The Sawlor Experience

On the road to your dream home, the journey is as important as the destination.

Building your home should be enjoyable and exciting. So should the day you move in—when you look around and realize that every detail is as you expected, or better. At Sawlor Built Homes, our goal is to provide you with that experience.

Since 1969, we’ve built custom homes for clients throughout Nova Scotia. We’ve also built relationships—with clients, trades people and suppliers—helping us become a builder you can trust with possibly the biggest investment of your life.

We take that trust seriously. With Sawlor Built Homes, there are no surprises. From process to price, we keep you informed every step of the way.

Here’s a glimpse at what it’s like to build with us.

The Plan

Every Sawlor Built Home begins with a dream. Sometimes it is little more than a picture torn from a magazine, while other times it is a collection of ideas from a lifetime of musings. Either way, those ideas must be developed into a set of house plans.

We can help you achieve the first and most essential step in making your custom built home a reality—a house plan—without any obligation to contract us to build your home. Of course, we will work with your plan designer or architect as well.

The Price

If you choose to work with us in building your custom built home, we’ll carefully review all of the products and systems you wish to have in your home and provide you with a very detailed and accurate quote.

All our quotes include:

lot clearing and building permit;

location certificate;

New Home Warranty;

certified Energy Star (Plus), R2000, Net Zero Energy, or Passive House

insurance coverage and certificate.

Any exclusions will be clearly identified on your quote.

When accepted and signed, the quote becomes a part of your contract with Sawlor Built Homes. It also becomes a complete set of instructions to the trades, providing all the information required to build your custom home to your expectations.

The Review

Before we start building a home, we review the plan to ensure we’ve covered all your needs.

Keith Sawlor, owner of Sawlor Built Homes, will review your plan, along with the leadership team assigned to the project.

This team includes:

a project manager;
an engineering technician;
a senior carpenter; and
an interior designer.

We’ll scrutinize each component of the floor plan to ensure it is in the best possible spot, from the location of the house on the lot to the positioning of the furniture throughout the house.

We’ll flag any concerns, address any questions you have and make suggestions to correct any foreseeable problems. All changes will be re-priced for cost increases or rebates, and we—the builder, and you—the buyer, will sign off to proceed.

The Binder

Constructing your home is a team effort. Keeping all members of your home building team on the same page is essential.

At the outset, we’ll provide you with a binder that will serve as a reference tool throughout your home’s construction. This binder will include everything from checklists and due dates of decisions you’ll need to make, to instructions shared with the trades people working on your home, to extra copies of all your house plans, should you need them.

The Build

During Construction, you will be updated on a regular basis about the progress of your new home. Onsite meetings are very helpful with any decisions you will have to make. Access to your home is available at any time.

On occasion, you might want to change or add something to your house plans. We’ll review any change requests with you and generate a change order that outlines any impact on the price or the timing of the project.

When you sign off on the change order, it will be added to your binder and implemented by our team. All decisions and changes are documented prior to an work taking place.

The Closing

When construction of your home is complete, Keith Sawlor will meet you onsite for a detailed inspection. Any concerns will be addressed and you’ll receive your final bill, which will simply summarize the items previously discussed and agreed upon. There will not be any surprises or disappointments.

The Continued Service

After you’re comfortably settled in your new home, we’ll be available to handle any concerns that may arise. Service after the sale is important to us—our goal is your continued satisfaction with your Sawlor Built Home and a glowing recommendation to your friends and family.

Our friends told us that if we had our home built by Sawlor it would be an experience like no other. They were correct.