We had a strict budget and are so impressed that: (1) Dolphin met this budget; and (2) the quality is superb. We never expected that building a house would be so easy.
Member Profile
www.dolphindesignbuild.com
3730 Betsy Kerrison Parkway
Johns Island,
SC
29455
(843) 768-2404
FacebookTwitter For almost two decades, Dolphin Architects and Builders has been designing and building striking showcase homes and thoughtful cottages throughout Charleston and its neighboring islands in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. With prestigious awards in design and service and a 5 year guarantee on all new homes, Dolphin's expertise has been recognized both locally and nationally. The Dolphin team of experienced architects and custom home builders collaborate on a design/build process to make building a custom home a seamless experience. Discover why Dolphin's "no surprises" approach changes the way clients view custom home construction. Read more
Guildmaster Award Winner
2008 Guildmaster With Distinction
2009 Guildmaster With Highest Distinction
2010 Guildmaster With Distinction
2011 Guildmaster With Distinction
2012 Guildmaster
Affiliations
GuildQuality
Charleston Trident Home Builders Association
National Association of Home Builders
I'On Guild: Mount Pleasant, SC
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
Daniel Island Associates
American Institute of Architects
Custom Builders USA
Guildmaster Q&A
Company History
Dolphin Architects & Builders was founded in 1990, and has been designing and building custom homes on Kiawah and Seabrook Islands since that time. In 1999 Dolphin expanded to include the East Cooper area as well, and has since built homes on all of the Charleston barrier islands, Mt. Pleasant, Daniel Island and peninsular Charleston. Dolphin Architects & Builders have been recognized both locally and nationally as a financially sound, innovative high-end custom home design/build firm that delivers exceptional value for every client's investment dollar.
Scope of Work
As a residential design/build firm, Dolphin offers a comfortable and enjoyable approach managed by an award-winning team of architects, interior designers, and builders who are committed to "every home creates a new Dolphin friend and supporter." At Dolphin, our residential design/build process incorporates the two most wearisome phases of custom home building into a single seamless and easy step. Since Dolphin architects and builders work together at a residential design/build firm, there are no miscommunications to cause finger pointing, delays, or added cost. Since both entities are under one roof, the architect is exposed to the client's budget and can work directly with the builder to ensure that the cost of construction stays on target. Dolphin Architects & Builders' design/build process eliminates the frustration, time and extra cost incurred when dealing with two separate architectural and building firms. In addition, design/build offers piece of mind. Dolphin clients can rest assured that their home will be designed and delivered on budget and on time. This process is especially attractive to clients building second homes, where managing a project from afar can be a daunting task.
Typical Workload
Dolphin is a mid-sized custom home builder covering the coastal area around Charleston, South Carolina - otherwise known as the Lowcountry. Our typical workload consists of designing and building 10 to 15 custom homes per year, including a small number of high-end renovations and additions.
Team Makeup
Dolphin is a family of graduate architects (one of whom holds international certification through the NCARB), State licensed residential builders and service providers working together under one roof to create and construct our clients' custom dream homes effectively and efficiently.
More than 90% of your clients would recommend your firm to a friend. How do you earn such high praise from your customers?
Dolphin was founded with one goal in mind: to deliver quality work and customer service through a "no surprises" approach. We all work together as one team with a singular vision - our client's. Dolphin Architects & Builders' team of seasoned architects, builders and project managers ensure that the finished home is exactly as our client dreamed it would be and equally as important - that it meets their budget. Dolphin's design/build process offers single source accountability making the construction process easy, while saving our clients time and money.
Approach to Working With Clients
Dolphin's entire design/build process is based on an ongoing, open dialogue with our clients. We need to know about a client's new home dreams, their planned level of investment and how their new home will "live" to match their lifestyle. As custom home builders, our goal is to provide a perfect fit from start to finish.
Ongoing Staff Training and Development
At Dolphin, our professional architects have over 80 years of combined experience and our project managers are State licensed builders, all of whom are dedicated to bringing our clients' dreams to life. Ongoing architect training through the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as well as national seminars and conferences keep our Architectural staff sharp and focused. Our builders are all members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and constantly attend classes on better building techniques, green building, new products and the like.
Motivating Employees
Dolphin Architects & Builders is a privately owned but employee profit sharing company. We take pride in the professional and financial success of our employees, who then ALL collectively strive to design and build the highest quality homes in the Charleston area.
What should clients bring to the table and contribute during the construction process? What can they do to help make the relationship a success?
In the custom home business, an educated client makes the best partner. Dolphin wants to ensure that prospective clients fully understand the advantages to design/build in today's market. The nuances of design/build are what give clients not only a more efficient process but also one with a high value for dollars invested. Dolphin Architects & Builders ask that our clients bring their ideas to the design meetings. These can be photos/ sketches or just thoughts as to what they want their home to be. We work tirelessly to turn those dreams into a reality that our clients can live in and enjoy every day. To achieve this goal, honest ongoing communication between us and our clients is imperative, and, in the end, helps turn our clients into our friends.
Is there anything else you'd like people to know about you and your company?
Dolphin delivers for our clients and our community alike. From man power on a Habitat for Humanity house to underwriting the Charleston Symphony Orchestra's Gospel Choir, Dolphin is deeply rooted in the community. Dolphin lends philanthropic support and resources to a variety of local organizations. With countless successful client relationships and strong ties to the neighborhoods in which we live, work and play, the Dolphin family is dedicated to building a better community one home at a time.
Recent Reviews & Published Comments
From a real estate agent who had been trying to sell us a house and realized we might prefer new.
Quality of materials used.Quality of workmanship.Professional quality of our contacts with Dolphin team.
Truly, none. We are extraordinarily pleased.
Our punchlist work is in process. I am sure it will be executed well
Mainly the professionalism of the staff, the communication of Tyson, the contractor, and most importantly, the finished product! They made a potentially brutally painful and time-consuming process as pleasant as it could be.
None really - I would highly recommend them to anyone. Come see our beautiful home!
Overall a positive experience and we would certainly consider Dolphin for our next project and also recommend them to others.
The communication and coordination between Dolphin's architect and our project manager was excellent. The architect clearly understood our objectives and executed the design with great skill and professionalism. When challenging issues came up (foundation design to allow for nearby live oaks, for example) everyone worked as a team to resolve the issues and worked well with local officials. Our project manager was extemely dilligent and attentive throughout the process to our needs and objectives. He was extremely thorough in his attention to detail in the construction of the home and follow-through on punchlist items. He identified issues and corrective work that we would have missed and has followed through accordingly.Dolphin's interior designer was very diligent and very helpful. She made things much easier for us throughout all the phases of building and completing our home.
the entire process of building a home was effortless
Their design, their ability to bring that design to fruition, and their attention to detail. I was very pleased with this.
I would trust Dolphin to build me another house and would certainly recommend them to a friend. They also were very patient in dealing with us as a couple of "newbie" homeowners.
A special comment about Tyson Wride: He has been very effective, friendly and thorough. We are glad to have Tyson working with us.A special comment about Catherine Anne South: She was so pleasant and helpful and the end result of our home would not have been as nice if not for her help and suggestions. A special comment about Kevin Whalley: With his help we planned and built a wonderful house. We appreciate the way Kevin listened to us, made suggestions and followed through on some of the tedious items like working with the ARB.
We feel that the construction of our home is superior to most in our immediate area.We are very pleased with the trimwork (crown molding, baseboards, door & window trim), and the interior doors.
We are extremely pleased with our Dolphin built home. There were bumps and hurdles along the way; however, considering we are 400 miles from the project, all went very well.Gary and Brenda Sharp
It was a great experience, and I would recommend them to anybody.
They did a terrific job.
The design staff captured the aesthetics we were after in the design of our home, and worked with the IDC to get everything approved in a timely fashion. The construction staff assisted in recognizing changes and opportunities during construction, and implemented them without delay of the house. We are very pleased with the overall finish level and caliber of our home. We would reccommend Dolphin with out hesititaion.
They were great. We were out of state builders, and we love the house they built, they were a pleasure to work with.
We are completely happy!!
I think they are fabulous!
I had a wonderful experience.
199% happy! Fabulous!
Client overly satisfied
Very Pleased
Guildmember since 2004
As a GuildQuality Guildmember, Dolphin Architects & Builders relies on our customer surveying to help them deliver an exceptional customer experience.
We have surveyed customers on behalf of Dolphin Architects & Builders in Johns Island, SC; Kiawah Island, SC; Charleston, SC; Mt. Pleasant, SC; Isle Of Palms, SC; Sullivans Island, SC; Mount Pleasant, SC; Seabrook Island, SC; Folly Beach, SC; Wadmalaw Island, SC; and 4 other cities in Georgia, South Carolina and Ohio.
In this report, Dolphin Architects & Builders has published a summary of the customer feedback they've received since they joined GuildQuality in December 2004. In that time, 105 out of 131 customers (80%) responded to a GuildQuality satisfaction survey, with the most recent response in September 2011.
Recent Activity
Via Twitter: Safety First http://t.co/1xK4jgor
11/01/11
Dolphin Architects & Builders received feedback from a customer in Kiawah Island, SC.
09/22/11
2012 Guildmaster Application
Dolphin Architects & Builders is a candidate for a 2012 Guildmaster Award.
The Guildmaster Awards recognize exemplary service among home builders, remodelers,
developers, and home services contractors.
Click here
to review this year's qualifications.
To be eligible for consideration, Dolphin Architects & Builders must survey all
of their customers.
The review period for this member is closed.