Falcon Heights Contracting uses teamwork and transparency to provide award-winning service.

BEING RECOGNIZED BY your peers is always the highest form of credibility in any industry. For Falcon Heights Contracting, this recognition has been ingrained into the corporate culture, setting the bar high for one of the finest green builders in the province of British Columbia.

“We are dedicated to building to the highest standards possible,” says Dave MacKenzie, founder and president of Falcon Heights Contracting. “Ideally, we work with the homeowner, energy consultant, mechanical contractor and designer at the early stages of design. This allows us to tailor the overall budget alongside the ‘Built Green’ wish list. Every home is different, and so are the options that have to be considered. We try to meet the client’s budget needs in the most energy and environmentally efficient way possible.”

Falcon Heights Contracting is a member of Built Green Canada, which builds energyefficient homes that are third-party certified for responsible environmental features.

Falcon Heights Contracting was named the second-best green builder in all of Vancouver Island just last year. The CARE Awards reward excellence in the homebuilding industry on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Falcon Heights Contracting also won 2014 CARE awards for best single- family detached custom home under 2,500 square feet and best custom millwork under 2,500 feet.

“I have to give all credit to the proposal and organization of these award applications to my wife, our office manager,” MacKenzie admits.

The company uses the Fellowship Steward Council as a resource to identify locally harvested wood and to keep track of materials.

“A big part of what we do is clear and open communication with our clients as well as staying on budget,” MacKenzie says. “Using local materials helps in managing costs, and we are very proud of staying in line with our budgeting projections, which in turn allows us to finish projects with a strong client relationship.”

Falcon Heights Contracting implements a very transparent billing process every two weeks with a clear explanation of services rendered.

“It makes the client truly feel like they are part of the process,” MacKenzie says. “We have a very detailed and clear process that eliminates the biggest stressors during the home building.”

The company combines diligent handling of office operations and comprehensive support with transparent billing and accurate budget projections to alleviate stress for clients. An estimated 80 percent of Falcon Heights’ business comes from word-of-mouth, so solid relationships are the foundation for the company’s revenue.

“Building traditional homes is complicated enough, and the process of custom home building is even harder,” MacKenzie says. “A lot of steps are taken for granted by some builders, while we pay close attention to detail.”

Falcon Heights Contracting put together a strong team of subcontractors that have the particular skill set and commitment for a given project instead of a generic subcontractor team that may not be the best fit for the job.

Falcon Heights Contracting also has its own team of ten journeyman carpenters, all of whom are certified, along with four apprentices.

“The certifications make a big difference with performance and client communications,” MacKenzie says. “We can
have multiple trades work on-site in one day because everyone gets along, and it helps maintain our tight schedule, which is a large part of our success.”

It is a level of success that will only increase for Falcon Heights Contracting as it is rapidly scheduling projects for the rest of this year and even into 2016. Although the firm is only seven years old, MacKenzie is using his 15 years of experience building in the luxury winter resort town of Whistler, British Columbia, as a resource to help him with planning ahead.

“The biggest part of my job is to make sure that my guys are working, and to perform even better than the customer expects,” says MacKenzie, whose staff has grown 40 percent in the last year. “[This year] is very exciting because we are finishing two major projects, one of which we had been working on for two years.