"This letter is for anyone who has the good fortune of both having the opportunity to build a custom home, and having the opportunity to hire Chris Walker for project management.
We met Chris in September 2008, shortly after we purchased our lakefront lot. His article in the Sept '08 B.C. Home magazine prompted us to contact him, but he was also referred to us by the Parkins.
Right away, we found Chris to be approachable, attentive and keenly interested in our future home. Although he had us at "hello", we went through the process of interviewing several other award winning builders, but no one else seemed to measure up to Chris in terms of both personality, and quality of workmanship of his past homes.
We worked with Chris on a consulting basis for almost a year prior to construction commencing. Throughout that time, Chris gave valuable input into the design of our home, saving us thousands of dollars on paper by advising our design team from a builder's point of view, and in the process, helping us to create an even better and more functional home.
After going through various time consuming processes, including a variance application and a geothermal application, we were able to start construction mid-summer 2009. Immediately upon entering the project management phase, Chris was feverishly lining up trades so that we could get our roof on in time before the rains came.
It quickly became evident to us that Chris has a knack for attracting and retaining excellent tradespeople. Trades love working with Chris because he is highly organized and rarely does anything go awry when working on his job site. Chris has also been open minded to working with trades that we already knew prior. There has not been one day in the last six months where there hasn’t been at least a few trades people working on our home, as Chris has been synchronizing everyone perfectly.
Chris is absolutely unflappable; he carries himself well and is a respectful and clear communicator. Whether dealing with the City on an inspection, or supervising the construction assistant, he treats everyone equally and with respect, and has extremely high standards for himself and others.
With this being our first experience building, we have asked Chris many questions along the way. He usually responds to our emails within 24 hours, no matter how trivial they may seem. To Chris, every detail is important and deserves attention.
Chris's wife, Joan, handles the administration and statement preparation. She is always very pleasant, her statements are easy to understand, and the books and records are always available to view upon request. Everything is transparent.
It is extremely rare to find the qualities of design talent, artistic vision, coordination, efficiency, assertiveness, and effective communication all in one person. We have no doubt in our mind that Chris is in the top percentile of home builders in Victoria.
A custom home, a dream home, is usually not just a family's biggest investment financially; it is also a family's biggest investment emotionally. This is your home, your sanctuary, your personal space. The most important decision you will make is who you choose to be your project manager. We suggest that you do not make this decision lightly. Your project manager is like the conductor of an orchestra; you can have the best trades in the world, but without someone like Chris at the forefront, you do not have beautiful music, you simply have noise.
We wholeheartedly recommend Chris Walker, he has been a consistent performer from day one, and our home would not have been of the same calibre without his involvement. Please contact us at 250-478-8262 should you require more information."