Ainslie-Davis Construction

Ainslie Davis did a great job on this Capitol Hill Condo. Always gratifying to have a successful project when working with a high end architect that is also the homeowner.

Ainslie Davis Construction places high value in quality of their crafatmanship, design and materials. All of their team provided consistent and timely communication during our remodel and deck projects. They were on budget, on time and quality of work is held in high regard!

I am an Architect who has worked with Ainslie-Davis Construction on a project (Chef's kitchen on Board and Vellum's page) and I cannot say enough good things about every single aspect of them, their business, and their approach. This is a rare compliment to say about General Contractors but their budgeting skills were top notch and we came in under budget and ahead of schedule. They inspired confidence, were easy to interact with, and always appreciative of feedback and any other ideas. They're a top notch team and I HIGHLY recommend them.

We used Ainslie-Davis Construction as the general contractors for our custom dream home construction on Mercer Island in 2011 / 2012. We were extremely satisfied. This was a large and complex project. Our home has many unique features, including an indoor climbing wall, geothermal heat, radiant heat concrete floors, a Nana Wall, solar PV, and solar hot water. We interviewed a number of contractors and eventually selected them on the basis of their strong references and our belief that they “got” the vision that we had for the house. We could not be more satisfied. We have no regrets whatsoever. Neill and Allison make a great team. Allison works like me. She runs the numbers. She provided us biweekly updates on project status, including run rates on expenses, tracking of expenses relative to budget, receipts for all subcontractors and expenses, change orders, etc. The cost estimate that they provided was extremely detailed, and, ultimately, extremely accurate. We built the house on a time and materials basis, largely because many aspects of the design were not sufficiently detailed to allow a fixed price quote when we started. This made me nervous, but I rapidly developed a trust that they would treat us fairly, in large part because of the great documentation that Allison provided. Allison also did a great job of seeking bargains for us, and suggesting less costly options for our hare-brained design and décor ideas. Ultimately, the final cost was less than the cost estimate, and virtually all variation came from change orders that we initiated, with some driving the price higher, and some lower. The budget included a modest contingency, but this was barely dented. Neill oversaw the day to day construction and managing of subcontractors. He was there to constantly reassure us that, yes, in fact, it would finish on time. And we did finish just a few weeks after the targeted completion date. I am confident that we would have been early, had it not been for delays with one window supplier that delivered our windows about four months late. Even with that, Neill did a great job of reworking the schedule to change the order work was done, so that we lost minimal time. But perhaps more importantly, Neill was the visionary. Neill teamed up very effectively with our architect to work out the final details on how things would go together. My wife and I grew to trust Neill’s design sensibilities, and by the end of the project, we just knew that he would make it “right”. When decisions were to be made, my wife’s standard reply became, “let’s see what Neill thinks”. I am confident Neill could have been an architect or an interior designer, had he chosen not to be a builder. I could not be happier with our experience, or with the house that they built for us.