WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME WITH BLAIR CONSTRUCTION

There are three things that cause the most stress when building a home: the schedule, the decisions, and the communication.

We try very hard to take as much stress out of the equation as possible and this is how...

SCHEDULE- We do an initial schedule at the begining of every job. Schedules, however, are living things that change constantly. Some things take more time than alotted and some take less time. We require that our clients pick out all of their selections before the contract is signed . This benefits both us and the client. They know exactly what they are getting in the house and we know exactly what we putting in the house which helps us stay on schedule and eliminate overages. Changes made during construction are what lead to overages and delays which are bad for everyone.

DECISIONS- We have a licensed Interior Designer on staff to assist you with all of your selections from, paint colors, lighting, plumbing, flooring and countertops. She can help you as much or as little as you like. Sometimes, in a sea of endless choices it helps to have a professional to help narrow them down.

COMMUNICATION- We communicate with our clients on a daily basis breaking down the master schedule into weekly tasks. We will make sure you know what decisions need to be made and by when to keep the job on track. We assist you every step of the way and are always available to address any questions or concerns you may have.

HOW TO CHOOSE A CONTRACTOR

          First, choose one that had been in business more than 10 years. (we have been in buisiness for 27 and have built over 300 homes ;) No, offence to the young guys but new builders are going to make mistakes and you don't want them to be on your house!                      Second, ask for a list of their most recent clients to contact and contact them. Ask how the process went, ask if they stayed on budget and on time, ask if it was an overall pleasant experience. Speaking to past clients is the best way to find out if you are choosing the right contractor. We have built 2 and 3 different houses for some of our clients which, we hope, goes to show that we did a good job and they enjoyed working with us!                                                                                                                                                                                                        In our opinion, it is better to research and choose a contractor that you like and get him to bid your job. Several problems can arise from getting multiple bids. The first being that bids from different contractors are virtually impossible to compare. Contractors lump all sorts of things into different categories giving random totals that you can't really compare to the next guys. The best you can do when getting multiple bids is to pick out every selection ahead of time and make sure that each contractor bidding has all of the same information. This means, windows, appliances, flooring, plumbing fixtures, countertops, cabinets, etc.  It will still be hard to compare their bids but you can hope that they all included the same things. Beware of a contractor that has all "allowances" on a bid. An allowance is a guesstimate at what you might spend for that item but you have no way of knowing if that is enough or more that what you might really choose. A few "allowances" is ok but the bulk of what you want should be specified and priced exactly.

Our Story

For the last 27 years Chip Blair and his wife Theresa have been the driving force behind Blair Construction.

Chip Blair graduated from LSU in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Construction. After working for only two years he started Blair Construction in 1988. Since then he has built over 300 homes in the Baton Rouge area.

Service

Board of Directors Capital Region Builders Association  1993-2011

Board of Directors Louisiana Home Builders Association 1994-2013

Board of Directors (Life Director Status) National Association of Home Builders 1995, 1998-2013

President Capital Region Builders Association 1997

Board of Directors Growth Coalition 1997-1998

Parade of Homes Chairman CRBA 2000

Education Committee Chair CRBA 2001-2003

VP Commerce & Development CRBA 2004-2005

Louisiana State University Construction Student Advisory Board 2004-2010

Awards & Achievments

2014 CEA Mark of Excellence Award for Custom Home of the Year

2014 CEA Mark of Excellence Award for Best Integrated Security System

Innovative Housing Technology Award 2009

Builder of the Year by CRBA 1995 and 2005

Develped and built an award winning 35 lot subdivision in Baton Rouge

Built an Automated show home for the CRBA in 1995

Started the St. Jude Dream Home Raffle in Baton Rouge while President of the CRBA

Contributed time to 7 St. Jude Dream Homes and 6 Our Lady of the Lake Hospital's Children's Miracle Mansion Homes

Attendee at 15 NAHB Conventions

Participant in the CRBA Parade of Homes for 18 years

Guest speaker at 11 CRBA Habitat Home and Garden Shows

Built over 300 homes  

Certified Graduate Builder Designation CGB 2008

Certified Green Professional Designation CGP 2008

Winner of 4 National Technology Awards including Consumer Electronic Associations Mark of Excellence Award for Custom Home of the Year in 2009