Our Services
We build new houses and remodel old ones. We also do renovations, including historic restoration and site work. We’ve added second stories, retrofitted basements, and built decks, porches, swimming pools, and elevators.
We do everything—from new roofing and siding to window replacement, floor refinishing, and new baths and kitchens. Most of our work is residential, though occasionally, we are talked into a commercial project.
Our Process
We strive to make the building process as easy and seamless as possible for veteran homeowners and new buyers.
We value transparency and provide detailed estimates, budgets, plans, schedules, subcontractor lists, and more.
We assign a dedicated Ace Supervisor to each project and maintain consistent communication and project management services throughout the development and building process.
Our Process in Detail
An Ace project involves most (if not all) of the following steps from beginning to end:
- An initial visit to meet with clients. We see their site and plans, discuss the project and its budget, answer questions about how we work, and share examples of past projects and a list of references with contact information.
- We provide certificates of insurance and recommendations for architects and designers who can provide value engineering and direct design input.
- A site visit with appropriate subcontractors with the intent of arriving at a first estimate.
- We provide an initial estimate with an itemized breakdown of the entire project, copies of sub-proposals, material printouts, labor worksheets, and other relevant documents.
- We revise the estimate to reflect design changes or budgetary reductions.
- Once we agree on the project scope and budget, we provide the client with:
- A written contract, either for a Stipulated Sum or at Cost Plus, depending on the client’s preference.
- An Ace Supervisor will oversee the project, communicate with the client and architect, order materials, schedule subcontractors, and ensure the job is done correctly and completed on time.
- Once work begins, we provide:
- Careful, straightforward billing for work completed
- Weekly site meetings with the Owner and Architect
- A list of subcontractors & suppliers.
- A written warranty
Our Style
Our projects range from colonial restoration to avant-garde experimentation in homebuilding. We’ve built ground-breaking contemporary and classically traditional homes, ranging in style from the Old Dominion estate to the archetypal Virginia “farmhouse.”
We are state “A” registered and fully insured. Several local architects have honored us by asking Ace to work on their own homes as well as their clients.
Among other places, our projects have been published in:
- Virginia Record
- The Washington Post Home Magazine
- Architecture
- 18 Houses, edited by Jude LeBlanc
- House Beautiful
- Country Living
- Clark and Menefee by Richard Jensen
- Washington Spaces
- The New American House 4, edited by Trulove and Kim
- Inform
- Home & Design
- Virginia Living
- Dwell
- C’ville Abode
**Plus, some Japanese and Italian magazines we couldn’t read
Our Values
Our values as home builders, service providers, and business owners include three important intangibles (among many):
- Honesty: We believe and follow the Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated. In business, there are many opportunities to deceive or to take something one hasn’t earned. This is not our way.
- Excellence: We offer conscientious attention to detail to the architects’ plans, specs and intentions, as well as our clients’ desires and budgets. We respect blueprints and specifications not as rough guidelines but as carefully considered, exact reflections of our client’s wishes.
- Good humor: Not every step of every project can go perfectly. When things go well, we celebrate our craft. When problems and stress arise, we keep things in perspective and remain good partners while solutions are sought.
Our Warranty
We want you to be happy with our work. If you are unhappy, we would like to make it right. Ace Contracting offers its clients the following warranty:
- We will correct any defects in workmanship or materials that occur within one (1) year after completion of your project. Your only obligation to take advantage of this warranty is to notify us promptly after discovering the defect. Prompt notice is essential so we can minimize any ongoing damage or deterioration.
- We will transfer to you all specific product warranties for their various time limits.
- We will consider any reasonable complaint. At our discretion, we may return and correct, adjust, or repair defects brought to our attention after the one-year period mentioned above.
Understandably, our warranty would not cover design flaws, work performed by others for which we were not responsible, or problems caused by improper use or maintenance.
Our Mission
- To provide, for everyone who works at Ace, a decent livelihood and basic financial security in building & remodeling. Among other things, this includes a fair wage, paid vacation, holiday and leave time, and provision for retirement.
- To provide a safe work environment for all Ace employees and other workers on our projects.
- To provide a positive, supportive work environment where everyone feels appreciated and respected, encouraging initiative and achieving personal and professional goals.
- To fulfill our clients’ wishes and expectations, achieving their goals efficiently, within budget, and on schedule.
- To produce aesthetically pleasing, safe, enduring shelter incorporating the highest quality workmanship, materials, and subcontractors.
- To foster harmonious relationships among all we come into contact within our work: employees, clients, subcontractors, suppliers, architects, financial professionals, competitors, etc.
- To be engaged with and contribute to the Charlottesville/Albemarle community and to the local community of building professionals.