Back in 2020, I purchased the forever home of my dreams – a cozy custom-renovated half-cabin, half-bungalow in the woods – from a self-described “home builder” who’d supposedly been doing this sort of work for a long time. In reality, a significant proportion of the add-ons and renovations they did were utterly shambolic, with almost nothing being level, plumb, or square, leading to water infiltration and damage in multiple rooms.

I contacted BMW Builders in 2022 as these problems reached critical mass and had a long talk and visit with the proprietors, Bill and Marsha Walsh. They extensively inventoried the issues and walked me through a remediation plan, which would tackle my immediate problems and prevent some future ones.

We started with an initial contract for demolition and inspection and then moved on to a more extensive contract for remodeling and repair, which involved elements of excavation, foundation work, roof reconstruction, and gut renovation. Their contracts are helpfully itemized, which makes it very easy to see the breakdown of costs over a complicated project like mine.

Bill Walsh is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in terms of construction as a craft. His signature style of “talkin’ and thinkin’” and extensive documentation of project elements is intense, but made it super simple for me to follow along as work progressed. I appreciated their solicitation of my feedback throughout the process.

Bill and his crew aspire to perfection in their work and will not declare it done until they are satisfied. You will not find many home construction/improvement contractors in these parts with a similar ethos. It made be grateful because it demonstrated that they cared as much about my home as I did – it was more than just a job-site to them.

Fast-forward three months, and everything turned out beautiful and bulletproof. They were even gracious enough to take on some additional custom finishing work (under a separate itemized contract) that has provided increased utility for me and enhanced the unique character of my home.

I’ve got more work to do to get this place up to the condition that I thought I initially bought, and would gladly welcome BMW Builders back to do it. You really can’t put a price on decades of peace of mind.