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400 West Avenue
North Augusta , SC 29841
Growing up in North Augusta, Phil Wetherington enjoyed woodworking at an early age. By 19, he was building furniture in his spare time. Later, while working for the power company, he spent evenings and weekends expanding his carpentry skills. His love was to build cabinets and do trim work, and he began to work on additions to homes and to remodel existing homes. In 1982, Phil left the power company and he and his wife, Dawn, founded Wetherington Builders, Inc. Since that time, the company has built over 250 custom homes.
Construction of upscale, custom homes in Aiken and Edgefield counties and along the Savannah River.
The company builds 10-12 houses each year, but Phil manages the workload so that no more than 5-6 homes are under construction at any given time. "We really try to give our clients one-on-one attention."
Besides Phil, the team includes Dawn Wetherington, who helps with office administration, along with a part-time administrative assistant, and a superintendent and framing supervisor who has been with the company for 18 years. Phil values long-term professional relationships... some of his subcontractors have been with the company for many years.
Phil and Dawn have been married for 30 years and have two sons, Shane and Heath. They have always lived in the North Augusta area. For the past 10 years they have lived in The Rapids subdivision.
I'd say because of our experience and our professional business practices. We are and always have been a financially stable company. Since 1982, we have always made sure that our customers' needs have been met and made sure to keep the channels of communication open. I always try to keep close contact with our customers throughout the building process.
As I have stated before, what's most important is communication. We work closely with our customers in all segments of the construction process - foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, etc. As each segment is about to begin, we meet at our office with the customer, our superintendent, the subcontractor and myself. This gives the customer the chance to be involved and ask any questions that they may have, and to meet the subcontractor.
After all of the details are finalized with decisions and plans, we complete a full set of specifications to go along with the plans. We then use a fixed-price contract, with allowances for certain items such as carpet and appliances.
Most important are word-of-mouth referrals from previous happy customers. We also use videotapes, digital pictures, brochures, and a website. We have a showroom that enables customers to begin getting some ideas, with numerous examples of cabinetry, wood floors, granite, shingles, brick, stucco, stone, marble, trim, etc.
Our immediate staff is always training, learning new codes and safety practices, and new and innovative design techniques. We're continually reading and studying and attending trade shows and classes.
We do give bonuses. And we are constantly reminding our employees and subcontractors that they are a part of the Wetherington Builders team. We are constantly striving to make their work environment better.
I have always loved seeing the finished product. It's an amazing thing to see a patch of barren ground and then to build a beautiful custom home that will be there long after I'm gone. The reason I left a secure job with the power company in 1982 was for my love of building.
I only take on what I feel the Wetherington Builders team can handle. Another thing is that I take my weekends off to spend time with my family and to do the things I enjoy, such as golf, boating and gourmet cooking. Also, with both of our boys being entertainers, my favorite thing to do is to listen to them sing and play music.
Some customers have plans when they come in to see us. Others we work with on the overall design of their new home. Now and then we may modify someone's plan. It helps the process if the customer has some idea of what they want... they can bring pictures, magazine plans. If they can give us their ideas then we can lead them in the correct direction.
The rising cost of materials is always a challenge, along with escalating insurance costs. Another thing we see is that there are not as many people learning to be craftsmen anymore. One example is there are plenty of bricklayers available, but not many old-school brick masons.
We offer design-build services. We also work with architects about 30% of the time. We have also built personal homes for architects.
We are constantly making sure that we maintain our high quality standards. Our customers already rate us highly in the GuildQuality survey question "Was the experience easier than expected?" But I feel that with more procedures put into play, there could be less stress on the customer throughout the building process. In the end, I want our company to be the best that it can be, always striving to build that perfect home.