Today, the company is marking its 20^th anniversary, a milestone that reflects not only growth, but also the steady development of a reputation built on trust and meticulous attention to detail.

Co-owner Braden Lomanto says the company’s story begins with its founder and lead builder, Rick Wiersma, whose early experiences in the trades set the foundation for what the company would eventually become.

Rick entered the construction industry as a teenager and built his skillset working for other builders before a large development shutdown forced him to reconsider his career path. When the company he worked for closed down operations, he began taking on small renovation jobs independently. What started with tasks such as flooring installation and small trim work quickly expanded as homeowners recognized the quality of his work.

Rick’s reputation for precision and detail helped fuel that progression, but the workload eventually reached a point where scaling the business called for a new approach. This is when Braden joined the company to help streamline and organize operations in support of the company’s focus on precision work. From there, the company began taking on larger renovations, additions, and eventually boutique custom homes built from the ground up. “If someone called us today and needed a bathroom renovation, we could absolutely still do it,” Lomanto says. “But where we find ourselves best utilized is with larger, more complex renovations and custom home builds. Attention to detail is best served to fewer homeowners with more involved projects. We can carefully control each step to ensure these large financial investments are not only worthwhile, but reflect a homeowner’s true dream.”

While the company has completed a wide range of projects over the past two decades, Lomanto says the most meaningful achievement is not tied to any single build. “The biggest standout moment for us isn’t necessarily a specific job,” Lomanto explains. “It’s the process of gaining trust from homeowners.”

He notes that many clients begin a project feeling cautious about hiring a contractor. The construction industry’s reputation, shaped by both positive experiences and cautionary stories, often leads homeowners to approach projects carefully. When working with Precise Custom Homes, that uncertainty fades as the project progresses. “By the time we complete a build, the quality of the work and the transparency in communication helps solidify that trust, but you have to earn it,” he explains. “That’s something we’re really proud of after 20 years.”

In many cases, that trust becomes the foundation for long-term relationships. Returning clients and referrals now represent a significant portion of the company’s work, a trend Lomanto sees as a direct reflection of the company’s philosophy and approach to service.

The past several years have been turbulent for the construction industry. The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented surge in residential renovation and building activity, followed by rising interest rates and shifting market conditions. According to Lomanto, the current market is not necessarily slowing down; it is recalibrating.

During the pandemic, demand for home improvement projects soared as homeowners spent more time indoors and redirected travel and entertainment budgets into their living spaces. At the same time, the rapid influx of work created opportunities for new trades and contractors to enter the market. Material shortages and unpredictable delivery timelines also became common challenges across the industry.

For companies focused on service and craftsmanship, however, the shifting market conditions are now revealing a different landscape. “As things settle, homeowners are becoming more thoughtful about who they hire,” Lomanto explains. “People are taking the time to find the right contractor rather than rushing into a project. This is a good thing.”

For builders who rely on quick turnaround projects or inconsistent service, that shift can create difficulties. Lomanto believes that companies that prioritize relationships and quality present an opportunity. “The builders who have always focused on service are still doing well,” he says.

Of course, demand for custom homes remains strong and broader economic factors continue to influence the decision-making process for many homeowners. Rising interest rates, global geopolitical tensions, and uncertainty in financial markets have prompted some clients to slow down their planning timelines. The impact varies significantly depending on the scale of the project. For high-end custom homes, where budgets can reach several million dollars, clients often have greater financial flexibility.

Renovations are more sensitive to economic changes. Homeowners considering a large renovation may reconsider if refinancing costs increase or if economic uncertainty makes them more cautious. A renovation that might cost several hundred thousand dollars can quickly become a more complicated financial decision when interest rates shift.

“At times, project costs or scheduling constraints may fall outside a homeowner’s comfort zone, requiring honest and sometimes difficult conversations. When handled thoughtfully, these discussions can also become an opportunity to demonstrate flexibility, and a commitment to finding practical solutions together. We can discuss the options such as focusing on concept design only, building in phases, or even planning the project for a few years down the road.” For Lomanto, helping homeowners arrive at the right decision—even if it means pausing on a project—remains part of the company’s service commitment.

Similarly, the company doesn’t push ‘luxury’ for its own sake. In the custom home market, ‘luxury’ often conjures images of expansive layouts and high-end finishes, but this team believes thoughtful material choices can create an impact without dramatically increasing costs. Small upgrades can significantly elevate the feel of a home.

One example is interior trim and door design. Upgrading to taller doors and larger single-piece trim profiles can instantly create a more refined aesthetic while remaining cost-effective. Likewise, the tactile experience of a solid door and quality hardware contributes to a sense of authentic craftsmanship. “When you walk into a home and have a sensory response to the weight of a solid door or the quality of refined hardware, you notice,” Lomanto says.

Beyond visible finishes, Precise often focuses on improvements behind the walls. HVAC, plumbing, and electrical upgrades as well as infrastructure for future technology can make a home more adaptable without significantly affecting the budget. “As homes are getting smarter, planning wiring for blinds, speakers, entertainment systems, or security systems help homeowners ensure their houses are planned and ready for future installations,” Lomanto explains. “Planning ahead gives them flexibility.” He believes a smaller home built with higher-quality materials and thoughtful design often delivers greater long-term value than a larger home built with compromises.

Despite being a custom home builder, Precise Custom Homes operates with an intentionally small core team to ensure effective control of communication. Precise utilizes a network of specialized subcontractors to complete each project. This structure allows the company to maintain control of all work while maximizing subtrades’ and partners’ capabilities and expertise. “Our trades understand the level of care and attention to detail we expect from them. Similarly, they know how they will be supported by us to ensure a common goal of delivering a finely crafted home to our clients.”

This approach helps maintain consistent standards across projects, but it also means the company must carefully manage staffing and training. The construction industry continues to face an ongoing shortage of skilled tradespeople, particularly in specialized areas. With the ongoing inquiries about apprenticeships, Lomanto is optimistic that support for trade careers over the past several years is now bringing in a younger generation.

Precise often helps connect aspiring tradespeople with subcontractors who can provide real hands-on experience in specific disciplines. Within the company, Lomanto emphasizes a culture of continuous learning and collaboration. Team members are encouraged to ask about what they don’t know, work through challenges collaboratively, and seek out expert guidance when specialized knowledge is required. “It simply ensures that each project benefits from the most informed decisions possible,” Lomanto says.

One of the most significant shifts in recent years has been in the design phase of a project, where advancements in digital modeling now allow homeowners to visualize their homes with remarkable accuracy before construction begins. Three-dimensional design tools enable clients to explore layouts, materials, and architectural details long before a foundation is poured. Architects can create immersive environments that allow clients to walk through a space digitally. This process helps homeowners make meaningful decisions earlier and reduces surprises during construction. “People want to see and feel the layout, visualize cabinet colours, floor stains, everything,” Lomanto explains. “Each decision gives them more confidence in the design.”

While these tools have transformed planning and communication, technology cannot replace the realities of construction where trade management, material handling, and weather conditions still require hands-on management and experienced decision-making.

Among the company’s many projects, one stands out as a defining example of its capabilities. The Copetown Ranch project demonstrates the level of craftsmanship Precise Custom Homes aims to achieve, with a build that includes a primary residence as well as a large auxiliary structure totaling several thousand square feet. Despite its size and complexity, the project was completed in approximately 16 months through careful planning and coordination. Even years after completion, the home continues to impress visitors.

Now, as Precise Custom Homes moves into its third decade, Lomanto says the company’s focus remains firmly on thoughtful, sustainable growth. Rather than expanding rapidly, the company aims to manage two to three custom home builds at a time, a scale that allows the team to maintain its high standard of service to each homeowner. “We know our team can deliver exceptional work at that level,” he says. “Growth should occur organically as demand increases.”

For Lomanto, the long-term vision remains simple: “maintain our commitment to craftsmanship and build real relationships [like those] that helped define the company’s formative years. Construction markets will always go up and down,” he says. “What stays consistent is service and communication.”

For Precise Custom Homes, those principles continue to shape every project, every client relationship, and every step forward.

The post Precision in Practice<p class="company">Precise Custom Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Building since 1979, Norse Log Homes relocated to Vancouver Island in 1984 to be near the best supply of house logs in the world. The company uses primarily Douglas Fir but also Western Red Cedar and yellow cedar depending on the purpose and customer’s preference. Exporting a lot in the ’90s, Norse Log Homes ran three tower cranes on two yards and built about 40 homes a year. Today, the company runs out of one yard and offers more than just log packages—it helps customers reach a variety of building stages based on location and how active the customer wants to be in their build. Norse Log Homes often handcrafts about 12 projects annually, with highly qualified artisans building custom projects spanning a wide variety of sizes.

“My dad’s goal was that everyone should be able to afford a log home,” says President Laura Kandall, whose father, John Dahle, took over the company and relocated it to the Island in 1984. “It wasn’t just for the rich. He was trying to create something that was a good product for a fair price, and he was able to do it.”

Because Dahle was adept at keeping costs down, he could sell products at more competitive prices, a practice that Kandall continues to employ in the business today, in part by tracking external costs such as log export pricing.

And while labour is expensive in British Columbia right now, the actual log wood that is utilized in the houses is not exorbitant. “Logs are really economical to build with,” says Kandall. Additionally, while some construction companies rent all their equipment, Norse owns its own tower crane in its yard and a crane truck for setups, which helps the company remain fair and competitive with both pricing and time.

Based in British Columbia, Norse has sold homes around the world to devoted enthusiasts, including Japanese clients who “love log homes because they like Canadian wood,” says Kandall, noting that log homes are also notoriously well-suited to withstand earthquakes. Norse has also built in Hawaii, Ireland, and extensively in the United States, as well as in the Yukon, Manitoba, and all across Canada.

The company’s unique process starts with pre-building homes in its yard in Lantzville, then taking about a day to number and disassemble them and load them onto a truck or container for shipping to a waiting foundation anywhere in North America or around the world. After reaching their destination, it takes another day or two for setup.

Norse’s projects come in any size, says Kandall. This year alone, the company built both a sauna under 100 square feet and a 5,500-square-foot house delivered into the mountains of Colorado at 11,000 feet above sea level. In addition, Norse completed Santa’s Village in its neighbourhood mall as well as several other projects, including playgrounds for children, picnic tables, and gazebos, as well as retirement homes and single-family cottages.

While the company has built large houses and commercial projects before from beginning to end, its customers often finish the houses themselves, with Norse building the log package or handling the foundation, roof, windows, and exteriors and the customer finishing the interior flooring, electrical, plumbing, kitchen, and bathrooms.

When it comes to using logs versus traditional home-building materials, Kandall finds Norse clients are generally health-oriented or conscious about how they live, which dictates their desired dwelling. “A lot of people don’t like the chemicals in houses,” she says, which include manufactured beams and drywall. “I’ve got a lot of customers who don’t like the idea of drywall in their home. They like the idea of using solid wood and knowing where it came from. Additionally, the logs we’re using are handled very little, keeping handling costs down.”

For those desiring energy-efficient homes, logs are already a low-carbon building material due to their minimal handling and the way carbon is stored within a log. “We have a home we’ve proven over time can be really energy-efficient and have a low carbon footprint in our world,” says Kandall. “I think people are gravitating toward those more natural building materials if they can.”

Not only does Norse provide those sought-after natural products, it also personally oversees the entire process. “Logs are coming from the bush. They’re cutting them down in the bush, putting them on a truck, and taking them to the sorting yard. They’ll sort them by quality and size, and then they bring them to us, and we cut them all in-house,” Kandall explains.

Norse does all the peeling and cutting with a chainsaw, allowing for minimal handling of the wood. In comparison, a framed home’s dimensional lumber represents a much heavier manufacturing and logistical footprint.

For those concerned about price, they may need to take a closer look. While many people assume log homes are out of their reach, in fact they’re very similar to traditional homes. “When building a house, a lot of the cost is the same, whether it’s a log home or a framed home,” Kandall says. “If you were going to take a house and make it into a log home, you’re just getting rid of your exterior walls, so all of your site work cost is the same: hookups for utilities, foundation cost, roof, windows, doors, all of your interior finishing—it costs the same.” The big difference is that those exterior walls are made of logs, so you no longer need framed 2-by material, plywood, building paper, rain screen, siding, interior drywall, interior insulation, or interior trim—all of it is replaced by logs.

Essentially, everything Norse does today stems from John Dahle’s initial commitment to ensuring the homes remain affordable for anyone who wants one. “He’d meet people who wanted a little hunting cabin or fishing cabin, and he would always find a way to make it work with their budget,” Kandall says.

Clients may want Norse to supply a log package and nothing more, meaning Norse doesn’t put a roof on the structure or install windows and doors, and those customers arrange all of that themselves. Or they may want Norse to pair with a general contractor and complete the entire building. Each build is customized to the client.

And not only does the finished product look beautiful, but it can also last a lifetime. “A lot of people realize these can be a really nice, generational home for their kids and their grandkids.”

However, it’s vital to utilize a good design when building any log home, especially in British Columbia’s climate, stresses Kandall. “We call it the ‘wet coast.’ It rains all the time, so the design is really important.” This can include employing proper style, such as overhangs, leaving space for corners and window sizes, and employing a skilled builder who will do a good job constructing it.

Then there’s maintenance to consider, she adds. “With any wood-sided building, there’s some care that goes with it. But to have something last a really long time, you need all of those things. If you don’t have a good design or build properly, your maintenance will be very heavy, and you need to be prepared for that. But if you have all three of those things, it doesn’t take a lot of time for maintenance if the design is good.”

As one might imagine, skilled and knowledgeable log home builders are both hard to find and hard to train. “Because it’s such a specialized thing to do, the training has to come in-house,” Kandall explains. “To get good at it, it takes years.”

As in all trades, a lack of high school-level training and a failure to encourage students to pursue trades at a higher level are felt everywhere across many industries. Fortunately, high schools are starting to put trades back into the curriculum, Kandall says, but in British Columbia, there still aren’t a lot of young people coming out of school with enough experience. Additionally, the skill behind designing and building these amazing structures could be endangered if the outgoing generation of workers fails to pass that knowledge down. But, while once considered a dying trade, Kandall has seen a recent spurt of popularity in log homes, with longstanding companies being bought by younger people who are “making a go of it.”

“My dad passed away years ago,” she says. “There are a lot of skills lost when you lose that generation, and a lot of the designers designing houses right now have never actually built log homes before, so they’re designing blind. They can do the computer program to put a house together, but they don’t really understand it when they’re designing it.”

Kandall’s goal is to keep those invaluable skills—and that passion—alive, while showing clients the beauty and affordability possible through Norse’s log homes. “I’ve gone to look at houses we built 40 years ago, and the sense of accomplishment I have from looking at buildings we put up that long ago that are still in amazing condition is incredible,” she says. “You wouldn’t even know how old they were. If you take care of a log home, it can last hundreds of years.”

The post Expert Design and Timeless Beauty<p class="company">Norse Log Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.