Our Track Record
Last year, all 36 buildings we built were built for the price we initially bid, and were completed on time, if not earlier. And last year wasn’t an exception, as that kind of performance is what has kept us in business over the last 43 years.
Coming in consistently on time and under budget doesn’t happen by accident. It requires experienced workers, control over the jobsite, and proven systems and methodologies. And sometimes, it also means having the extra resources to throw at the projects that need it.
Here’s how we do it:
Our construction crews are full-time hires with full benefits
Why? Well for one thing, experience matters. Having the same guys working season after season, (our average employee has been with us at least 9.5 years) makes a difference. And for another, you have a lot more quality control with employees than contractors. Come visit any of our job sites and you’ll see exactly what I mean. Seriously. If you’re interested, contact us and I’ll arrange a job site tour for you to show you why we do things the way we do
We have our own drafting and design departments
We’re capable of constructing highly complex, sophisticated steel buildings. The fancy indoor driving range in town? Built by us. All the hard jobs find their way to us because we can handle them. And we take that same precision planning approach to all our jobs, from the smallest pole barn to the largest steel building.
We prep and supply our concrete and hire a finisher
It might seem like a small thing, but if your slab is messed up, you’ll be cursing it for the life of your barn. It’s one of the easiest flaws to see and it makes a difference. So we make sure it gets done right by prepping and suppling our own concrete.
We pay our contractors with “cash on the barrel head”
Plus we have a very coveted list of preferred contractors we’ve been working with a long time. This means we get preferred treatment and superior work out of those tradesmen. It also means we get our contracted craftsman to complete all work on time and on budget
We use our own in-house designed center vents
A few years ago, we fired our old supplier of center roof vents when they refused to make the changes we thought were necessary to prevent leaks. That’s when we went out and had our own made. Now we’re known as the guys that can fix vent leaks when no one else can.
We use hot-dipped galvanized nails for pressure treated lumber
Untreated nails get eaten and corroded by pressure treated lumber. But they’re cheaper, so some builders use them anyway. We only use Galvanized nails when nailing into pressure treated lumber. That way both the nails and our barns hold up better and last longer.
Construction is obviously very important. But so are materials, and if you’re building a wooden pole barn, you either have to insist on better quality wood or you have to settle for a lower quality barn. We insist on higher quality lumber — with flat faces, square corners, and no wains left by the bark. It’s a difference that’s easy to see when you’re looking at the lumber, and easy to tell when you walk into one of our barns. It’s the kind of thing you pay attention to when your name’s going on the building.
We use extra bracing at all critical areas
When other barns get blown down, ours are left standing. Nobody else uses nearly as much lumber in their pole barns as us. We build ’em to last.
We put the steel roof on the right way!
Some builders have been known to screw a corrugated roof in on the flats rather than the ribs. Some have skimped by using regular screws instead of the more expensive screws made for the task, hoping that a little extra caulk will keep anyone from noticing. We don’t pull any of that nonsense. The roof goes on with meticulous care, and you get an 3-year no-leak guarantee from us.
We Only Use Vic West Steel Siding
No, it’s not cheapest siding by any stretch, but it’s backed by a 25 year warranty on colour fade and chalking. It also makes our barns quite a bit more weather-tight than the competition. It’s by far the best long term value, and it’s so cheap to use the better siding when you’re building a pole barn, it would be a sin not to do it – not that it stops our competition…
I could go on…
Frankly, I coud keep going for another 27 or so bullet points. But if you’re that interested in seeing all of the many quality differences that distinguish a real Sylvestre from the rest, please contact me for a tour of one of our job sites and/or completed barns and I’ll be happy to walk you through and point out all the differences that make a difference.