Guildmaster Award winners have demonstrated their ability to
consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience.
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2123 Belcourt Ave
Nashville , TN 37212
Trace Ventures, Inc., was founded in 1991 by Art Stinson, CGR (Certified Graduate Remodeler). Art, who has a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Tennessee, did everything from drawing plans and swinging a hammer to securing the next project and billing clients. Today, Trace has grown into a nationally-recognized company of 15, headquartered in a Trace-renovated 1920s bungalow in Nashville's Hillsboro Village.
Art brings over 30 years of construction and design experience to Trace. He learned construction from the ground up with high school and college jobs and went on to manage a full spectrum of commercial and civic projects around the Southeast.
In 2004, Art's wife Martha joined the team as a partner, armed with over 30 years of public relations and general business experience. Her focus on administration, process improvement and marketing helped propel the company's growth and recognition as one of Nashville's premier design-build remodelers.
Our work is part art and part building science - blending new work seamlessly with the old. That is our niche and we love it.
We work hand in hand with affluent homeowners in Nashville's signature neighborhoods to assist them in realizing their home's potential. This may mean more room, better flowing space, or modern upgrades and refinements. Projects range from kitchen and bath remodels to whole-house renovations and ground-up additions. With Trace, busy homeowners receive the ease and simplicity of a single source for professional project design and construction services.
Turnkey design/build services include:
- Pre-construction municipal-approval services
- Design concepting
- Drawings and plans
- Product selection
- Price planning services
- Project management
- Project construction, carpentry, cabinet making
Build-only services, working from a homeowner's professionally developed plans, include:
- Product selection
- Price planning services
- Project management
- Project construction, carpentry, cabinet making
- Field design solutions
On any given day, five or six projects will be underway in various stages of construction, and another five or six on the boards in design.
We are currently rebuilding a home from the basement and foundation up. We are also building additions and interior renovations on homes in Williamson County and in Nashville's West End area. We just finished a master suite renovation and expansion on a 1920s bungalow and also just finished stabilizing the foundation and performing vintage stone work on an American Four-Square.
On newer homes, we often finish out large basements with media rooms, offices and guest suites, and also update kitchens and baths.
Project design is directed by Art, who works in concert with the homeowner, the project architect and the estimator to produce plans that are not only artful but achievable. The field crew is comprised of project managers, carpenters and a master cabinetmaker. The three project managers, with more than 50 years in combined experience among them, are experts in building and orchestrating projects, and manage projects on a daily basis from construction start through completion.
Our production manager, who is a former remodeling company owner and Certified Remodeler, directs the project managers and serves as liaison between the field staff and the office staff. Our operations manager/estimator completes the key management team and is responsible for accurate estimating, job cost tracking and field support. The office staff handles client services, accounting and administrative functions.
This honor is directly attributable to everyone on the Trace team. High-caliber people are attracted to the Trace environment and earnestly strive to do their best work. Our mission and core values align everyone on the team to strive for the common goal of excellence. The company's mission is to produce quality craftsmanship on time and on budget, and to provide exceptional client service for a superior remodeling experience. We have established systems and processes over the years that let our folks spend their time doing what they love and do best. This produces great work and a quality experience for our clients.
Trace's clientele consists of well-educated, sophisticated professionals or business owners in either one- or two-income families. They generally live in the Green Hills-Brentwood corridor, which includes a large stock of pre- and post-World War II homes as well as newer homes in the suburbs. They seek creative design solutions, quality craftsmanship with custom details and masteful blending with their home's existing architecture. As professionals, they expect a high level of service and effective communication, which Trace prides itself on delivering.
First and foremost, be good stewards of our clients' resources - their time, their funds, their home. Listen and learn, then steer them through a myriad of choices to arrive at plans that meet both their design and investment objectives. Once construction is underway, keep the lines of communication open. Have regularly scheduled meetings and proper paperwork that documents any changes. Do what you say you are going to do. Bill what you say you are going to bill. Finish when you say you are going to finish. Minimize surprises.
Trace belongs to Remodelers Advantage, an organization comprised of national roundtables of non-competing contractors led by professional facilitators. This involvement continuously exposes Trace to best practices in business and in remodeling. In the fall of 2007, a dozen roundtable members from around the country came to Nashville to conduct a case study on Trace as part of a commitment to continual improvement and growth. Trace is also an accredited builder through two organizations - National Association of Home Builders and National Association of Remodeling Industry.
We are very big on continuing education, growth and development. If a company is not committed to learning and growing, then it becomes stagnant and stuck and loses its competitive edge. One of the best ways we sharpen our edge is to pay attention to what our clients tell us on our GuildQuality satisfaction surveys. We have literally created new and improved processes as a result.
Trace employees have a strong work ethic and are highly self-motivated. They have a great deal of pride and really care about their work. No organization can create these qualities in an individual if they don't exist, but you certainly want to hire for them and then intentionally foster them. We do a couple of different things, including "attaboy" prizes for going above and beyond the call of duty and incentive compensation based on client satisfaction and other performance measures. Being featured on HGTV-PRO and in an array of local and national publications also helps keep morale high.
We love what we do and we are really good at it. We are proud of our work. We love being involved in design development, then putting form to the plans and building a quality project. This makes our clients happy. We love making people happy and helping them get the most out of their homes. Then hopefully they will tell their friends and we will have the opportunity to repeat the experience for others.
Know what you want, have thought through what is important, understand your priorities. Bring pictures and magazine clippings to convey your style and preferences. Share your investment level as early as possible - it will define the design process. Be available for meetings. Respond in a timely fashion to keep the process moving forward. Be flexible as construction unfolds. Enjoy the process - it is an exciting one!
A big challenge is growing our staff with skilled carpenters and project managers who can handle the close relationship involved with homeowners and existing homes. It is one thing to saw boards with precision for a new house that is vacant and unoccupied. It is another entirely to do so in a home, full of possessions, where families are already living.
Trace attracts the best in the industry by providing exciting projects, an array of benefits, incentives based on performance (including client satisfaction as measured by the GuildQuality surveys) and a collegial team environment. All new hires are thoroughly vetted through background checks, reference checks and multiple team interviews.