The Best Victorian Home Builders in the US

Last updated on August 6th, 2024 at 04:39 pm

Embarking on a journey to build a Victorian-style home in the United States is not just a construction project; it’s an homage to a bygone era of architectural luxury and timeless allure. With the average home building project in the US spanning a wide range of costs, from $200,000 to $2,000,000, and higher-end endeavors soaring even beyond, the investment is significant, encompassing size considerations, design intricacies, and material selections. These endeavors, often taking up to 30 weeks to complete under ideal conditions, are monumental undertakings where each detail contributes to the narrative of a home’s character and legacy.

In the vast landscape of home construction, where every hammer strike and brick laid shapes the dreams and aspirations of homeowners, the United States boasts a formidable legion of builders. According to permit data extracted from the building departments across the nation, there are approximately 2,878 contractors specializing in home building projects, each contributing to the fabric of residential architecture in their unique way. However, amid this abundance of options, the crucial task remains: choosing a contractor who possesses the technical expertise and embodies reliability and trustworthiness.

Residential construction in the US mirrors the diversity and dynamism of its populace, with approximately 333.3 million individuals calling it home and a median home value at $420,000. Given the magnitude of investment and the intrinsic value of a home, the significance of selecting a contractor who aligns with your vision cannot be overstated. The difference between a good contractor and a subpar one can translate into not just monetary discrepancies but also profound implications on the quality of life, sparing or exacerbating stress and ensuring the realization of your dream abode.

Overview: The Best Victorian Home Builders in the US

See Ranking Methodology at the bottom of this article to learn more.

Horan 

174 Bellevue Ave. Suite #204, Newport, RI 02840

Horan is a construction firm that is knowledgeable about traditional design and contemporary innovations. They provide various services: in-house millwork, artistic architectural columns, coffered ceilings, and distinguished staircases with uniquely designed railings and balusters. Horan balances its experience in creating such well-crafted features and has become known for its reputation for constructing old homes of heirloom quality while still making them energy-efficient with advanced technologies. 

With a team with a thorough understanding of sequencing, strategy, and implementation, Horan built nearly 200 homes near Aquidneck Island. Nowadays, it thrives on client referrals and has been featured in magazines such as Coastal Living, The New Traditional, Newport Home Magazine, and Victorian Home Magazine. It also won the Newport Life 2016 award. Along with its experienced team, Horan is also managed by founder and president Mark Horan. Twenty-seven years ago, he started to work for his father’s residential building company in Cape Cod. Horan continues to educate himself on various cultural aesthetics while modernizing the company. 

Ketron Custom Builders

Granville, OH 43023

Ketron Custom Builders has been remodeling and building homes. Since then, the firm has been featured in ThisWeek Community News and has gained memberships with the NAHB, NARI, and the NAHB Remodelers. The firm is also a certified green professional, an aging-in-place specialist, and a graduate remodeler. The team has carpentry abilities that help the firm reproduce the complex details that come with historic homes. The firm has won countless awards, such as BIA’s Builder of the Year award, NARI Home Improvement Showcase’s Best Interior Renovation award, the Chrysalis Award for a Residential Historic Renovation, and the Contractor of The Year award for a residential historical renovation/restoration. Ketron Construction is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Before the firm was recognized for its quality remodeling work, Ketron Custom Builders focused on framing custom homes and light commercial buildings. Today, the firm focuses on high-end remodeling work, historic restoration, and crafting custom residences like old Victorian style homes. Travis Ketron manages the firm, which graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. 

James Craig Builders 

12229 W North Ave #4, Milwaukee, WI 53226

James Craig Builders is known for building single-family homes for clients throughout Southwestern Wisconsin. The firm has built homes in the Craftsman and Victorian styles, and one of its most notable is a modern Victorian home with a serene blue and white exterior that highlights the home’s intricate details. With a history of building such residences, James Craig Builders recently became a 2018 inductee into the Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) Hall of Fame. In 2014 and 2013, the firm was also named WBA’s Builder of The Year. Alongside receiving such prestigious awards, the firm is also guided by company owner Craig Rakowski. He is the Life Director of the NAHB, and he used to serve on the leadership board of the WBA. 

Hibbs Homes

13990 Olive Blvd. Suite #202, Chesterfield, MO 63017

Hibbs Homes became known as one of the top custom builders in the St. Louis region before it expanded work into Salt Lake City, Utah. The firm built one of the first homes verified through the St. Louis Home Builders Green Initiative. Hibbs Homes has since built many Energy Star-rated homes. Currently, the firm is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), NAHB, and the HBA of Greater St. Louis. Aside from its association with such industry organizations, the firm was featured in the 2017 Construction News and Review issue and is one of the HBA’s Home of The Year awardees for Custom Home of the Year. By 2019, it also won the Home and Garden Award for the Best Energy Efficient Home Builder in Missouri.   

Currently, Hibbs Homes is managed by owner and general contractor Kim Hibbs. With nearly a decade of experience and leadership in building energy-efficient, high-performance luxury homes, Hibbs has built one of the first gold-level verified green homes in the St. Louis area and the first Active House in the U.S. Hibbs is actively involved with the NAHB as the national director and is a Master Certified Green Professional through the NAHB.  

Fein Built

61 Green Hill Rd., Kinnelon, NJ 07405

Energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and uncompromising attention to detail: after maximizing its efforts on such residential features, Fein Built gained a solid reputation that is well-deserved by a firm that has been in the home building industry for over 40 years. Fein Built’s projects include major subdivisions of custom homes, mid-to-large scale additions and renovations, and historic restoration work on vintage homes. Among its portfolio of various projects, its most notable is a Victorian home in Ridgewood. This residence has a calming blue palette three stories high that harmonizes with its natural surroundings. 

Along with an EPA Lead-Safe certification, Fein Built also won the Professional Remodeler’s 2012 Design Award for a historic renovation. 

Sacred Oak Homes

20 Stockbridge Rd. Ste 6, Great Barrington, MA 01230

Sacred Oak Homes has existed since Steven Macleay established it 30 years ago. Since then, it has primarily served southern Berkshire and the Hampshire counties of Massachusetts. Over the last decades of building homes, the firm developed a wide network of skilled artisans and suppliers. Thanks to such a talented team, the firm has built a portfolio of homes in the Victorian, Prairie, and Bauhaus styles. One of these notable residences is an old Victorian style home that required some renovation work, including extensive structural and cosmetic renovation. The main house also received a complete kitchen renovation, three new full-size bathrooms, a relocated staircase, and new finishes. With years of experience, Sacred Oak Homes is known for collaborating exceptionally well with its clients.

Leach Construction

30 Bradley Bow Rd., Jericho, VT 05465

Known for specializing in designing and building custom homes that are also energy-efficient, Leach Construction is a member of the NAHB and the HBRA of Northern Vermont. With a team that includes talented and dedicated crew members, subcontractors, energy consultants, suppliers, and architects, Leach Construction can complete timeless projects that have helped it gain recognition from magazines like Design New England and Builder/Architect and awards like the 2014 Best Residential Renovation over $250k, the 2013 Energy Star Efficiency People’s Choice, and the 2013 Best Design Feature. The firm builds custom homes and provides renovation work for commercial buildings.

Pentek Homes

1139 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70113

Historically, Pentek Homes has been known for its achievements in complex, high-end residential construction for both new construction and historic renovations. Because of this reputation, the firm is now one of the leading home builders and remodeling contractors in New Orleans. It has expanded its services to include commercial projects. Since its establishment, Pentek Homes has been creating projects that have gained features in New Orleans Living Magazine, Uptown Messenger, and The New Orleans Advocate. 

Pentek Homes is currently led by Bo Pennington. Bo has extensive knowledge of residential construction, high-end design, finishes, and structural detailing. Pennington has also been a New Orleans Home Builders Association member since 2010.

Papi and Roman Builders

1 Industrial Way # 4, Portland, ME 04103

Rick Romano established Papi and Roman Builders. Since then, the firm has gathered more than enough experience and management skills to provide and oversee all phases of renovation, historic preservation, and new home construction. The firm has created and renovated beautiful homes that respect their communities’ aesthetics. The firm has built homes in the Queen Anne and modern styles. The firm also designs and crafts kitchen cabinetry, furniture, and architectural millwork. As a result of this range of skills, the firm won the 2014 Fine Home Building Small Home of the Year award.

New Prairie Construction

605 E. Main St., Urbana, IL 61802

Julie Vogel Birdwell and Jill Mulder founded New Prairie Construction 30 years ago. The firm’s main specialty is renovating kitchens and bathrooms. The firm has become known for installing bamboo floors, using natural paints, building straw bale homes, and installing solar panels on homes and businesses. New Prairie Construction is a member of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA), and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. New Prairie is also EPA-certified and NABCEP-certified. 

The firm has completed several notable projects over the years; this renovation work on a Queen Anne home is just one great example. Built in 1901, this house was listed as one of Urbana’s 100 most significant buildings and received a Preservation and Conservation (PACA) Heritage Award in 2018. Constructed of brick, this Queen Anne home features lattice-style open brickwork between the masonry porch piers, decorative brickwork below pent roofs, and beautiful rough-hewn limestone window sills. The home’s most intricate and architecturally prominent features are the decorative shingled roofs and the wrap-around porch with a 2nd story-covered walk-out balcony.

Some of its renovation work includes shoring up the gable covering the balcony and removing the balcony and porch roof to create a new beadboard ceiling. Not surprisingly, the firm has the 2018 Heritage Award, the 2016 Residential Heritage Award, and the 2015 Special Heritage Award. 

Hart Homes

420 SE 12th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

Fort Lauderdale’s most affluent neighborhoods—Las Olas Isles, Southwest Ranches, East Victoria Park, Rio Vista—have witnessed the luxury residences Hart Homes has built. The firm has been recognized as the South Florida community’s go-to custom home designer and construction company. So far, Hart Homes has built homes in many different styles, including the American Colonial, Mediterranean, modern contemporary, and transitional ranch styles. 

Gardner/Fox

919 Glenbrook Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Gardner/Fox has provided Philadelphia with award-winning design and construction for over 30 years. Within that time, the firm has created award-winning projects that added to Gardner/Fox’s expertise and ability. Among its many projects, a particularly notable one is this shingle-style Victorian home. A classic yet modern residence, the home features expansive, contemporary, bright kitchens with open-air attached family areas. The construction of this home included a new two-story addition and garage, along with new heating and cooling systems, as well as the restoration of all interior and exterior finishes and fixtures. For the restoration of this home, the firm was able to earn the inaugural Radnor Township Historic Preservation Award. 

Currently, Gardner/Fox is managed by Brook Gardner—an engineer from Virginia—and Mark Fox—an architect from Kentucky. Among the firm’s accolades include the Regional CotY Award from the NARI. 

Bonacio Construction Inc.

18 Division St., Suite #401, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Bonacio Construction Inc. is a recognized full-service general contractor and real estate developer. Over the years, the firm has developed over 1.57 million square feet of real estate in downtown Saratoga Springs. It has a proven Capital district track record of successful, innovative mixed-use, urban in-fill projects. One of these notable projects is a historic preservation completed for a late 19th-century home in Saratoga Springs. This project required the exterior’s restoration and the interior’s renovation. As a result of the firm’s excellent work, the house became more suited to a modern lifestyle while respecting the materials and period details of the beautiful home. 

Because of such projects, the firm was featured in The Saratogian and Albany Business Review. It also recently won the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s 2019 New Contextual Design Award. In the previous year, the firm won the Building Rehabilitation Award, the NY Upstate APA Chapter’s Award for Planning Excellence Award, and the Game Change Achievement Award. Sonny Bonacio is currently handling this award-winning firm. Aside from being a 2019 Inductee for Albany Business Review’s 40 under 40 Hall of Fame, Bonacio is also a member of the Saratoga Builders Association Board of Directors and recipient of the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce ChangeMaker Award View Video. 

Ranking Methodology

To evaluate the performance of builders, our methodology employs a systematic approach that considers various factors contributing to customer experience and satisfaction. We focused on assessing the Victorian home builders in the US. The methodology involves assigning weightings to specific categories based on their significance in determining customer service quality. Here’s the breakdown of the categories and their respective weightings:

• Average Customer Satisfaction (35%): This metric represents the average rating given by customers across the same review platforms as the Average Customer Satisfaction Score. A higher average rating indicates greater overall satisfaction with the service provided.
• Service Rating Score (25%): We analyze the ratio of high (4-5 stars) to low (1-2 stars) ratings for each business across multiple review platforms: Google, Houzz, and Yelp. A higher percentage of positive reviews contributes to a higher score, reflecting better customer satisfaction.
• Complaint Percentage (25%): We analyze the ratio of complaints to total reviews for each business. A lower complaints ratio indicates better service quality and results in a higher score.
• Business Hours and Availability (10%): The operating hours of each business are assessed to gauge accessibility. Companies with extended operating hours are awarded a higher score, as they offer greater convenience to customers.
• License Status (5%): We verify the licensing status of each contractor with their local licensing board to ensure legal compliance. Companies with valid licenses receive a higher score, reflecting professionalism and adherence to regulations.
• Total Score: We determined the overall rating for every contractor by calculating a weighted average, with the category weight determining the amount the subscore contributed to the total score 

Additional Note: Service Rating Score, Average Customer Satisfaction, and Complaint Percentage are calculated with a Bayesian estimate to account for if the contractor has a low number of total reviews. A Bayesian average is a statistical method used to calculate the average of a set of data points while taking into account prior information or beliefs about the distribution of the data. It combines the observed data with a prior distribution to generate a more accurate estimate of the true average.