Frequently Asked Questions

Construction timeframes can often differ substantially based on the home’s location (lot’s preconstruction condition, neighborhood/municipality requirements, etc.) and home size. For our most commonly sized custom homes in typical neighborhoods, we see homes average around 11-12 months of actual construction. For our Epcon neighborhood with smaller homes, construction timeframes average around 5-6 months. Another factor in considering timelines is to inquire about your neighborhood and municipality’s administrative requirements. In many communities we build in, the administrative time (HOA reviews, preconstruction meetings, engineering and permitting) prior to construction starting can take around 6 months.

Carrell Group is a custom design build firm, meaning that we can custom design the home we build for you. These services are offered at no charge to our construction clients, which adds a lot of value to our service given our experience in both home design and construction. However, we also build homes for clients that we do not design, whether those are online plans or plans designed by a private architect. In those cases, we simply ensure that we follow all copyright rules to ensure we have the right to build a home that was designed by another designer.

As a residential homebuilder for nearly 40 years, we’ve learned that a thorough and high quality warranty process are keys to long-term success. We offer one of the most comprehensive warranty programs of any custom builder around. First, we have an in-house warranty team, both an administrative representative and field technician. Second, we have a several week-long quality control process that our team completes prior to closing a home with a client. This includes intense on-site punchlists created by our admin staff, followed by a technical punchout process by our site managers and warranty technician. Their goal during this pre-closing quality control process is to minimize any warranty items that may emerge later. Beyond our pre-closing checks, we have a three step warranty process, where we accept three punchlists from clients post-closing: 1) walk through punchlist; 2) 30-day punchlist; and 3) 11-month punchlist. Our warranty administrative staff receives each of these lists and then schedules our warranty technician with clients to resolve any outstanding warranty items. Beyond these warranty services, we strive to use reputable vendors and brands that we’ve found perform well and/or stand behind their products when they do not perform as expected. Finally, many of the products we use in homes have separate warranties that extend beyond normal builder warranty coverages. Items like this are: windows/doors, shingles, siding, etc.

No, but….In our coastal region, the code and engineering requirements are typically higher than inland areas because of the higher risks of hurricanes. In addition, all of our custom homes feature engineering enhancements that we consider standard (2x6 walls, structural engineering stamp on all homes, hurricane connectors along the roofline of all of our homes, etc.). Beyond standard hurricane protection, we have built many homes that meet much higher hurricane reinforcement standards. These features are offered as optional upgrades to all of our clients, many of who have decide to build with all hurricane protection upgrades. Some of these upgrades include: ICF construction, IMPACT glass, and Fortified/Fortified for Safer Living enhancements. We’ve built over 200 Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) homes, including three national award winning homes for both their beauty and strength. We were recognized by a national non-profit agency (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety) as one of the national leaders in hurricane reinforced construction. We were also invited to speak to United States congressmen and the South Carolina governor about the benefits of building with stronger hurricane standards. We offer many hurricane smart upgrades (ICF, Impact glass, generators, etc.) and continue to build many homes today with hurricane smart upgrades.

As a custom-builder, this is often a difficult question to answer because we often curtail our proposal of features and specifications according to each individual client’s wishlist. As a general guide though, we include many exciting upgrades as part of what we consider our “standard” package. These standards would include: tile master walk-in showers, granite countertops throughout the home, 10 ft ceilings plus decorative trays, 8 ft tall solid core interior doors, nicer interior moldings, higher grades of plumbing/lighting/flooring/HVAC, 2x6 exterior wall framing with R-19 insulation, insulation between floors and in bathroom/laundry for sound attenuation, centralized structure wiring panel, wood closet shelving throughout, etc.. More important than standards vs. upgrades, we also encourage you to set up an appointment with our team so we can discuss the best features to include in your custom home package.

As a builder for nearly 40 years in this area, we have longstanding relationships with lenders who both trust our financial and business integrity, and work hard to take care of our clients. We are happy to provide lender recommendations for any clients considering a construction loan.

Most often, clients come to us with a lot they already own or a lot they are considering purchasing. Occasionally, we offer home/lot packages for sale as well. Though we don’t assist is land searches, we encourage anyone looking for land to contact us about home/lot packages we are currently offering for sale.

For our custom homes, we primarily use 2x6 wall construction which allows us to use higher level insulation on the exterior walls for better energy efficiency. In addition, we use higher grade blown insulation (R-38) in attics vs. what is required by building code (R-30). All of our recessed can and fluorescent style lighting use LED bulbs. All of our standard plumbing fixtures are Delta or Moen, both of which are on the cutting edge of water conservation features within all of their product lines.

Yes. We often have multiple model homes that are readily available for touring in both North and South Carolina. To tour any projects under construction, please schedule an appointment with our office so that we can sure the visited sites are safe (during construction) and available for touring.

We wouldn’t still be after nearly 40 years and 2000 custom homes built without high quality homes. The quality control process starts during our first meeting with clients and continues years after our clients take ownership of their new home. From the beginning, our custom home clients meet with both our owner and Vice President to discuss their goals in their home. The purpose of initially meeting with our top managers is so that the smallest details are recorded and conveyed properly in both the sales proposal and to the rest of the team during construction. During construction, we have a dedicated administrative liaison who is in regular communication with our clients (often several times per week throughout the entire construction process) to ensure questions and concerns are addressed properly. In the field, we have a Project Manager overseeing each home build daily. All of our Project Managers have many years of residential homebuilding experience and take great pride in their work. As a further check and balance for the field quality, we have a Vice President of Construction who roams all jobsites daily to assist and ensure quality standards are met. In addition to our internal field and administrative staff, we have a long-tenured group of vendors and subcontractors who have a vested interest in producing a quality finished product to please both our clients and our construction company. As a home nears completion, we have an in-depth quality check process that takes several weeks to complete (this is discussed more in detail in the warranty question above) prior to closing. After closing, we implement the warranty process mentioned above. Finally, it is always our goal to have happy clients enjoying their dream home for many years. The best advertising is word-of-mouth, so we do our best satisfy existing clients in hopes of building many more homes in the future.

The most important steps initially are finding a specific lot and creating a floorplan that both fits on that lot, and accomplishes the living goals of our clients. Once these tasks are achieved, the next critical step is the sales proposal. During this stage, it is important that we clearly detail all of the features requested and/or included in our package to the client. This step is important, because it’s a time where our clients can review what we are providing and give us feedback about any changes they wish to make. Once the lot, floorplan, and sales proposal all look good, it’s time to get started!! These are really the three most notable steps initially. After the proposal, the steps can vary significantly depending on the community and location of the home. For further notable steps post proposal, we would communicate those steps to each client’s unique lot and home requirements.

This is a great question. The most complimented person in our organization tends to be our “Building Partner.” The Building Partner is an administrative liaison who is assigned to each individual client. We have three Building Partners on staff, each with a wealth of experience of leading clients from start to construction completion. The Building Partner is a babysitter of sorts, hand holding our clients through every step of the process. They coordinate schedules with clients for all vendor and preconstruction meetings. They create and track construction files for clients, detailing and updating every product selection as those are made. They answer all questions for clients as those questions arise, and facilitate communication between our clients and necessary experts as needed (construction questions, timing questions, financial questions, and even restaurant recommendations when visiting ). Building Partners further update clients weekly during construction during a “Weekly Update.” During these updates, Building Partners convey what happened this week and what will happen next week on the construction of their home. These updates often include pictures of the project in progress. The Building Partners often end up as long-time friends of our clients because it is a highly personal relationship that evolves over a year or more. After all, the Building Partner is helping our clients create their dream home!

When we propose to build a home for a client, our services are “turn-key,” intended to cover every step of the process. We handle all construction drawings, all submissions to HOAs and municipalities, all fees, and all construction related requirements until we hand over the keys to our clients.

The first step is to contact our office and set up an in-person (or phone) meeting with our management team. From there, we will guide you through the steps to get started depending on where your home/lot are located.

Usually, the first floorplan consultations are just an open dialogue of ideas so that we can translate those thoughts into something tangible for review. To prepare, we recommend gathering all of your home goals (size, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, special features, budget, etc) so that we can best curtail a design to meet your goals.