pride ourselves in fitting the products with the client on style and budget but not compromising the quality of the products.
We create a manual for each client that goes through the project specs, project schedule, products, breakdown, contractors, suppliers, Contract and Warranty information. As the builder we have our own with a detailed checklist of everything above to provide you the best custom home building experience second to none.
We pride ourselves not only in the highest quality of our homes but the timeline that the home is done in which benefits everyone not only working but you the client on the project so we can complete your home 25% faster than other builders building the same custom home in our market and not losing out on the highest quality a custom home builder can provide.
From the bottom up we have used the same contractors and suppliers for over 30 years this is very important to us that the relationships that we have together is a team effort.
We pride ourselves in transparency every customer that builds with us knows what each and every item costs and has a breakdown that is easy to understand. We provide a summary of all bills paid and builders costs for each draw request. All Change orders will be sent out by email or mail and need to be signed for the customer to understand what the changes are for the contractor or supplier to proceed. All this is done to make it as smooth and open to you the client.
We will take ongoing photos as much as possible so that the client that is very busy or wants photos for a album will be able to see the project during construction and long after.
This is a very important piece of the home building experience you want to make sure you have a warranty that you understand and that you can rely on the builder to take care of anything that has failed or was not up to the standards of Ruebl Builders. We pride ourselves in having a 5 year warranty as most builders have 1 year warranties.
Ruebl Builders has been managing exceptions for almost 70 years and that has been the key to working with clients budgets.When we design a home this is one of the first questions we we discuss as this will set the tone for the entire build. With our open book business philosophy its transparent and help makes decisions alot easier on the client when we do build with the design build model.
We pride ourselves in having the best people surrounding us to make a complete team! Our interior designer that helps our clients with all the hard to decide colors, tile ,counter tops, fixtures and so on. building relationships is one of our main goals and she helps us maintain this.and so much more is not only one of the best in the industry but one of the most caring person we have ever had work for us. She truly cares not only about your new custom home but you as a person.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This is not a easy question we have clients that build homes that are 2,300 sq. ft. and homes that are over 10,000 sq. ft. that has a impact and also the level of detail can substantially take a house longer to build. Weather is also a huge dictating factor so there are many ways to answer that question and most times it’s a case by case basis
This is a open ended question and a hard one to answer in today custom home building world. Each and every prospective clients have different expectations of what they dream of and what they expect in there new custom home. There are so many factors from the property you intend to build on for site allowances like excavation, Soil testing, Well vs city, septic or Mound vs sewer and so on. We prefer to not answer this questions right away as we like to work through your list of needs and wants and give a you a realistic approach vs a sales approach where most builders give a unrealistic number. Your time is valuable and we work around your budget and expectations and each client is completely different from the next. All these questions will be answered in our first face to face meeting.
We build most of our homes in Waukesha, Walworth, Washington, Jefferson, Racine, Milwaukee counties but we will build up to about 60 miles away or around a hour from our Eagle office.
Most of our clients homes are designed over a 6 month or more period but sometime we can fill in with a home that has already been designed by another architect or designer. But all in all we schedule most homes out about 6 to 8 months from the time we meet.
We have used both over the years and prefer to use the cost plus for some of the reasons below but we offer both to choose from. There are pros and cons to both of types of custom building pricing structures. Both will provide success when dealing with a skilled and honest builder. Both can spell disaster with an inexperienced or dishonest builder. The pros and cons of each are derived more from the complexity of the custom home, changes in market conditions, builder motivations, and expectations of the clients.
Fixed Price:
A fixed price contract for building a custom home involves the builder giving a guaranteed price for the complete home. The builder will set up allowances for the various selections that the customer will be making. If the customer spends more than the allowance amounts, the customer must pay the difference in a change order. Otherwise, the customer knows exactly what he or she will be paying for their custom home
Cost plus a percentage
A cost plus a percentage contract is an arrangement where the client is charged the actual costs of the house plus a percentage which is added on top of that as a builder fee.
Pros
More transparency of costs and builder fee. Decisions can be made with a overall approach. Changes are less costly. More decisions can be made during the build process. No temptation for builder to cut corners. Customer is not paying for builder to take on risk of cost overruns if there aren’t any.
Cons
Customer takes on risk of cost overruns and incorrect estimating. Final cost is unknown. Temptation for builder to underbid project to earn the business. Builder is rewarded for cost overrun’s with increase in builder fee. Builder is penalized for saving money by reduced builder fee.
Works best for
More complex Custom homes and Remodels with loosely defined scope or lesser detailed plans. Stable or deflationary environment. Customers who would like to make selections later in the process. Customers more interested in getting exactly what they want than managing to a strict budget.
None of these formats is a substitute for a qualified builder with integrity. All of these contracts can be manipulated by an unscrupulous builder. None of them can protect you from an incompetent builder. The best approach is to work with someone who has a good longstanding reputation for building quality homes built on trust and on budget and on time. It is very important to have a good personality fit because building your dream house should be a fun experience!
We do work both ways but we the builder like to be the one in the lead as we like to keep a eye on pricing as this is an everchanging business with lumber and oil prices surging. With the builder the led we try to keep in perspective your vision as some architects want to have complete control not you the client of your home. If you have a architect please be rest assured we would love to work with you if you have already moved in that direction and we would be willing to help your designer with the items above.
As a custom home builder Ruebl Builders has been building custom homes since 1949 founded by Frank Ruebl. Bill Ruebl owner has been personally building for over 40 years and has a degree from Stevens point in forestry and business. Worked as a carpenter for Ruebl Builders under founder and his father Frank Ruebl for 20 plus years as a union carpenter. Jason Ruebl owner has been building custom homes personally for 17 years and attended WCTC . Has hands on worked as a carpenter since high school for Ruebl Builder in the summers and worked in the commercial construction for 3 years to get his feet wet before jumping into the family business where he resides today.
As a custom builder we get this kind of question asked every once and awhile but its very important. The products we use we would only use in our homes there are many products on the market today that just aren’t for Wisconsin building or just are plain not to the level of quality a Ruebl Custom Home we would build. There is a trust factor and once you have trust in your builder and he understands your expectations you will have those questions answered.
No As we do a lot of timber frames custom homes we also build conventional style building method homes. 60 percent of our homes are arts and crafts, craftsman style homes, Farm house, French country, Modern, Contemporary, log and cottage so we do a wide ranging list of styles of homes but timber framing is a major part of our business.
just click on the link and it will send you to our email or just give us a call at 262-441-0049. We would love to hear from you about your future custom new home or construction project.
Thinking about building in southeastern Wisconsin?
Please let us know if you would like to spend some time talking about your future custom home building needs.
Bill and Jason Ruebl