The Viewegh Way
No two Viewegh homes ever look the same, but our process for building them doesn’t change We call that process The V-way, and it’s how you’ll know you’re getting a custom crafted Viewegh home. Here’s what to expect when we build your Viewegh home together.
1. Explore
This is a conversation, not a commitment. An informal meeting where we get to know each other and share ideas.
You can talk in broad strokes, pull up your pinterest board or Instagram gallery, or if you already have architectural drawings,put them on the table. There’s no wrong way to share what you’re envisioning and no stupid questions.
Joe will want to know about your must-haves and your hope-to-haves, what kind of timeline and budget you’re anticipating, and what you’re looking for from your builder.
Where you build affects what you can build, so if you’ve already purchased a lot, he’ll need to see it. If you haven’t, Joe’s happy to visit sites with you to help you choose one that checks all the boxes.
2. Envision
Joe will begin to capture the layout of your new home in preliminary sketches based on what you’ve shared.
This is an iterative process where we’re defining the home’s footprint, the flow of each floor, and square footage. It usually takes a few meetings, as the vision becomes clear, but Joe will keep sketching until everyone feels good about moving forward and keep you dialed in on how changes in square footage or layout might affect the budget.
Joe does this initial work on a handshake. Meanwhile, keep those ideas and photos coming!
3. Design
Joe will take those well-iterated sketches and convert them into detailed 3D CAD drawings with doors, windows, cabinets, built-ins, stairways, and ceiling treatments. Creating designs in-house eliminates expensive architectural assumptions and surprises. Joe designs the house around the safest, most efficient way to build it.
He’ll start with first and second-floor layouts, then foundation, then exteriors. These drawings will eventually become the final construction set, so this is the last opportunity to make layout changes.
This is when your dream home starts to feel real because you can see on paper what before was just in your head. It’s also when we’ll ask you to write a refundable deposit check based on the preliminary budget*.
4. Choose
This is a conversation, not a commitment. An informal meeting where we get to know each other and share ideas.
You can talk in broad strokes, pull up your pinterest board or Instagram gallery, or if you already have architectural drawings,put them on the table. There’s no wrong way to share what you’re envisioning and no stupid questions.
Joe will want to know about your must-haves and your hope-to-haves, what kind of timeline and budget you’re anticipating, and what you’re looking for from your builder.
Where you build affects what you can build, so if you’ve already purchased a lot, he’ll need to see it. If you haven’t, Joe’s happy to visit sites with you to help you choose one that checks all the boxes.
5. Sign
Time to dot the i’s and cross the T’s. Everything that will go into building your Viewegh Crafted Home—from foundation to final cleaning—is now documented and itemized in the pages of the final proposal. Everything.
It’s a hefty document that includes final construction plans, field specs, itemized allowances, and all the necessary permits.
We put everything in writing for you so that you can have 100% confidence that we’ve thought of everything…because we have!
*If for any reason Joe cannot bring in the final proposed designs within 10% of the budget, you can request more revisions or a full refund of your deposit.
6. Build
Breaking ground is the second most anticipated day in the whole process. Move-in day still ranks #1. So go ahead, get excited. We want this to be fun!
By now we’ll have already set you up with a login to BuilderTrend so you can see the construction schedule and follow each phase of the build. Here, you can send messages, upload and download documents or photos, and even check the weather, since some phases of construction will be weather dependent. If you’ve already logged in and uploaded selection photos, you know how easy it is to use Buildertrend. But we’re always here to help.
That said, it’s no replacement for a real conversation so call or text Joe or Evan any time. Or come out to the build site! It’s your house, we’re just building it!
The WHY behind Viewegh Crafted Homes
Your friends may have asked you why you’ve decided to build a custom home. It’s a fair question. Collaborating in the design of a custom home isn’t for everybody. But for those who feel like we do—it’s the only way to go.
Below are some of the reasons Joe loves building custom homes. See if we’re on the same page.
Building
I don’t want to build the same thing every time. If it’s too predictable, it’s easy to get complacent—even sloppy. Designing and building something unique each time keeps me sharp! It flexes my thinking, feeds my imagination, and demands my full attention. I owe nothing less than that to the people who are trusting me with their family home.
Freedom
I want the freedom to try new things. There are infinite possibilities when you aren’t locked into only choices A, B, or C—whether that’s in design, materials, or “value engineering”. The times we’ve said, “Let’s try it!” or “What if we…” almost always end up being the most interesting part of the home.
Personal
It’s more personal. The way I build is super collaborative. I want to choose who I work with and know that they chose me. We’ll spend months together getting to know and trust each other. When you put that much of yourself into designing and building a home, you want to be able to hand the keys over to a friend.
Excitement
It’s more exciting! Creating a completely unique home from the ground up is exciting! Every family comes to us with a dream and we get to give it shape and form. It’s why I do what I do. It’s hard work. But it’s also fun!
Education & Professional Recognition
BS in Construction Technology, Indiana State University 1993
Home-A-Rama featured home 2019
IBJ Top 25 Custom Builder since 2007
People’s Choice Award 2007 Home-A-Rama
National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Best Bath HAR 2007
BAGI MAME Award (YEAR) “Best Whole House Remodel”
Finalist, (YEAR) BAGI MAME Award for “Best Custom Home
Member of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis
Member of the Indiana Builders Association
“A” Rating and Accredited with the BBB
Meet Joe, Owner and CE
More than just the name on the sign, Joe is the builder, designer, draftsman, estimator, project manager, and chief problem solver at Viewegh Crafted Homes. He’s what you would call a boots-on-the-ground builder, designing and building a limited number of homes with a team of long-trusted employees, contractors, and vendors. He likes to own the process because he knows that with his name on the sign—he’ll be accountable for the results.
Joe’s open to “crazy ideas”, so don’t be shy about sharing your dreams. His experience designing and building unique homes has sharpened his “figure it out” muscles and taught him a thing or two about when to say yes and when to say no. He’s very comfortable speaking the truth, whether it’s what you want to hear or not. But hard truths are usually followed by “we could try,” or “what if we….”.
Joe received his BS in Construction Technology from Indiana State University in 1993, where he learned the technical and managerial skills of the construction business while also running his own remodeling company. After graduation, he joined a prominent local builder, working his way up from punch-out guy to production manager in a very short time. He earned a reputation as a disciplined craftsman and creative problem solver, and before long, he was recruited by a high-end custom builder to oversee their production home division on the southside of Indianapolis. Joe grabbed every opportunity he could to learn from other builders and craftsmen and complement his formal education with field experience.
In 2001, he built his first custom home under the Viewegh name. More than 20 years later, he’s built a business from the referrals of happy homeowners and a reputation as one of Indiana’s most creative and collaborative custom builders.
Joe and his wife, Danielle, met in high school and married in 1993. They’ve raised four terrific children (three are triplets!) and adopted a couple of cool barn cats who reign over their farm and vineyard in Mooresville.
Meet Evan, Field Supervisor
Talk to anyone we’ve built a home for in the past fifteen years, and you’ll hear Evan’s name again and again. “Joe and Evan” “Evan and Joe.” One picks up where the other leaves off. He and Joe speak to each other in the kind of shorthand that comes from working together for more than a decade.
As Field Supervisor, Evan makes sure that what’s on paper get’s built on-site, safely and on time. From permits to punch-out, he oversees the day-to-day fieldwork of building your dream home, ensuring that all work is completed to meet Viewegh’s highest standards of quality and craftsmanship and your highest expectations. Once we break ground, supervision of subs, materials, and schedules are all parts of Evan’s job, and you can log in to BuilderTrend® anytime to see his notes and photos. You can also just pick up the phone and ask him a question or come out to the site and chat.
Evan is an expert resource to our clients and subcontractors, and a willing guide for nervous homeowners going through a build for the first time. You’ll not meet a field supervisor as dialed in as Evan—and as far as people go, you’ll not meet one more friendly and approachable.
Evan joined Viewegh in 2005. He and his wife Courtney live on a small hobby farm with their two beautiful daughters, cats, dogs, horses, and sheep. When he’s not on the job, Evan enjoys working with his hands and camping with his family.