It starts with materials. They are not all created equal. Brian is obsessive about the latest and greatest. He is equally choosy with his sub-contractors, the framers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers and finish carpenters who craft your home. Brian inspects his homes at every stage of construction and is not averse to instructing a sub-contractor to rip out a day’s work and do it over. It’s happened before. It’ll happen again. Hurt feelings will mend themselves. Unsatisfactory workmanship won’t.

For that reason Brian Riker fixates on details that make a difference. He uses engineered floor joists and sub-flooring that repels moisture. In this humid and often rainy climate, exposing a home to rain during framing can spell problems — not in the first or second year, but several years down the road. After framing, Brian returns to screw down the sub-floor; a rare extra step to prevent any squeaking. On the one-year anniversary of completion, after the new home has settled (as all homes do), Brian sends a crew back to re-caulk joints and tile.