Forever Home… Thirty years & 1000 miles in the making!
From our first Spring 2022 meeting, to arriving at our forever home in the Summer of 2024, we have run out of superlatives to describe Matt and his team at Kippley Custom Carpentry. The short list includes genuine and honest, talented and hard-working, conscientious and thoughtful. In a word, exceptional.
After being away for thirty years, we wanted to move back to our home state of Wisconsin. However, the timing of our jobs required us to navigate the entire home- building process from literally 1000 miles away…seemingly an insurmountable task. However, because of Matt’s capacity to listen, ability to understand our vision, and workmanship of the absolute highest quality, he made this journey a complete joy.
To say we are happy to have worked with Matt is an understatement. Not a day goes by without us saying “Wow…we love this house!”. From every friendly interaction, to countless hours of floor plan design, to the many great ideas throughout the build, and now to the finished product, we have been truly blessed to work with Kippley Custom Carpentry. ‘Exceptional’ is the word, and we unconditionally give him our highest endorsement!
Dream home, realized
We met Matt from Kippley Custom Carpentry in 2020 to talk to them about our dream house we designed. We had met several other contractors before them, but we immediately felt comfortable with Matt, simply because there were no hidden costs! Trim, doors, etc. They embraced our vision from day one to the day they gave us the keys.
The communication was spot on. They walked us through the decisions we needed to make along the way. We have been in our house now for 3 years and continue to rant and rave to whoever will listen. Kippley Custom Carpentry is impeccable with their skills and knowledge in the house building industry.
There is no better builder in this area who can touch Matt’s attentiveness and interest in what your needs are. 5 plus stars and then some!!
From Blueprint to Dream Home: Our Experience with Kippley Custom Carpentry
Kippley Custom Carpentry built us a beautiful home and we are incredibly pleased with their work. They are skilled, creative, and professional craftsmen and are all-around great people who care about you and the work they do. We highly recommend them and will seek them out for all future projects!
Building a house was always something we dreamed about but never thought we would be able to do. We were fortunate enough to explore making this dream a reality and began to explore our options. Kippley Custom Carpentry was first on our list because my sister has such a great experience when she built her house about 9 years ago and they still speak highly of their experience and the craftsmanship that Kippley Custom Carpentry provided.
From the very beginning of talking with Matt and Dan we knew we wanted to work with them. They were very friendly and genuinely listened to what we wanted to do. Part of the challenge we brought to them was, while we had a vision for some of the aspects of our home, we knew there were other details of our house design we hadn’t decided on. Thankfully, with their knowledge and expertise, the Kippleys were able to fill in the blanks of our home design to perfectly fit our vision. We were impressed with the creativity and thoughtfulness they presented and were very excited about the house design they made for us.
When it came time to execute the design everything started smoothly, but we had to make some adjustments due to some constraints about the lot and the survey. However, the Kippleys and their sub-contractors were on top of it and had a perfectly suitable way to accommodate those challenges in short order.
Once the build was fully underway, it became clear just how complicated the process is and how much planning and coordination it takes. Due to the diligence and foresight from the Kippleys every step of the process went relatively smoothly. It’s also important to note that this happened when the entire building materials market was very uncertain. I can’t stress how thankful we are that very little of this turmoil impacted our build and I credit that entirely to the planning and care that the Kippleys took and the industry relationships they are careful to maintain.
While a good plan is important, we also learned about the amount of tweaks and adjustments that come to light when taking an idea from paper and making it a reality. Whenever we encountered these, the Kippleys were excellent about walking us through the details and what our options meant both with design and with our budget.
Throughout the build process I was impressed with the team that the Kippleys brought with them, whether it was their own crew or their sub-contractors, everyone was professional, friendly, and easy to work with.
From start to finish it took a little under 5 months to build our home and move in. Throughout the incredibly complex process and despite the instability of the building materials market the Kippleys stayed on time, within budget, and delivered with exceptionally high quality.
We’ve been in our home for a year as of writing this review and simply could not be happier. Working with the Kippleys allowed us to build a truly custom house so when it came time to move in, it was truly our dream home.
If we ever have additional projects we will absolutely be working with Kippley Custom Carpentry in the future and I would highly recommend them for any carpentry project or custom home design and build.
Exceptional Cleanliness
Matt and his team were very prompt, they worked efficiently to get everything done in the time they said they would, and they always left the jobsite looking very clean and picked up at the end of every day.
We would absolutely recommend Kippley Custom Carpentry to others looking to build a custom home. From the planning to the finished product it was a great experience. Everything was done exactly as we had agreed to and looks great!
Intricate craftsmanship on complex custom remodel, Parade-home quality
Everyone that has seen it thinks it could be a parade home.
I had a one-of-a-kind project with a small one-bedroom cottage built in 1942 on Lake Wisconsin and a 2 car garage with a loft I built in 2009. I wanted to tear down the cottage and attach a new house to the existing garage so you could walk from the second floor of the house into the loft as a bonus bedroom. The lot is only 50’ x 200’ with a close neighbor on one side, which created more challenges.
After having 3 contractors bid on the project with different approaches and ideas, I didn’t feel like there was a good fit for me. When I spoke with Matt and Dan Kippley of Kippley Custom Carpentry, they seemed intrigued. After meeting both of them at my cottage and going through it with them, I thought I had found who I wanted to work with. The qualities I was looking for became more evident when I received their estimate.
Compared to the other estimates I received, Kippley’s included the actual bids from the suppliers and subcontractors with their general contracting fee plain and simple. I liked the fact that the people doing the general contracting are also the people on the job site most days doing the carpentry, receiving deliveries, and directing the subcontractors. There is enough communication and no restriction on owners visiting the job site, in fact, I did some of the small projects myself.
When I visited suppliers to pick out materials, they would ask what builder I was working with. When I told them Kippley Custom Carpentry, all vendors indicated they were really good to work with. I think that speaks a lot about how Kippley Custom Carpentry does business. To top it all off, they pay close attention to detail and are real craftsmen as evidenced by the custom posts and beams, some of which were milled from the trees on the lot, which they were able to incorporate into the project.
With all that being said, I highly recommend Kippley Custom Carpentry for whatever your dream project may be.
Perfect porch
Our screened porch remodel turned out amazing! It feels larger, yet cozier than ever. Matt and his crew arrived right on time and before you knew it, they were done. From the first inquiry to the finish, a great experience. Kippley customers forever!Clear communication for our first home build
We were told about Kippley Custom Carpentry by family members who live in Iowa County and knew people who had used them to build their home. They arranged for us to visit it, and we were impressed by the quality of the workmanship and the high recommendations of the owners.
What did you like best about working with me and my team?
We previously had no experience with designing and building a custom house, so we relied heavily on guidance from the Kippley team. From the initial design to finished construction, the Kippleys led us through innumerable decisions. The Kippleys are easy to work with and responsive to all questions and concerns.
Would you recommend Kippley Custom Carpentry to others looking to build a custom home? Why?
We recommend Kippley Custom Carpentry to anyone looking for quality work and honest business practices. We love our home.
Whole house transformation
Just over 30 years ago Dan Kippley built our first home. When we thought about a remodel, Kippley Custom Carpentry was at the top of our list.
What started as a small remodel of our kitchen quickly grew to a whole house remodel with an addition (if you give a mouse a cookie…)
We were pleased that the project moved at a steady pace even with the challenges of the supply chain resulting from the pandemic.
It was enjoyable to witness the business transitioning to the next generation. We were just as satisfied now as we were then.
Proactive problem-solvers
Exceeded Expectations!
Matt and his team are extremely professional and courteous. The job site is always clean, and their work is very organized and efficient. We had a garage expansion and a Lake Home built in consecutive years with Matt. He will always do what he says he is going to, and if an issue comes up with a trade or item from a supplier he always helps to correct the situation. You will be happy if you choose Matt for your project.