A Move into Green

For James’ Joinery, breaking into the custom-home-building market hasn’t been easy, but a focus on Built Green homes is propelling the company forward.

For the last 10 years, the company has renovated houses that were built in the late 1800s up through the mid-1930s. Although many of those renovations were small, some were so large that, in the words of president Tim Schauerte, “[they] made you wonder why the owners just didn’t tear the house down and rebuild.”

However, even with such experience under his belt, Schauerte has found it difficult to break into custom-home building. “Despite the fact that new houses are easier than renovations, it takes a while to reach the point that people will trust you with their houses,” he says.

To help break into the market, Schauerte has begun working within Built Green program guidelines, which he says is garnering more interest. “People are really interested in sustainability right now, and you can build a Built Green house without spending a lot of extra money,” he says. “As long as it’s planned in the beginning, you don’t do much differently than you would on a normal house.”

Such was the case with a house in Shawnigan Lake, which Schauerte finished in 2010. Three other Built Green homes are also in the works on a plot of land that Schauerte is currently developing in Saanich, British Columbia.

Schauerte has spent the last year subdividing the lot, which involved moving one house and prepping two bare lots for building. Now, he’s trying to convince potential buyers of the value his company offers. “I could have sold the lots we’re subdividing 10 times over, but they’ve been much harder to sell with building contracts,” he says. “Buyers all think they can get a cheaper builder, so they want to bring in their own.”

Selling the lots has ultimately come down to education. “I explain that, at the end of the day, James’ Joinery won’t charge more than any other company that is building to comparable standards,” Schauerte says. “You get what you pay for, so if someone can build the house for less money, that savings can only come out of profits, wages, or materials.”

Schauerte works with potential buyers to help explain that if these are the conditions with another builder, the chance is good that the builder will cut corners.

Though it’s been more difficult, Schauerte is glad he stuck to his guns. “I figured someone would come along who wanted to buy the land with a building contract, and I was right,” he says. “Now one of the lots has sold.”

In fact, business is going so well that Schauerte isn’t even advertising. “We’ve found that most of our work comes from word of mouth, and we have enough to keep us busy,” he says. “If we keep it smaller and tighter, we can better control what we do. I’m not chasing quantity.”