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1875 Old Alabama, Suite 1310
Roswell , GA 30076
Bill Weidmann founded Weidmann & Associates, Inc. in 1989, after working 13 years with one of the largest homebuilders at the time, U.S. Home, where he was President of Operations. With a structural engineering degree and extensive project management experience, Bill (now the company vice president) and his new company quickly gained recognition in the Atlanta market. Within five years, it was among the 15 largest.
In 1995, Bill's brother, Dan Weidmann (now the company president), joined the growing business. Dan's background in business law, engineering and project management with the U.S. Air Force, all added to the strength of the company. By 1997, Weidmann & Associates was named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "Top 10 Remodeler" list, where it has remained ever since. And in 1998, Remodeling Magazine featured Bill and Dan Weidmann in its "Big 50" list. (The industry's leading magazine selects 50 remodelers each year as models of excellence in all areas of the business).
Weidmann & Associates provides custom residential design/build remodeling and renovation services in greater Atlanta (from Midtown to North Fulton County) - with projects ranging from kitchens and bathrooms to major additions and whole house renovations.
Recent projects include a bungalow conversion - a second story was added, the kitchen was relocated, and a large master bath was added. Overall, a more open floorplan was created, greatly increasing the living space while maintaining the home's quaint character.
Dan notes that as part of many recent jobs, the company has built luxurious screen porches with high levels of craftsmanship and comfort, with features such as huge stone fireplaces, exposed beam ceilings, and plasma television screens.
Weidmann & Associates completes about 30-35 projects each year, with 8-10 projects underway at a time. The company employs seven office staff for project coordination, sales and marketing, construction management and company administration. In the field, there are five project managers, three carpenters, and teams of longtime subcontractors.
The company's goal is to make the whole contractor/client relationship a pleasant experience, rather than simply relying on the quality of the finished product to offset the pain of the process. "Our clients don't want any hassles," Dan says. "They have the expectation that we're going to take care of everything for them." If there are any problems, Weidmann & Associates responds quickly. "Our total focus is to do whatever it takes to keep the client happy."
The result is superior client satisfaction, with 85% of the company's work in the past year coming from repeat clients or personal referrals.
After a preliminary meeting and review of the scope of work, a development contract is created and clients pay a retainer fee. Complete designs are then drawn and refined, and full details of the project are determined and written out, along with a work schedule and a description of all costs. Once this fixed price contract is approved, the work begins.
Most new work comes from repeat clients and referrals, another 10% comes from job signage, and about 4% comes from advertising in local publications such as Atlanta Home Improvement Magazine and the Atlanta Jewish Times. To highlight new projects, the company publishes a newsletter twice a year and creates postcards quarterly. The printed pieces are mailed to past clients and contacts.
Employees in the field are always in close contact with the office - and accessible to clients - via mobile phones. Project managers use video cameras to document work progress, and each manager has a fax machine at home so information may be transmitted daily.
Since its first job, the company has always done an exit interview with clients at the end of each project. At this face-to-face meeting, Weidmann & Associates collects final payment and asks clients about their experience, level of satisfaction, areas where the company excelled, and opportunities for improvement.
Weidmann & Associates is using the GuildQuality data to confirm what they've been hearing in these internal exit interviews. Project managers receive copies of survey results. And Dan says the company plans to incorporate the Guildmaster logo into the company advertising and to include a link to the GuildQuality website from their own, at our website.
Dan says the opportunity to work with his brother arose unexpectedly. Residential remodeling became his third career, and he's "never enjoyed a job more." He also likes that it makes use of many of his skills and experiences - a degree in engineering, a stint as a project manager in the military, and business expertise as an attorney in commercial and contract litigation.
"When the circumstances are right, I enjoy the interaction, the challenges of transforming a home into something new," Dan says. "When I practiced law, everything was very protracted and there never was an ideal result for the parties involved in the litigation I was working on. In our work, hopefully every job ends with an ideal and profitable result."
Dan and his wife, Ellen, live in Roswell with their two young children.
Dan says Weidmann & Associates wants to further develop its reputation as a design/build firm, working in partnership with a preferred architect and certified kitchen and bath designer. "We want our reputation to be as strong for our designs as it is for the quality and service we provide in the construction side of the business."
He says the company's short-term goal is to maintain current volume while increasing leads "to give us the opportunity to be more selective about clients and projects that we undertake." We are more interested in working relationships that are a good fit for the company than trying to achieve some growth objective, he says. "For us, the most important thing is that everyone work together and treat each other with respect - the homeowner, project managers, carpenters, and subcontractors. It's a privilege to work in someone's home - and it's all the people working together that makes this business so enjoyable."