For more than 30 years, Golden Rule Builders has created extraordinary homes that have delighted clients across Northern Virginia. GRB is at the forefront of the home building industry in the state and beyond, leading the way with eco-friendly materials and universal design concepts. GRB also offers a complete suite of home remodeling services from kitchen and bath remodeling to additions and whole house renovations. Its whole team approach in home building has the company working with the homeowner from start to finish to bring their dreams to life in — what is for many — their “forever home”. The company’s well-established processes result in projects always finished on time and within budget.
This design-build company is one of the busiest in Virginia, working on 10 -15 homes per year along with 40 to 50 remodeling jobs, including additions, bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and sunrooms. Despite the volume of work, it maintains its standard of quality throughout. Its custom homes come in the traditional, Craftsman, and French Country styles. This French Country home in Nokesville features a cool-toned exterior with its steep blue roof and light natural stone exterior.
GOLDEN RULE BUILDERS, INC. Named by REMODELING Magazine to its 2018 REMODELING 550 List of America’s Biggest Remodelers
CATLETT, VA (May 29, 2018) – Golden Rule Builders, Inc. (GRB) ranks 164th on the 2018 REMODELING 550 list of the nation’s biggest Full-Service Remodelers GRB announced today.
The REMODELING 550 brings together the nation’s 550 biggest full-service remodelers, replacement contractor / home improvement firms, insurance restoration firms, and franchisors. Because the full-service and replacement firms operate so differently, the REMODELING 550 lists and ranks them separately.
“We are honored to receive this distinction,” said Joel Barkman, President and Owner, of Golden Rule Builders. “There are roughly 100,000 remodeling firms in this country with payrolls, so it’s great to know that we’re among the top 0.5% in the nation.”
Remodeling Magazine
REMODELING editor-in-chief Craig Webb noted there’s a high turnover rate in remodeling, with roughly one-sixth of the firms going out of business annually. “In contrast, the bigger firms have a failure rate of less than 2%,” he said. “Thus, become a REMODELING 550 company indicates that you have quality and staying power—two traits that customers value most.”
REMODELING, published by Hanley Wood, is the leading publication in the home improvement industry. REMODELING has and continues to be the indispensable tool that remodelers cannot do without—delivering the business know-how, product and technical information that home improvement pros need to help make smart decisions that will shape their success.
Golden Rule Builders
Since 1987, Golden Rule Builders, Inc. has been the builder of choice for our quality new custom homes, remodeling and additions clients. We are often referred to as our Clients’ “Builder for Life”. For more than 30 years, our innovative, dynamic approach to the building and remodeling process has resulted in the delivery of quality construction projects and delighted clients.
Quality, Customization, and Exceeding Customer Expectations are our trademarks. In order to make these objectives a reality we have fashioned the most seamless and streamlined building process possible. We strive for excellence from initial design to the successful completion of every project we undertake.
Our goal is to provide you with all the options you desire and need for your new home or renovation project, including accessibility for aging in place or disabilities. We provide plenty of options to make your home efficient and environmentally friendly (“Green”).
We offer a “turn-key” approach to the building process. This means that we will guide you through every aspect of the process; from design and permitting through making selections from our in-house Showroom and Design Center. As a result, we are able to deliver a space that is beautiful and functional.
Our Remodeling division assists clients in enriching their lifestyles by improving and upgrading their current living space. Whether you envision a large addition with multiple rooms, or updating and transforming your existing space, we can help.
Golden Rule Builders was awarded the “Recommended″ Badge by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The Recommended Badge goes only to top-rated professionals listed on Houzz based on direct Customer Reviews.
Golden Rule Builders was awarded “Best Of Houzz 2015″ by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 16 million monthly users on Houzz.
Joel Barkman
Golden Rule Builders, Catlett, VA
Full-service remodeling
Years in business: 27
2014 volume: $5.5 million
Staff: 10 office, 17 field
When Joel Barkman started out as a remodeler, he did it all. He swung a hammer. He did the bidding. He answered the phones. These days, Barkman’s role isn’t in the field, it’s on the sidelines as a mentor. Though he doesn’t miss the hectic nature of it all, Barkman says it’s not always easier to train his employees to do the job.
“It’s [different] when you’re sitting in the back and managing the business rather than being the guy with the toolbelt on,” Barkman says. But Barkman is also a strong believer in the power of education—especially when it comes to thorough process reviews—and almost half of all of his time is spent showing his workers how to work more efficiently.
“We spent a lot of time and money on education and reviews,” he says. “That’s one of the things I’ve learned over the years. That, and always hire people who are better than yourself.”
Takeaways
Setting a mood for the year ahead can really boost morale and focus expectations. “The theme this year is bringing back the wow to the client,” he says. To show his team the how it feels to be wowed, he took them to the 5-star Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Va. “We left the office in a customized coach and had a tour of the resort, we had a 5-star dinner, then we had someone from the facility speak to us about what it means to be a 5-star facility.” What he hopes his employees got out of the excursion was a sense of how good it felt to get top-of-the-line service. That way, they could deliver the same to clients.
Review, review, review: Each year, Golden Rule performs a SWOT analysis on its costs, employees and their skillsets, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and growing trends. If something doesn’t work, they stop doing it. If something is working well, they focus on it.
Setting a 10-year goal is extremely beneficial. “When we established it three or four years ago, our 10-year goal was to make 10 million [dollars per year] as a company,” says Barkman. “We had an organizational chart that followed each growth and what intervals you hired. We charted it from where we were at 3 million to 10 million. So far we’ve been ahead of schedule.”
Visit the Big50 Remodeling Magazine website here: Bog50 Website
Golden Rule Builders was awarded “Best Of Houzz 2014” by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2013. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 16 million monthly users on Houzz.
In 2012, GRB received GreenBuilder’s Best Aging-in-Place Home Award for the custom Universal Design home we built for Ron Knecht in Catlett, a small town in Fauquier County, Virginia. GreenBuilder says, “Combining ADA-compliant design with green features is a win-win for this project’s sustainability.”
