As an eighth generation Vermonter on my mother's side and seventh on my father's, like all Vermonters, I take great pride in our natural environment and viewscapes. My clients choose to live here because Vermont is beautiful, and so do I. Woodstock Builders has always made every effort to ensure that our construction projects blend as seamlessly as possible with their Vermont surroundings.
I am the owner and founder of Woodstock Builders (1976) and Lincoln Corners (1992). The former was for many years a mostly-residential general contracting company. We presented ourselves as management-oriented, taking very seriously the importance of coherence and predictability in the construction process. Every effort was made to achieve for our clients clear understandings, fine quality, timely performance, no surprises, and competitive value.
Our most successful projects have always had a spirit of cooperation and trust between us, our subcontractors, materialmen, consultants, designers, and clients. So, as contractors, over the years, we've developed a great number of policies, practices, principles, and systems to help us achieve this team relationship. Key for us has been the use of computers throughout our business since 1979. But the main idea has always been to make the construction project a collaboration of professionals, where each understands and respects the responsibilities and expertise of the others. And to recognize that residential construction is an unusually personal business, especially in a small town. We advertised only minimally, relying on word-of-mouth recommendations and good will to bring us new business. We have never sued anyone or been sued, or defaulted on a loan or a contract. Many clients have become long-time personal friends, and we enjoy long-standing friendly relationships with all our suppliers and subcontractors.
The One Lincoln Corners construction team is as fine an assembly of contractors, materialmen, and consultants as we have ever worked with.
I was taught from an early age by my architect father that the most important mandate for a Vermont architectural designer is to blend inoffensively with the beauty that makes Vermont so special. On a hillside, keep the shapes, colors, and materials as natural as possible, stay below any ridgeline, and break up sharp lines with plantings. In historical settlement areas - farmsteads, villages, hamlets - blend with existing or "expected" architecture. And in the middle of a large field or on top of a hill, don't build at all. In Lincoln Corners, I've made a concerted effort to abide by that mandate, and I'm well pleased with the result.
- George Helmer© 2007-2009 - Woodstock Builders, Inc./ 802-457-4660