- Planning a remodel or custom build?
Start with a free consultation.
Speak directly with an experienced building professional before you commit to the wrong process.
- A Better Way to Build
Most builders begin their relationship with you by sending a salesman with more sales skill than industry knowledge. They farm out the design to an architect or designer. After a month or two with the design staff, they derive core numbers for your project. Any unknowns are approached with a best guess - at a high cost just to be safe. Finally, they calculate the anticipated costs of material, labor, and services, then double that estimated cost to derive the retail price. The remainder of your project consists of continual negotiations for labor and services at the lowest cost to elevate profits.
ZeroDown Consulting is different than other builders. You meet with an architectural designer with decades of real building experience. We create your architectural design in-house, custom fit to your needs and desires, employing the timeless conventions of architectural and interior design. From your completed design, we derive an exact cost of labor, materials, and services. We stop there. We don't mark up your price with a large margin. You pay builder cost for your project. We don't require a donwpayment and we never touch your production dollar. You pay us a nominal percentage of the build, and we provide full project coordination, and manage our own vetted, dependable, and skilled trades.
Talk With UsCreative Architectural Designs
Your project will become more than just additional square footage, or moving things around. Our designers are skilled artists, creating a one of a kind space you will see nowhere else.
Reliable Vendors and Trades
We spent years cultivating relationships with our vetted trades and premium vendors. We never test out new artisans on your project.
No Traditional Builder Markup
A different model designed to eliminate unnecessary costs while you remain the custodian of your own money.
Never a Down Payment
You pay the material providers and labor artisans directly. We are highly skilled at negotiating for goods and services with our approved vendors. We order and contract the building components. You pay for them directly to the vendor. There is no middle man or middle man's markup.
- What We Help You Do
From concept to completion, we help homeowners bring order, realism, and experience to a process that usually feels risky and confusing.
Architectural Design
We begin with a design that reflects how the project should actually be built, not just how it should look on paper.
Budget Development
We build the financial reality of the project from the design so you can make informed decisions before costly mistakes happen.
Interior Design Guidance
Material selections, finish direction, and practical input help the finished project look cohesive and valuable.
Project Scope & Timeline
We define the scope, sequence, and realistic progression of the work before production starts.
Vendor & Trade Coordination
We bring qualified people and trusted sources to the table, helping reduce chaos, delay, and avoidable waste.
Production Oversight
We stay engaged in the project so the design intent, budget goals, and field realities continue to align.
- How It Works
A disciplined process replaces the usual confusion. That protects the design, the budget, and the homeowner.
Consultation & Project Discovery
We start by understanding your goals, property, priorities, and realistic budget expectations before anyone starts selling you something you do not need.
Design, Scope & Budget Alignment
We shape the design around buildability and your budget so the project makes sense before production starts. That reduces surprises and expensive change orders.
Coordination Through Production
We coordinate the moving parts of the project and help keep the work aligned with the plan, the budget, and the homeowner’s expectations.
- Frequently Asked Questions
Our vendor relationships were built over years in the industry. Because we still operate within that professional ecosystem, our clients benefit from established relationships, trusted sources, and pricing structures typically associated with experienced builders rather than retail walk-in pricing.
No. One of the core distinctions of our model is that you keep control of your project funds. Trades and vendors are paid directly, which creates a higher level of transparency and reduces the discomfort many homeowners feel about turning over large sums of money to a general contractor.
Where licensing is required, we verify licensing. Where licensing is not required, we rely on deep experience, vetting the people who work on projects under our coordination. We also prioritize insured subcontractors and vendors whenever applicable.
Traditional remodelers usually build their pricing model around markup. Our model is structured differently. Clients who want experienced guidance, design input, vendor coordination, and greater transparency often prefer a consulting-led process that reduces cost inflation and keeps them more informed and in control.
- Why Homeowners Call Us
They want experienced building expertise.
Good projects are not created by sales scripts. They are created by experienced decisions made early.
They want transparency.
Clients are tired of not knowing where the money is going or how pricing is being constructed or distributed.
They want the project to make sense before it starts.
Design, budget, and production all need to agree with one another. Most expensive problems begin when those three things are disconnected.
- Testimonials
I met Craig on another job he was working on. I asked him to take a look at my project. Following his advice, he redesigned the space and managed the build. His imagination, creativity, and vast building experience made the process easier and of a quality we were doubtful we would achieve.
When we could find no one locally to redesign and renovate our ranch, we called Craig. His design was wonderful. He was able to pull quality work out of a difficult market, and we love the finished home.
Before you commit to a remodeler, talk to someone who knows how projects really get built.
Schedule your free initial consultation and find out whether your project goals, design expectations, and budget are aligned.
- Craig's Builder Blog
Craig shares his insight of 45 years in the industry. As chief architectural designer, lead project coordinator, and Managing Dierctor of ZeroDown Consulting, he is uniquely qualified to provide sound advice to homeowners, builders, and industry insiders.
Tips to Hire a Reliable Home Remodeling Contractor
I have seen many changes in the Austin home remodeling industry. Design-build firms were not always the norm. For many years, architects designed, builders built, and customers often rolled the dice. The purpose of this blog is to help homeowners understand the process before they step into it.
Visit Craig's Builder Blog
- Contact Us
We bring decades of expertise without asking you to gamble on whether someone else will manage your money wisely. You keep control. We help you make the project make sense.
Call Us
Phone 512-461-3831Service Area
Serving the Greater Austin Metro Area