Frequently Asked Questions

Probably. We’ve been in business for 16 years. Unless you have an extremely rare architectural style, then we’ve seen a version of your home. We’ve worked in anything from 100% concrete homes to 90% glass homes to conventional construction from the 1900s on.

We start like this:

Showroom Tour:

• This is a Zoom call where we discuss who we are, and if we’re a good fit.

Site Discovery (No cost):

• We’ll come out, take photos. and gather information to get you a budget range.

Design Agreement:

• We put this simple document together for you to explain the scope, budget, and fees.

Kickoff

• This is where we measure the home, you meet our designer, and we’re off and going.

Concept Review:

• We’re going to show you what your new home could look like and connect with you for feedback and adjustments.

Estimating:

• This is a powerful step where we bring multiple trades into your home to evaluate and understand your project to provide an accurate estimate specific to your home renovation.  
• During this phase, we’re providing you with over 100 years of combined experience. Finally, you will receive our First Professional Estimate.

For an in-depth description of our process please click here. 

People run the processes!

• Denise and your designer will guide you at each step along the way.  
• Amanda or Sayler will make it look amazing and function exactly the way you wish it to be.
• Mark, our Project Manager, will provide an accurate estimate.

Eventually, you’ll meet one of our Site Superintendents, and they are on site every day, ensuring your home is being taken care of through construction.

Amanda McBirnie

• Amanda is an architectural designer. She makes everything she’s involved with look amazing. Every rendering, floor plan, color, and texture has passed through Amanda to ensure a compelling project.

Sayler Wearda

• Sayler is an architectural designer.  Her eye for texture, layout, and “WOW” is incredible.  She’s got a quiet confidence that is easy to follow.  If she’s your designer, you’re going to be impressed.

Kent Simmons

• Kent is our production manager. He’s the head of our production department and is capable of making every and any production decision needed. When he’s onsite, he’s leading, mentoring, and ensuring that the project is being assembled to meet or exceed every project we’ve completed in the past.  He’s as solid as they come.

Mark Shulz

• Nick is our project manager.  He’s involved through the entire design process ensuring that you’re informed of any financial or timeline ups & downs as you work with one of our designers to create an amazing space.  Once the project is underway, he’s responsible for the leadership & execution through our site superintendents.

Joel O’Dell

• Joel is one of our site superintendents, and responsible for the successful delivery of your project.  He’s in your home 3-5 days a week, and is so detail oriented he’s been known to find & debate sanding-marks in hardwood flooring.  He’s compassionate, kind, calm, and has the pulse of your project.

Danny Snow

• Danny is one of our site superintendents.  Danny is one of those guys that can take in information by the truckload, then calmly and professionally make things happen.  He’s in your home 3-5 days a week ensuring that dust is under control, quality is meeting our marks and schedule is communicated to everyone. 

Michelle McClintic

• Michelle is our bookkeeper and has earned the nickname “Keeper of the Cash”. She’s responsible for paying all of our team, subcontractors, and vendors and sending out those pesky invoices to our customers. For anyone that’s a CPA, CFO, or in Finance of any-kind; Michelle can give you a run for your money.  We talk about projections, quick-ratios’, over & underbilling’s and get budget vs. actual’s reports every month.  She’s got more than the pulse of the business, she’s got the vision.

Alyssa Yoder

• Alyssa is the person you want on your team, because “no” isn’t in her vocabulary.  She’s our administrative assistant and responsible for boatloads of front-end communication, confirmations, physical marketing, and scheduling.  For those Ted Lasso fans, she’s earned the nickname “Higgins”.  She knows everyone in town, loves to laugh and has that smooth-operator touch where things just magically happen. 

Will Gritzmaker

• Will is our in-house carpenter.  He gets involved in the bespoke pieces of your project.  Custom-built, curved range hood?  No problem.  Hidden door covering the office? Check.  He’s got a long runway in front of him and we’re all excited to throw the cool-factor at him.  He’s working his way to becoming a “Sawdust Samurai”. 
  

Denise Smithson Green

• Denise runs the show. The more responsibilities Denise gets, the happier she becomes. In the span of her career, she’s managed financial institutions at one extreme to the performing arts at the other. She’s the tip of the spear on every process and procedure here at CH.

Rusty Green

• Rusty started Compelling Homes in 2009, but that doesn’t mean he knows it all. You’ll find him drawing on walls and constantly leading the team to push the boundaries of the entire remodeling experience.

When you work with Compelling Homes, you're partnering directly with our in-house team—not a mystery company the project’s been outsourced to.

Rusty, our owner, leads your initial consultation and, alongside Denise, guides you through each phase of the design process. Denise stays closely involved and even visits once construction begins to ensure everything aligns with your vision.

One of our talented designers—Amanda or Sayler—will handle all drawings, finishes, and fixtures. You’ll be in great hands and love the results.

Mark, our Project Manager, supports you throughout the design phase, keeping you informed on budget and progress every step of the way.

Kent, our Production Manager, oversees everything once construction begins, ensuring our team meets expectations and timelines.

At your Pre-Construction Meeting, you’ll also meet one of our Site Superintendents that will be your main contact throughout construction:

• Thomas Fuller

• Joel O'Dell

For more on each of our team members, check out our "About" page on our website.

Yes, and insured nicely. 

At any given time, quite a few. We love this stuff! 

However, if you’re asking how many projects we have underway at one time, the most we’ll do is four projects per site superintendent, so the most we can have cooking is eight projects simultaneously.

That said, in design, we can have many. We structure design to ensure we can move your project through the process to give the best design outcome and the production to be able to provide customer service throughout your project. 

Nothing like what you see on HGTV. That’s drama for TV and not reality.

The mechanical and electrical systems in your home may be insufficient for your future needs. 

In-depth conversations about relocation of your new appliances and what impact that has on your home, outside of the kitchen.

If your home was built before 1976, we should discuss asbestos and lead-based paint.  

• During both the design process and during construction, we’ll invite you to our portal to track all choices, finances, and progress.
• Our project managers are in your home managing your project daily. We will provide a written lookahead weekly to ensure we’re moving towards completion.
• Do you prefer texts, emails, or old-school phone calls? We can accommodate.

Great question.

• We wish you didn’t have to ask this; however, it can be a part of major renovations.
• Communication is key.  We have a mantra: "The only thing almost as good as the good news is bad news delivered immediately”.   Ultimately you will know if the unforeseen setback impacts finances or schedule before the work occurs.

We review and adjust your estimate every time we make a change to the plans to ensure no surprises. During our first Discovery Meeting, we gain more detailed information about your project and put together a budget range.

After you authorize the budget range, we move into approval of the Design Agreement, which captures your wants and needs. 

Finally, we go shopping and work through all of the selections, update the estimate, and provide you with a Contract Proposal.  Now it’s time for construction!

As part of the remodel, there are a couple of ways costs can increase. One is if you, the client, add items and scope of work. The other is unforeseen circumstances. We can’t dismantle your home before we write an estimate, but at a certain point, we want to drill some holes and place a camera in the walls to determine what’s inside. We will educate you and identify risk before we begin so as to offer up best and most accurate scenario.

No “hidden costs” but in any remodel, we run the potential for hidden expenses through finding rot, termites, unforeseen circumstances, etc.

We don’t bait and switch our customers into a budget, and then increase costs. 

For the design process:

• 1/3 at the signing of the agreement
• 1/3 at estimating
• 1/3 at shopping.

For the construction process:

• 10% deposit
• Progress invoices throughout the project, up to the final contract amount.

Yes, we do. We keep the design fee and construction costs separate for full cost disclosure.  We believe in transparency.  Rather than "hide" the design costs in the construction job, we ask that you pay us for work done on the design as we work through it.  

No. Contrary to what some businesses may lead you to believe, we can’t just “throw" the design fee into the construction.
  
RUN AWAY if you’re being told that the design fee is “free” or can be “thrown into" the job.

“ABC” — Always Be Cleaning. 

"Always be cleaning" is a motto that holds true in any workplace, especially on a construction site. Leaving debris around the job site can create a mindset that it's acceptable to be messy. To encourage tradespeople to pick up after themselves, it's important to make them aware that their actions are noticed. My philosophy is that dedicating a little bit of time to cleaning up each day reinforces the idea that debris is not welcome on the site. A clean workspace can lead to greater safety by eliminating potential hazards caused by clutter.

We ONLY remodel. We don’t build homes, strip malls, dental offices, or anything other than luxury design build remodeling.

Design build remodeling can only work when you have a team of artists and engineers under the same roof. We’re all employees of Compelling Homes, and we can walk down the hall and discuss design questions with the production team every day.

The staff and leadership here at Compelling Homes have a combined history of 108 years in the construction industry. So, when your project hits our desk, here’s who’s looking at it:

• Amanda. Designer, 11 years designing and building beautiful spaces.
• Sayler, Designer, 5 years design experience. 
• Denise. COO, on the design team and a leader/award winner in the Des Moines area construction industry.
•  Kent. Production manager, with over 20 years in the business. Responsible for building out all of the specs and details that pertain to your home, not a generic spec-home.
• Mark. Project Manager with a passion for delivering and meeting expectations that are far higher than the norm.
• Thomas, Site Superintendent with 15 years experience creating amazing spaces.
• Will, Carpenter with 5 years experience.
• Rusty. 35 years in the industry and dedicated his life to creating spaces where people can be the best version of themselves.

You bet we do! We offer a 3-year warranty for all aspects of your home that we were part of the construction.