What makes Boss & Mennie a "Luxury" Homebuilder? It's true that we build the most luxurious custom homes with the finest materials and finishes, but there's more to it than that. We strive for excellence in not only what we build, but also how we build it. We know that building a custom home can be a stressful experience if you don't select the right builder, so here are a few things that we believe earn us the title of "Luxury Homebuilder" :

 

                          Honesty & Integrity

                          Hands-On Project Management

                          Outstanding Quality

                          Exceptional Design

                          First Class Personal Attention

~ HONESTY & INTEGRITY ~


As guiding principles in everything we do, honesty and integrity are key ingredients for continued trusting relationships with our customers. We treat our customers with respect and we never try to hide anything or cut corners to to save time or money. It's simply a case of just "doing the right thing" and communicating honestly and openly. It is a testament to our service that our customers remain our friends for many years after moving into their new homes.

dining We've all heard stories of homeowners who have had horrendous build experiences, with very little communication from their builder except to tell them how much extra things are going to cost! Our research has shown that some of the biggest causes of frustration for people building custom homes with other builders are inflated final price, extended schedule and poor communication.

At Boss & Mennie, we know that you are putting a lot of trust in us when you choose us to build your custom home, and we are committed to making the experience stress free and enjoyable for you. This is how we avoid such issues at Boss & Mennie:

1) FINAL PRICE - We don't have a standard price per square foot because every custom home is different. From our initial discussions, we will be able to give you an estimated price range for your home, depending on not only the size and style, but also the level of finishes and materials. As we get deeper into the design process, we will narrow down the final price, to include everything you would expect. The price will reflect allowances appropriate for the type of finishes you expect in your home, and we will explain to you what those allowances can buy. If any adjustments are needed, they can easily be made at this stage. If a builder tells you that the $20,000 allowance he is providing for cabinets in your $3 million home is sufficient, walk away quickly! This will become an expensive change order when you later realize that $20,000 can't buy what you want in your home. We will provide detailed specifications for your home so you will know exactly what is included in your price before you make any major commitment.

2) SCHEDULE - We plan each project to include minimal slack time, and with the exception of weather related delays, you can expect progress to be made on your home every day. Our computer based scheduling allows us to avoid any potential conflicts that could affect the "critical path" of your project's timeline, and we take our time commitment seriously. Our construction schedule consists of hundreds, if not thousands, of individual tasks that need to be completed in a given sequence. At the beginning of the project, we will provide you with a summarized version of our schedule, so you will know exactly what will be happening and when. This schedule will also include critical action dates for custom selections to be made by you. Some items, such as cabinetry, may have a long lead time, so selections may need to be made months in advance of the planned installation date. We make it easy for you to keep on top of your selections, and our in-house Interior Designer is available to hold your hand throughout the selection process. For more details on our Project Management, see below.

3) COMMUNICATION - Communication is a vital ingredient in any successful relationship. It is our responsibility to establish and maintain clear lines of communication with you at all times. Many custom builders take on too many projects to give you and your home the personal attention you deserve, and the company owners are far removed from the action on the ground. At Boss & Mennie, we personally manage your project, we give you our cell phone numbers, and we encourage you to contact us directly with any questions or concerns relating to any aspect of your project.

 

As a further commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, Boss & Mennie is a Better Business Bureau accredited company.

 

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diningOur hands-on management style guarantees that every aspect of your new home will be built with the highest level of quality and craftsmanship. Each project is personally managed by Brandon Boss or Graham Mennie, and only the best materials and highly skilled tradesmen are accepted onto our projects. Our long working relationships with our subcontractors are based on mutual respect. We have worked side by side with them, and we know that they consistently deliver the level of quality we demand. 

So if Boss & Mennie uses only highly skilled tradesmen, why is hands-on management so important? Although each tradesman is highly skilled in their own area of expertise, the Project Manager is the one person who has an in-depth understanding of all technical details, schedules, materials, allowances and customer wishes. Our physical presence on-site guarantees that work is completed exactly the way it is supposed to be first time, avoiding time consuming rework. We also ensure that all necessary work has been completed to our strict quality standards before the next task starts (we do trust our subcontractors, but we always verify the quality of all work). By overseeing the work closely, we can quickly identify any quality concern or potential risk to our schedule and take evasive action before it becomes an issue. We also schedule delivery of materials at the exact time they are needed, so they do not sit around getting wet or damaged. Each of these items result in an efficient, high quality build. 

 

Finally, when you have questions about your project, you know you will be talking to someone who not only knows your project in detail, but more importantly, someone who really cares.

 

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~ OUTSTANDING QUALITY ~


diningWhen you buy or build a Boss & Mennie home, you are choosing a home that will satisfy the most discerning of tastes. Our passion for fine architecture and rich finishes guarantees that your home will be designed and constructed with the utmost attention to detail, incorporating only the finest materials and professional craftsmanship from foundation to roof. While the word "standard" is rarely used when describing a Boss & Mennie home, amenities such as theme-based movie theaters, climate controlled wine showrooms, solid wood windows and doors and state of the art home automation are just a few of the things that are "standard" to us.

 

It is a sad reality that many builders don't pay enough attention to the hidden items in a home, putting more focus on the visible details that make a home look good. Building codes are often seen as a goal that must be met to pass building inspections, and if something can get by the Building Inspector without him or her noticing it, then the builder gets a free pass. The harsh Florida environment always wins against poor quality construction, and the homeowner pays the price.

 

Every Boss & Mennie home is built with pride and attention to detail that you should expect in a home of such distinction, and that applies to every aspect of the home, whether it's the center of focus in a main room or hidden behind a wall or underground. Building codes are seen as an absolute minimum requirement, and we always aim to exceed code requirements to build stronger, more comfortable and more efficient homes.

 

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One of the traps that many architects or designers fall into when designing a larger home, is that they really just design a small home - but bigger - and add a bunch of extra rooms! "Isn't that what a larger home is?" I hear you say. Technically, yes, it is a larger home, but not one you'd want to live in. We typically build large homes, but we design them so they really feel like somewhere you'd want to live - not big mazes with chopped up floor plans and all the character of an empty shoe box. We listen to our customer's needs and we use our knowledge and creativity to design a custom home that is beautiful, comfortable and functional. We use spaces intelligently, separating bedrooms for privacy, and placing entertainment areas according to the way you want to use your home. We use moldings and proportions appropriate for the architectural style and size of the home, often using historical precedence as a guide. Our restoration work has taught us a lot about historical accuracy and appropriate use of proportions, and we have even had custom moldings made for a new home to match the profile of a 1908 restoration project. We make sure that every room is interesting and unique, but consistent in style.

diningA true custom design must also take into account the lot and its surroundings, considering all that nature has to offer (such as water views, trees and natural light) and a few things that nature didn't play a part in (such as neighboring properties and building set-backs). If a lot has a view of particular interest, such as a waterfront location, wherever possible we will use a high lift to evaluate views from different locations on the lot at various heights. This gives us valuable insight early in the design process, allowing us to place rooms in the home according to the views you want.

Custom Design By Dorosinski, Campbell Design Associates, Inc.


3D Modeling
- We don't live in a two dimensional world, so naturally most people have trouble visualizing their home when it's presented to them on a flat piece of paper. Have you ever looked at a home and thought "something just doesn't look right"? Wouldn't you like to see your home before we even start building it? Well, we haven't figured out how to do that yet, but we have the next best thing. As a standard part of our design process, we develop fully rotatable computer generated 3D models of each home. Not only does this allow you to see your home in a virtual world before we start building it, an exciting prospect for any new homeowner, but this is also an invaluable design tool. If you see anything that you don't like, we still have the opportunity to make the changes at the design stage, avoiding costly and time consuming changes during construction. We can also change colors electronically to help you make your color selections. Creating a computerized 3D model of a home is a very complex and time consuming process, but we believe in the value of 3D modeling so much that we include it in our design service at no additional charge.

 

For more details on our custom design process, visit our Custom Design page.

 

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diningHow many times have you felt happy about a transaction, only to find that once you sign the dotted line you're just another completed sale? Unfortunately, this has been the case with some homeowners too. After meeting their builder a few times, and feeling confident that they will be taken care of throughout their project, they enter into a contract and then things start to go downhill. The caring company owner doesn't seem to care so much any more, and they find that their home is being managed by a salaried supervisor who is managing a dozen other projects at the same time. All the detailed communication between the homeowner and builder is lost, and the builder is never available to meet or take phone calls.

 

At Boss & Mennie, you can rest assured that we will never leave you in the dark regarding your home. Even if you are out of town, our online Customer Information Center will keep you informed of the progress of your home, including photos to show your family and friends. If you have any questions, you can contact Brandon Boss or Graham Mennie directly at any time. We will give you our cell phone numbers and we encourage you to use them! You won't have to wait for a response while we track down a supervisor to get answers, and you will never experience a breakdown in communication as your wishes are loosely translated and misinterpreted by the time they reach the jobsite. We personally manage your project to ensure that your new home is exactly what you want it to be, and that your build experience is stress free and enjoyable.

 

And the service doesn't stop there! Before you move into your new Boss & Mennie home, we will do a final walk-through with you to make sure you are completely happy, and we will continue to follow-up with you after move-in, including a 6 month and 12 month paint touch up. If you have any problems after move-in, we don't just provide you with a list and expect you to call the appropriate trades to have problems resolved - call us directly and we'll take care of it.

 

We understand that building a new custom home is a large commitment, both personally and financially. We are proud to put our names on each and every home we build, and we truly care for the customers we build them for. We don't take on more than we can handle, because it's important to us  that our customers experience nothing but first class attention from our initial discussions to move-in day and beyond. If we don't exceed your expectations, we have failed to meet our own.

 

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