Clients who create a positive experience, are educated, consistent and realistic in their desires are clients that many designers and builders would love to have. Dream became reality for Padgett Construction and McCoy Architects, both located in Lexington, Ky., when they worked together to design and build the Dhir Residence, also located in Lexington.

“We had the best clients we’ve ever had [when we worked on this project]. They were easy to talk to, professional and consistent. They knew what they wanted and were willing to go through the process,” says Christopher McCoy, AIA, president, McCoy Architects.

When the clients met with Tom Padgett, owner, Padgett Construction, he referred them to McCoy because of the firm’s positive work history. “We recommended McCoy to do the plans and from that point on, they worked with Chris. When they reached a certain stage in the design, we would tell them about the cost. We did that twice to keep the design on track,” Padgett says.”Armed with a CD loaded with all their needs and wants, the homeowners were prepared to give specific examples of what they were looking for in their new home. “The clients had all their selections on a CD including cabinetry, plumbing, flooring and stairways. They did their homework on the Internet and locally by visiting supply houses,” says Bill Dimon, project manager, Padgett Construction.

Details, Challenges

Throughout the process, the homeowners’ wish list was revised and updated mostly due to budget restrictions. “Their initial list included a garage with a porte cochere so we designed a large garage wing with a porte cochere. We ended up scaling it back for cost reasons and replaced it with a three-car garage,” McCoy says.

Some homeowner requests posed challenges to the design/build team. “[The homeowners] sourced a lot of material from the Internet. They sourced the fountain [in the front yard] from a supplier in Florida and the stairway from a manufacturer in Atlanta. You have to be careful to buy something so that when you get it, it works properly. When you get the stairway, it needs to fit the hole when it gets [to the site],” Dimon says.

The homeowners had a picture of the stone entry and path they wanted, which turned out to be one of the larger challenges of the project. “We ordered the stone and when the shipment arrived, it was the wrong stone. So returning that and getting it resolved was a nightmare,” Padgett adds.