New Home Construction
A custom home builder in Watertown and Jefferson County that builds a small number of houses a year, on your land, by the people who priced them. New construction from a builder, not a sales center.
The Job
A custom home builder in Watertown and Jefferson County who builds a handful of houses a year, on your lot: the lot first — setbacks, grade, drainage, well and septic — then drawings with your designer, a fixed itemized price with allowances, and an eight-to-twelve-month build with a weekly conversation.
We build few, on purpose, and the reason is on this page.
Our Approach
We are not a production builder and we do not want to be. We take on a handful of custom homes a year, which means the person who walked your lot is on site while it goes up.
If you want twelve houses a year and a sales center, we are the wrong company. If you want the owner’s cell number, a fixed written price and a house built to the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code by people who will still be in Watertown when the warranty matters, we are a reasonable fit.
Process
Before anything else. Setbacks, grade, drainage, well and septic where applicable, and what it will cost to make it buildable. This decides more of the budget than the plans do.
With your architect or designer, or we can recommend one. We price from drawings, not from a wishlist, and we say early what the lot and the budget will carry.
Written, itemized, with allowances for the things you choose so you can see what each upgrade costs. Every job here runs on a written contract that names the materials by make and grade, the start and completion dates, the total price and the warranty — the contents Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 110.05 requires of a home improvement contract in this state.
One project at a time, with a schedule you can hold us to and a weekly conversation. Eight to twelve months for most custom homes here.
Standards
Ice barrier at every eave whatever the pitch, synthetic underlayment, six-nail architectural shingles, metal valleys, balanced ventilation. What that means, section by section.
Trusses and framing to SPS 321.02: the snow load from the state zone map and a 20 pounds per square foot wind design load, engineered for this site.
Drainage, damp-proofing and downspouts that take water away from the wall, so the basement can be finished later without the water conversation first.
Soffit intake and ridge exhaust sized to the ceiling area under SPS 322.39, baffled at every rafter bay, so the roof lasts its rated life.
Straight Answers
Eight to twelve months for most custom homes here, driven more by weather and inspections than by labor. Wisconsin winters constrain foundation and concrete work at both ends of the year, so a house started in the fall is framed under a roof before the hard frost or waits for spring; we tell you which before you sign. The construction hub explains how we book a season ahead.
Yours. We are not a developer and we do not hold land, so there is no model to buy into and no lot premium. What we do first is walk your lot with you and price what it takes to make it buildable — access, grade, drainage, well and septic where there is no municipal service, and the zoning setbacks that decide where the house can sit. That number is part of the estimate, not a surprise after closing.
Shell and roof with the interior finished later is something we will discuss. It is a real way to manage a budget, and it needs planning from the start rather than being decided halfway — the mechanical rough-in, the insulation and the vapor barrier have to be right before the shell is closed, or the finish becomes a remodel. The remodeling pages show what finishing later involves.
Your municipality’s building inspector, at each stage the permit requires — footings, framing, rough electrical and plumbing, insulation, final. Every town we work in permits and inspects new dwellings; Ixonia lists “New Homes” first on its required list. We schedule the inspections and you are welcome at all of them. The FAQ covers what a written contract in Wisconsin must contain.
Related
Garages, additions, pole barns and the occasional whole house, from drawings, one project at a time.
Cost, timing, permits, insurance and warranties, answered plainly on one page.
The reason a new roof lasts its rated life, and the detail most new houses get wrong.
Start Here
Walk it with us first. The lot decides more of the budget than the drawings do, and we would rather you knew that before the drawings.