email: build@abygga.com

 

At Abygga, we are artisans who build homes to the highest performance standards. We learn our clients' goals, we exercise the utmost care in helping our clients achieve their goals, and our collective experience results in construction that exceeds all expectations of you, your design team, and even ourselves. We do things that others do not. Why is that?

1. Simply because we insist on doing the right thing.

2. We are not afraid to attempt something that is perceived to be difficult.

3. We have the creative expertise and experience to solve problems in ways that others cannot.

Merge creative craftsmen with skilled professionals - That is Abygga.

We are not contractors. We are builders. There’s a fundamental difference. We don’t specialize in delegating work out to other companies. We are here to do the work. We labor through each step of the sequence and take more accountability than other contractors. We must. It is essential because we do OUR own finish carpentry over OUR own framing, and a perfect base makes it possible to get a perfect finish. We touch each step of the process unlike the desk contractors who hire subs to perform each step of the work. Many subs want to get in, get out, and get paid while doing the minimum amount of work to fulfill their contract. This leads to things that don’t get done or things that don’t get done ideally. That leads to compromise later in the process. We don’t compromise. We minimize this by doing all the work ourselves, and when there’s specialty trades that are needed like excavation, high-end concrete, or proprietary products requiring certified installers, we don’t just leave the job to set them free to do whatever - then deal with any problems or miscommunications later. Instead, we work with those subs to ensure the big picture is understood and their work complies with it. You worked with your architect and engineers for well over a year, and that design team deserves to see their work built the way you approved it. There’s many ways to do one single task correctly. We ensure the completion of one task leads to the proper execution of the next task. By working more, and sub-contracting less, we have more control over the outcome/schedule, and we are in this business because we like doing the work (not the drama of scheduling subs, pricing subs, issuing payments to subs, and babysitting subs). Sequencing our own workflow is our strong-suit, and our finished product is evidence of this.

 
 

Here's Our Story:

The construction industry and housing market has been wild - especially in Seattle. Before the economic recession, we were all in various fields of the construction industry including locksmithing, electrical work, general construction, and architecture to name a few. We learned from the best companies around and became masters in our craft. Eventually our clients preferred to work with us instead of our bosses, and it made more sense to branch out and start our own companies in our respective fields of expertise. The economy was strong, and new businesses prospered. Then things tanked. Many of the larger businesses closed because their robust overhead expenses were too burdensome, and many of the best smaller companies were agile enough to adapt to the new reality. Yes, we experienced a downturn, but we tightened our belts, focused on the essential aspects of our trade, and survived the recession.

Then things got good again. As more mature business owners with more refined expertise, we emerged into a booming economy with the skill and prowess to become the new leaders. The good economy also opened its doors to a new wave of builders: the not-so-good kind. We've never seen so many brand new shiny trucks driven by inexperienced 20-somethings at the lumber yard. Most of them are spending their clients' life-savings on building materials and assembling them with the lowest levels of craftsmanship. Because everyone is so busy and in high demand, they are also charging appalling prices for this low quality work. We saw it all too often, and we got tired of it. 

This is where Abygga started. We realized there's hardly any accountability or value in construction anymore, and we decided to do something about it. We got together on one of our jobsites at the end of a work day, and we all expressed this common concern. From crossing paths and working together over the past 15+ years, we knew we shared the same diligent work ethic and only strive for the highest quality. So we put our heads together and formed Abygga: a no-compromise construction firm to build the best homes possible. We don't call something complete, until it's really done. We take our work home with us and sleep on it. We talk to our family and friends about it. We are simply proud of the things we build because we invest ourselves in building them right. Visit one of our jobsites unannounced anytime, and you will see the difference. 

 

ABYGGA REcommends THE FOLLOWING 5 PILLARS FOR ALL PROJECTS:

Pillar 1. All construction to be built with the best science possible:

  • No OSB. Always ply.

  • No house wraps. Always liquid applied.

  • No infiltration. Caulk and tape every seam and penetration.

  • Always rain screen siding.

  • No thermal transfers. Always multi layer siding.

  • No forced air. Always radiant heat.

  • No landscaping should ever touch a building.

Pillar 2. All construction to be honest:

  • If it has wood grain, it is wood.

  • If it looks like a beam, it actually supports weight.

  • If it looks like stone, it is stone.

Pillar 3. All design to respond to the surroundings:

  • Orient appropriately to maximize day lighting.

  • Orient appropriately to capture views.

  • Orient appropriately to maximize privacy.

  • Building layout to create useful exterior rooms.

Pillar 4. All design to be functional:

  • Spaces sized to perform appropriately. Nothing less. Nothing more.

  • Materials selected because they perform appropriately.

  • Spaces laid out for best possible relationships to one another and the exterior.

  • Nothing is designed for aesthetic reasons.

  • Different functional geometric forms should contrast in material and depth and never be co-planar.

Pillar 5. Business to be conducted with the highest level of professionalism:

  • All design to be approved by the client prior to construction.

  • We are 100% honest in recording the time we work on our clients' behalf. Round down, not up.

  • Construction will only commence for any particular item once the client agrees to the cost of it.

  • Construction will only commence for any particular item if the client agrees to the timeline of it.

  • All decisions to be documented in writing and approved by the design team.

  • Changes to the design, budget, timeline, or as-built conditions to be made expediently, and compensated fairly.

  • All clients and subcontractors agree to never compromise on quality when working with us.

 

FAQ's:

  1. What does Abygga mean? Well, it's a made-up word, but it stems from the word "build" in Swedish (which is spelled "bygga"). We pronounce it: ah-BEE-gah. We have a lot of respect for the legendary Swedish craftsmen who built many of the homes in the Seattle area when it was first settled. We also have our fair share of Swedish in our blood. We put an "A" in front to stand for our "artisan" approach to the construction process.

  2. How do you bid for projects? Complete honesty in reporting our labor time to you is a core value of ours. We charge for the exact time we work for you, and we offer our best estimate at the time we think things should take to complete. As custom residential builders focusing on quality above all else, we work on a "time-and-materials" basis. We find this to be very fair for everyone and commensurate with our construction process. Builders who provide "fixed fee" bids make a lot of assumptions on what things might cost, and they over-estimate to create a cushion in their numbers. This results in a winner and loser which we think is very unfair. We think work should cost exactly what it costs instead of what a project manager at a desk guesses it should cost a year in advance without the proper context of the as-built conditions on the job-site. We do estimates of our upcoming work using the information we have available at that time, and we keep our clients involved and informed of cost-related matters to encourage transparency in the time and materials it will actually take to build each item. Our clients have the maximum flexibility to make choices during construction instead of being tied down to the terms of a contract based on outdated plans. Other builders throw out low-ball "allowances" for each line item on a bid to result in seemingly low bids, but this inevitably leads to cost overruns. Nobody knows what certain things will cost when there are unknowns, and we all must be reasonable and diligent to deliver a cost effective product. Before we build something, we tell you what we think it should cost, and we keep you informed of all the costs along the way.

  3. How do we hire you as our builder? It all starts with a conversation and some plans. We review them with you in person or over the phone to get a chance to know one another and become familiar with your project. Personality compatibility is the most important factor for us in working together. We need to make sure we all have the same goals and a positive demeanor because we will be your personal concierge during construction over a long period of time. Once we feel we have compatible personalities, we will do some rough estimating on your project. Since we cannot possibly know how many times our shovel will go into your soil or how many drill bits may need replaced during construction, we base our estimates off of our own experience with previous projects rather than trying to guess at so many unknowns. If our advice seems to be in the right ballpark, we dig a little deeper, sharpen our pencils, and we come up with a more precise construction plan to make our estimate a bit more refined. We still work on a time-and-material basis, but our estimate serves as a guideline to set a basic expectation with one another. At some point, we can only make certain assumptions, and we both have to commit to working together at the common goal of building the highest quality project within your expected budget. Please talk with our previous clients. They will all describe a very positive experience. Click here to hire us.

  4. What is the biggest difference between Abygga and other builders? Honestly, it is our professional, no-compromise approach. We only build things to our own elite standard which we have set very high for ourselves. We want to impress you and ourselves. We take our projects home at night. We sleep on them. We arrive the next day with excitement. We are not just building a house. We are proud of our work, and we take ownership of it.

How Abygga Is Different

The Other Guys

The construction industry is broken. Here is why:

  • Builders are incentivized to estimate low to be awarded the job, then add on additional expenses (change orders) once the client is too invested in the construction logistics to say no and hire someone else. Then they further pad their numbers with markups for overhead and profit which gets absorbed by all clients. This means the tricky projects have the same overhead and admin cost as easy projects (not fair.)

  • Estimating projects is time consuming and risky. Inevitably something will be overlooked, and the builder shifts that risk to the client via change orders that increase project cost. Builders commonly withhold or "forget" to add expensive line items and smart contingencies to their estimates to give the illusion that the project will cost less. This leads to surprises in the end.

  • Builders buy materials, mark them up by a percentage, install them for an hourly rate, mark up that hourly rate by a percentage, and continually exceed budgets and schedules because there are no consequences to do otherwise. (If service is bad in a restaurant, you don’t go back. If a builder’s service is bad, you’re stuck with them for months.) Bad service has become an unfortunate paradigm in the construction industry.

  • Builders take on the risk of being a “bank” by financing the cost of a project for a client. The builder buys the materials, pays the staff to install them, purchases the tools to do the work, and pays the overhead expenses of running a business. These overhead expenses include extra fees to shield the builder from clients who pay late, don’t pay at all, or withhold payment while disputes are resolved. The builder needs a buffer to survive. The builder literally buys the house in hopes the client will pay the builder back, and this creates a problem with the cash flow that translates into inflated prices for materials and labor. All clients, even the good ones, ultimately pay the price for the “banking expenses” and risks the builder incurs by operating a short-term banking business. Builders don’t go to college for banking and many don’t go to college at all, so why do most people expect builders to be good at managing large sums of money for project costs?

  • Most builders are "desk contractors" who sub-contract other laborers to do all their work. A lot gets lost in translation, so builders inflate their costs to account for the rework that inevitably needs done when ill-informed sub-contractors build the wrong thing. Re-work is standard practice to them. They fallaciously expect subs know “what” needs done since the subs know “how” to do the work. This doesn’t fly.

Abygga

We do things different:

  • At Abygga, we believe in honesty in hours. We all work for a living, and we earn money based on the quality of our work and the exact time we spend doing it. We don't add a markup to our fees. If it takes 15 minutes to source a product, 10 minutes to get your approval, and 4 hours to install it, we charge exactly 4 hours and 25 minutes. It’s really that simple: there's no winner or loser. Only pay for what you need (fair.)

  • We estimate our projects only to give a general sense of project direction, and we know construction schedules, budgets, and scopes have changed on 100% of all projects throughout humanity. So we keep it real and provide constant advice and transparent updates rather than waiting until monthly budget meetings to reveal surprise overages. Our frequent documentation keeps you informed.

  • Our fee includes our overhead expenses for labor, so the cost is straightforward. We do not markup our labor or materials bought by the client. We charge for the exact labor and admin time related to your project. We also do not buy materials unless we get a repeat customer discount that you cannot. For materials clients can buy for their project directly, we do not add a markup on them. This keeps our fee understandable and fair. The only markup Abygga charges is for sub-contractors that we manage since we must be accountable for the quality of their work and be responsible when the outcome doesn’t coordinate with the subsequent work we build on top of it.

  • Since our clients buy some materials directly, they finance the majority of the project, so there’s no need for us to charge extra to carry that burden. To mitigate the risk of not being paid for our labor, we periodically collect our anticipated labor payments in advance. This eliminates the risk of being stiffed, so we do not need to inflate our numbers to carry that risk.

  • Our labor is provided by highly skilled craftsmen, and not unskilled laborers. We charge a lower rate than normal for our skilled craftsmen. Although our clients don’t pay the lowest labor rates, they also don’t pay the highest. We are right in the middle, and you even get a licensed electrician at a discounted rate. There’s nothing lost in translation between a foreman and a laborer since our foreman is the laborer. The foremen, who also own the company and have the greatest financial interest in building it right the first time, whereas an unskilled laborer builds it slowly, builds it wrong, and builds it again with further guidance from a more expensive foreman. Abygga cuts the red tape and builds with the most talented craftsmen. Unskilled labor is only used on large repetitive tasks while under the direct supervision of an Abygga owner/craftsman. We have college degrees, tons of experience, and the respect to build it right the first time.

Partners

Portraits courtesy of Heather Brincko.

Matt

Site Superintendent

Shawn

Project Engineer

Ken

Foreman

Steve

Project Principal

Open Positions

Carpenter

We are seeking an experienced carpenter with a positive attitude who gets excited about building homes.

 

Qualifications

  • Minimum 3 years experience
  • Wood framing experience
  • Prefer Seattle resident

Laborer

We are seeking a candidate with a positive attitude who is willing to work hard to get a start in our profession and learn as you go.

 

Qualifications

  • Tough as nails
  • Cooperative
  • Must be able to lift 100 lbs

Apply