Will Johnson Building Company

We have been in our Will Johnson house for a year now, and every day we walk down the hallway and feel like the luckiest people in the world. The quality of the home and the little touches make this our forever home. Will took our plans and made them even better. The only things we would change are some of the finishes that we chose; everything that Will and his crew did and suggested are wonderful. From the meticulous crown molding (which originally we didn't think we wanted) to the amazing cumaru flooring (that our children and grandchildren can't damage), everything is just amazing. Our kids are actually moving closer to our home to be able to spend more time over here. What more can we say? Having built other homes, we know that we got the best with Will Johnson and his crew.

We started with an estimate and design concept. They have an architect and interior designer on staff. We came up with an idea and they put the plans together. From the plans we came up with a budget. It was a tough project as the entire front of the house had to be removed while we lived there. It was as painlessly as is possible. We had no damage whatsoever to the part of the house that remained existing. Rebecca the interior designer is worth using them alone. Once you presented her with an idea, she took the ball and ran with it and came back with products and suggestions in the budget range. The addition is exactly what we had hoped for and more. They will not be the cheapest out there, but you get what you pay for in a project such as this.”

We have been in our new home almost one year and could not be happier. Selecting Will Johnson Building Company to build our dream home was one of the best decisions we have ever made. You certainly made that decision easier by providing us with a detailed spreadsheet of the estimated cost of each aspect of the house. That estimate was amazingly close to the final total cost. Your family was a pleasure to work with throughout the building process. Ben was a patient professional as he helped us make architectural modifications to our Frank Betz design. Those changes made the home more personal and practical. Rebecca is a talented interior designer who was a trusted advisor as we selected cabinets, flooring, fixtures, lighting, and colors. She was a true facilitator as she guided us through the numerous decisions required when building a custom home. You provided excellent advice once the construction process began. You were on site daily to supervise the building process and provided valuable guidance in the selection of materials. It was evident that you had a long standing relationship with your contractors as they completed quality work as scheduled and as designed. We quickly came to trust and appreciate all of the work that was done. Laurie provided accurate accounting of all expenses with detailed spreadsheets and copies of all invoices. She even helped us find a home to rent in the neighborhood so that we could enjoy the community amenities and get to know our neighbors. This made the building process much more convenient and enjoyable since we could monitor the progress every step of the way. Finally, we enthusiastically offer our recommendation to any prospective clients and wish you continued success building homes in Chapel Ridge and throughout Chatham County. Larry and Linda Gaudreault

“We love our builder ~ Will Johnson Building Company. They are the most budget conscious people I know. Will and his team did an amazing job building our home. After renovating 2 times in Virginia, then in New Hampshire, and building at the beach; building with WJBC has been by far our best experience. VERY cost conscious as well as thoughtful (in the truest sense of the word). Both Rick and I sincerely believe that if we had gone with another builder, he would have renovated the old house. But Will made the extremely difficult call, and told us that the old house really needed to come down. Thank goodness! It also happens that they use Harrington Bank (now Bank of North Carolina). The folks at Harrington could not say enough nice things about them….

We have been in the house for a little over a year and the quality of the work that you and your crew did show every day. From the design to the finishes, I cannot think of a single thing that I would change… You guys took the time to sit down and listen to what we were looking for, explained the process from design and estimation through selections and construction and did not make any promises other than assuring us that we would be the focus of your attention through the entire project. I can not begin to tell you how many times Janet and I talked about all of the difficulty we though we would have making the hundreds of different decisions in building this home, knowing that we would have to pick everything from the color of the shingles all the way down to the types of light switches. Rebecca made this process almost painless. Not only did she provide us with a comprehensive checklist of the things we needed to decide on and when, but she also spent hundreds of hours researching things that we found in magazines, trying to find things that we could only generally describe, scheduling appointments with tradesmen and suppliers, and meeting with us to help make the final decisions. I was particularly impressed with Rebecca’s willingness to meet with us on off hours and meet at my office when I just could not get away. Finally I would like to say thank you to you Will. You have a fantastic team of people that were able to take our ideas and dreams and turn them into reality. The home that you built for us is truly magnificent. Every day that I walk into this home I am continually impressed with the quality of the work, the attention to detail and the thoughtfulness of the design. This is truly a home that we are proud to call ours.

It is our pleasure to write this unsolicited letter of recommendation on behalf of Will Johnson Building Company. We had spent many years discussing our dream home and had even created a rough house plan using a design software package. We had a very specific vision of what we wanted. In a nutshell, we wanted a new “old” house with loads of charm but with all the modern amenities. One that was built utilizing universal design principles which is a nice way to say “aging in place”. It also needed to be as maintenance free as possible. We researched builders very carefully and down selected to 4 that were highly recommended in the area. What caused us to select Will Johnson Building aside from the instant rapport we felt with Will and his son Ben was the total package they brought to this effort. Ben is a remarkable home designer and took our rough renderings and transformed it into a beautiful design. He made many impactful recommendations and suggestions. He was always available throughout the build process to make changes on the fly. His sense of style and symmetry were right in line with what we wanted. He was always mindful of cost and always informed us of the ramifications of different design decisions and options. The benefit of having both the design and construction team together is the constant feedback they gave each other to ensure it would be built economically and eliminate ambiguity. Once the design was completed, Will stepped in to execute the construction. The home is 1.5 stories with 3,800 sq ft on the main floor and 1,700 sq ft on the second floor. The main floor encompassed all the living spaces and bedrooms, while the second floor is intended as an extra apartment or secondary living space. The lot was fairly steep and hilly so there needed to be a lot of skilled engineering to level the pad, put in retaining walls, work drainage and place the house in an optimal position. Will has a wealth of experience and we could tell he was very experienced with handling these challenges. He also had a long list of excellent craftsmen, contractors and construction personnel that he could draw from that have passed the test of time. You could tell they really liked working on Will Johnson projects. On each trip and during each phase of the construction process we were blown away with the high quality of construction and materials. Their attention to detail and wonderful communication ensured there were no mistakes. This was particularly important as we were not local and could not be there every day. It was a great comfort knowing there was someone providing great oversight and direction. They sent us pictures almost daily during periods of great activity which we really appreciated and made us feel part of the process. Any areas of concern were immediately addressed and resolved. Of particular importance to us was the work done by Rebecca Johnson who managed all the design selections both interior and exterior and ensured that these were ordered in a timely manner. She held our hand and helped us navigate the scary world of stones, pavers, shutters, tiles, appliances, cabinets (Wayne rocks), granite, moldings, lighting, trim, paint colors, etc. She quickly grasped our design aesthetic and each trip she would have a variety of items pre-selected for us to review and choose. We trusted her so much, we felt very comfortable leaving many details to her. I wish I could have mentioned all those who worked on our house and had a hand in making it such a beautiful home but I do want to give a shout out to Laurie for always letting us know where we stood financially, Elizabeth in helping with all the finish selections, particularly our day at the tile store, Mike the construction project manager and Juan. We are also very appreciative of the landscape firm (Precision TurfScape) they selected. Mike Leper and his team designed and executed a wonderful plan. This was a huge job with many challenges and we could not be happier with the final product. We love our new “old” house and really enjoyed the building process. It totally surpassed our expectations. It is a testament to the passion, expertise and dedication of all the members of the Will Johnson Building team that gave us such a great home and ensured that the journey towards it was memorable as well.