with superior materials and unrelenting commitment to quality,
we are committed to helping you realize your dream.

| about us  |

Let us customize an elegantly unique Post & Beam design from Linwood to suit your style.

Summit Custom Homes is a residential design/build firm that prides itself on craftsmanship and detail in custom home construction. The company was started in 2003 by the father and son team of Jayme & Jayson Collier. Together they bring over 40 years of custom construction experience to the company.

Summit is engaged often to design homes that capture the beauty of Virginia's historic countryside. Whether it's an expansive wall of windows overlooking the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, or an elegantly rustic exterior that blends with a home's natural setting, we work to fulfill each customer's vision. Each project is very much a work of art.

Custom home construction requires a superior commitment to detail and oversight–qualities for which Summit Custom Homes is known and respected. We employ a team of professionals to track the process from initial design and selection considerations through final product delivery. Additionally, Summit has made significant investments in the most modern software, allowing us to accurately identify construction costs prior to contract. Our customers find tremendous value and peace of mind in our ability to accurately identify their budget needs, allowing for custom home construction even in today's economic climate. We invite you stop in for a visit to see just how easy the realization of your dream home can be.

General Contractors

As General Contractors, Summit can handle as much or as little of your project as you desire. We have the capacity to handle every facet of the building process from initial design concepts through the construction and securing of occupancy permits for your home. We are what the construction industry refers to as a “turnkey” builder.

While the majority of our projects are right here in Central Virginia, Summit has the capacity to handle projects throughout the state and beyond. With a network of traveling subcontractors and project managers, we’re able to produce the same quality custom homes statewide that we do right here in Charlottesville!

In many cases, we work with customers who wish to act as their own general contractor. In this scenario, Summit designs the floor plan and supplies the materials for completion of the home’s shell. We then proceed with the framing/siding/roofing of the home and turn it over to the owner for completion. This is what the industry refers to as a “Dry In” service. For more information on this process refer to the “You Build It” section.

Custom Design At No Additional Cost

Whether it’s a beautiful, conventionally framed plan from Southern Living or an elegantly unique Post & Beam from Linwood, we have hundreds of plans from which to choose. Additionally, you have full flexibility in design change so you can customize any of them to suit your lifestyle needs. If you already have a home plan in mind, our experienced drafting and design experts can take your ideas and turn them into a highly functional set of construction plans. Whether it’s a contemporary Post & Beam/Timber Frame design or the well respected Southern Living concepts, Summit welcomes the opportunity to bring your vision to life.

Accuracy In Budgeting: Build It On Paper First!

The horror stories you hear of in construction are a result of the process, not the home. It’s for this reason that we often spend several months (if not a year!) in preparation for the start of a custom home. We avoid the use of allowances as they’re often a source of frustration between builders and their customers. It’s common for customers to experience great disappointment when they show up at a vendor’s showroom to make selections only to find out the budget amount (allowance) is insufficient for what they desire. They then have to come out of pocket for “upgrades”, which are what they thought they were getting in the first place!

At Summit, we’ve made significant investments in our Sales & Design Center that allow us to effectively map out selections prior to entering into our contract to build. We have countless examples of the quality fixtures and finish items our customers expect on display in our selections room. If you’re not satisfied with those selections, we at least select items that will get you in the correct cost tier such that you avoid the vendor showroom disappoint detailed above. Once we’ve selected a group of components, the resulting cost total becomes the customer’s allowance for that group. If you care to venture out and shop for other options, you’re free to do so and you should have an adequate budget from which to work. Our customers will tell you that this level of detail in planning ensures for a smooth process once the construction of your home begins.

You Build It Program

Ever wanted to build your own home? Whether it be for the potential cost savings or simply the gratification of sitting back in the home you built, Summit has a program that’s geared toward helping you realize that dream while maintaining your sanity.

More and more in this economy, we’re seeing that many “Do It Yourselfers” are deciding to act as their own General Contractors. Five years ago we would have advised strongly against this as the labor market was extremely competitive during the boom. Today, however, the current economy has created an environment that is very favorable for those who wish to act as their own GC in an attempt to realize additional savings over the life of the project. It’s not for everyone but, if you have the time, we have the resources to get the home under roof and effectively consult with you through its completion.

After designing your home, Summit will provide the materials and labor to frame, side and roof the project. When we’re done with this scope of work, your home will be largely complete from the exterior. From here, you’re left to coordinate the mechanicals (Electrical/HVAC/Plumbing) insulation, drywall, cabinetry, flooring and paint. Sound like a daunting task? It doesn’t have to be. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details but that’s where our consulting program comes in.

 

Here’s what you get:

  • Completion Budget: Summit will supply you with a budget template that itemizes all remaining completion items for which you need to determine costs. As you track down bids from subcontractors, we will review them to make sure they’re reasonable and on track for that scope of work
  • Subcontract Agreements: One critical duty of the GC (which is you in this case) is to effectively spell out the scope of work to be performed by your subcontractor, agree to a price/timeframe, and get it in writing. Once you’ve identified the winning bids for your project, Summit will furnish you with a set of subcontracts for each finish item (that requires a subcontract) that clearly spells out what’s expected of each subcontractor.
  • Project Schedule: We will set up and maintain a project timeline that, if followed, will ensure a smooth and timely completion of your project. We will conduct weekly online meetings to review the schedule and update as needed. This schedule will keep you abreast of upcoming tasks and what needs to be done ahead of time to make sure you avoid costly delays.
  • Online Production Meeting: As referenced above, we will schedule a weekly meeting in which we use online meeting software to remote your computer. This allows you to sit in front of your computer and look at the screen in our conference room. From there, we will discuss the past week’s events, review your schedule and identify items that need to be completed that week to stay on track. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be a computer whiz to work in this capacity. You just need a computer with a fast, reliable internet connection. We’ll do the rest.
  • Site Visits: The first 3 site trips are included in the program. At this point, you’re off and running. Additional site visits will be scheduled as needed and will be billed at a flat rate that ranges from $100 - $200 depending on distance.

Call or stop in for additional information and pricing on this service.