The Grit Blueprint

Design, Detail, and Distinction: Elevation Building Co. with COO, Eric Reidinger

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Eric Reidinger shares how Elevation Building Company creates distinctive luxury homes in Atlanta's North Metro area through their unique process-driven approach and design partnerships. Their custom home building strategy focuses on smaller, cohesive communities with meticulous attention to detail that sets their properties apart from production builders.

• Started building in 2006 and founded Elevation Building Company in 2017 with business partner Justin Mims
• Specializes in purchasing land and developing smaller communities (7-24 lots) to avoid competing with larger builders
• Implements a comprehensive pre-construction process where all design decisions are made before building begins
• Works with Heart Lock design to create cohesive community aesthetics while giving each home unique character
• Completes 5,000 square foot luxury homes in approximately eight months due to efficient processes
• Partners with Magbee Contractors Supply for custom doors, windows, and millwork that create distinctive first impressions
• Offers three product lines: Reserve Series (~$250/sq ft), Legacy Series (~$350/sq ft), and Icon Series (~$500/sq ft)
• Creates lasting relationships with clients through the 3-year journey from pre-construction through warranty
• Recommends homeowners find a builder before purchasing land or hiring an architect to avoid budget surprises
• Current projects include Mason in Roswell with English arts and crafts homes and Provisions in Canton featuring modern farmhouses

Visit elevationbuildingco.com or find them on Instagram at elevation_building_co to learn more about their custom homes in the Alpharetta and Roswell areas.


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Eric Reidinger:

One of my big things is first impressions right so the front door is the first impression. You touch and feel it. Yeah. You know Magbee did a good job building the front door. It's two and a quarter inches thick. When you open it it's kind of substantial. Yeah.

Eric Reidinger:

We're seeing crown molding kind of dial back a lot. The crown molding in this house has a little bit different profile. They were able to make that for us. The design team really knocked it out of the park with it. We're process driven, so our clients tend to have a less stress build.

Stefanie Couch:

Use the P word processes If you're going to win a business long term, especially with as much as goes into one home. But you've got seven homes right here. You've got other subdivisions with homes going. If you don't have good processes and maintain them, it's tough. Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast. I'm your host, Stefanie Couch, and I'm here today on site in Roswell, Georgia. Eric, Welcome to the show. Eric is actually a builder here in Atlanta in the North Metro area, and he works with his company, Elevation Building Company, and we are here in this amazing home that's actually on the market. You just finished this. We did.

Stefanie Couch:

And I want to just talk a little bit today about what you do. So tell me a little bit about who you are, how long you've been doing construction and what you and Elevation Building Company does that really sets you apart.

Eric Reidinger:

My name is Eric Reidinger. I've been building since 2006. We started Elevation Building Company in 2017 with my business partner, Justin Mims. He come from corporate finance and accounting, so it just made sense for us to merge because, you know, being a builder is like being a big bank a lot of money in, a lot of money out. That really helps me just focus on the operations and the design and the building aspect of the company.

Stefanie Couch:

That is so two separate businesses. I've actually seen a lot of builders do one really well and one not so well Correct, and so it's great that you have that partnership there with Justin.

Eric Reidinger:

Yeah, that always scared me about starting my own business because you know, the finance side is just very daunting.

Stefanie Couch:

So when you got into construction in 2006, what were you doing? I mean, that was a totally different time. That was in the big boom, the first boom in Atlanta. What were you doing? Were you actually building homes then?

Eric Reidinger:

Yeah, I started out as an assistant project manager and then worked up to a project manager and then a downturn hit. We didn't do much building during that time. We did a lot of renovation and then, coming out of it, we started building quite a bit track homes and just bigger development projects. And then I changed companies and went to another builder in Atlanta to build a little bit higher end production homes before I started Elevation.

Stefanie Couch:

Okay, well, tell me a little bit about the idea around Elevation. You guys are building, obviously, an immaculate, beautiful custom homes. You guys own the land and we're in a subdivision. Tell me about this particular subdivision here in Roswell and a little bit about what you're doing. That is different.

Eric Reidinger:

I come from the production side of things, so owning the land has always been what we really are after. So I think what sets us apart is we buy land, develop it and build on it and we try to niche smaller communities so we don't compete against the larger builders in town. So all of our communities are seven lots, 14 lots. We did one that was 24. We did one that was 24. But you know we try to focus on buying land, developing it and having that lot position. You know.

Stefanie Couch:

for a buyer is a big deal, and it's nice to not have to worry about that. From a buyer's perspective, especially in this price range and this type of home, a buyer is looking for usually a very specific thing what do you let people choose? What is the process like? If you want to build a home with elevation? How do you work with clients?

Eric Reidinger:

So our process is we have a designer we work with, so we start on the front end. So if you want Mason, we're in, for example, lot three. We have a floor plan spec for that lot so you can come in and make minor changes to it. But you can start your selection process and the design with an actual designer, not me or anyone that works for us. So Heart Lock does all of our design. Okay.

Eric Reidinger:

And we do that on the front end, so we go through the entire design process prior to you starting a home. So it gives us a chance to lock in your price and really build your house efficient. So our cycle times tend to be better than our competition because of that front end. We call it pre-construction, but it's where we make all the selections and do all the design.

Stefanie Couch:

And you guys have that set up where it's on the lot the way the house lays, it looks great, it works from a perspective of actually construction the way that it should. So I'm guessing you're looking at that, and then do you have a particular style for each subdivision? So what would you consider this home style? I'm curious.

Eric Reidinger:

This is really English arts and crafts, okay, so with a modern flair. So that's one reason we spec the floor plans on each lot is. We want to pull in our communities and say that this looks like you know, all these houses look like they belong together yeah, in the same community versus, you know, extremely different styles in every lot and different builders. So that was really the goal to keep that cohesion throughout.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, the curation here. It's beautiful. You pull up to this home, you've got the gas lanterns out front and you've got the millwork that really stands out from the curb. So I think people in this area and this price range want that. It's beautiful.

Eric Reidinger:

Yeah, and this community, particularly the lots are very large for this area and this price range want that. It's beautiful. Yeah, and this community, particularly the lots are very large for this area and they're flat which you know Georgia can be a little hilly.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, I'm from the mountains and there's not a lot of flat lots up there, so this is nice when we pulled in, it's a whole aesthetic. Well, tell me a little bit about the people that you're servicing. What from a customer experience perspective? You're giving them the design, you're giving them the options, that pre-construction so that takes a lot of the pressure of decision fatigue away. But what do you hear from people that really sets you guys apart Once you're in the process? There's still a lot of design that has to be done here. How does that process work with Elevation?

Eric Reidinger:

There's still a lot of design that has to be done here. How does that process work with Elevation? So you mentioned process. We're process driven, so our clients tend to have a less stress build because we're going to design the house exactly how you wanted it. We're not going to change anything without a change order, so there's not going to be a back and forth or over budget those type of things during our build and it just makes the process much simpler and easier.

Stefanie Couch:

How long did it take from start to finish for this house?

Eric Reidinger:

Eight months.

Stefanie Couch:

Eight months. That's amazing. I mean, how many square feet is this house?

Eric Reidinger:

5,000.

Stefanie Couch:

5,000 square feet in eight months. That's pretty impressive and very custom. So as we walk around here, after we get done chatting, we're going to look at some of the features. But I'm just looking around, just really beautiful and you can tell that everything was picked with a thought in mind that went for the whole house to feel a certain way. So it's awesome. I would love to live here. It's beautiful. Thank you.

Stefanie Couch:

All right, well, tell me a little bit about some of the other projects that you're proud of. So you've got this subdivision here, but talk to me a little bit about some of the other things you've done the last few years.

Eric Reidinger:

So we have a project on Lake Lanier that's finishing up and that's been. There's actually two communities up there but we've built I think, about 22, 23,. You know luxury homes up there that all had dock slips. So we're finishing that up. We're working on the last one now. And then we did an active adult community in Ackworth where we had 24 higher-end ranch townhomes.

Eric Reidinger:

So, we finished those up a couple years ago. And then new projects. We have Mason, what you're at the seven lots, two were started and then we have a community coming online in Canton called Provisions. It'll be seven modern farmhouses. But, you know, really trying to take a new angle on that because that's kind of a burnout, so trying to change, put a little bit different flair on that. But again, the community you can pull in and see all the houses are cohesive, different enough, more modern.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, it's only so much white shiplap we can do right.

Eric Reidinger:

Right White black windows. You know we're trying not to do that.

Stefanie Couch:

It's interesting. The balance is one thing that I always like to ask builders about. People want what they want, which sometimes is very trendy. How do you balance that with having something that is classic yet still pops in some of those trends?

Eric Reidinger:

One of the main things I do is I just try to do a lot of research and go to the I went to the builder show and try to stay on the front end of things and then you know we can sometimes we go a little too far with it you know and I get dialed back.

Eric Reidinger:

but having a designer help with that and giving them some freedom to to get us out of the box, yeah, you know. Whereas if they're working with a, so like this is a for sale home, we call it a market home. It's really a spec home, but it gives them some creative freedom to try some different stuff. Most of the time it's a home run right. Yeah.

Eric Reidinger:

Sometimes we're like, well, we need to dial that back a little bit. But just to try to get outside the box. So when you pull in one of our houses it looks a little bit different. There's different trim profiles. Yep. You know, there's just little things that make us a little bit different.

Stefanie Couch:

That's one of my favorite things about this business is the high-end custom stuff. So I have a background in doors, millwork, and one door that's an accent inside a home, or I know upstairs there's a hidden door we talked about a little bit. That is just something that can really make a moment in a house and when you have that ability to do it, it is the thing that makes a custom home stand out where a production home doesn't have that stuff usually.

Eric Reidinger:

Right. So one of my big things is first impressions right so the front door is the first impression. You touch and feel it. Yeah. You know Magmi did a good job building the front door. It's two and a quarter inches thick. So when you open it it's kind of substantial, yeah, and there's something that you know sets in a buyer's mind that you know. What was it about that front door?

Stefanie Couch:

You know we put some texture on the door handle so you can just it's a little bit more than visual. You know it's also touch and feel Absolutely Well. Let's talk a little bit about Magbee Contractors Supply. So I know that you actually have worked with them on windows doors. You buy a lot of your millwork from them, all your premium door products they're building for you. You mentioned those front doors that really are the first thing you see when you pull up to the home. Talk to me a little bit about how they are different as other suppliers that you've used, or what stands out about Magbee.

Eric Reidinger:

Well, from a door premium door window standpoint, they're always trying to find the next thing and get it in the contractor's hand, so they really do a good job of getting us new product and ideas in front of us and showcasing what they can do. You know, so, whether it's some of their new windows and you know aluminum inside and out pivot doors. They can do anything when it comes to that.

Stefanie Couch:

So yeah, and they have a custom door shop in Winder which is close by and pretty much you can sketch it on a cocktail napkin and they can make it happen, or in CAD or whatever. Have you done a lot of stuff where you're actually drawing it and then they're making it happen?

Eric Reidinger:

Absolutely. They're about to put in a door we sketched out, you know, six months ago.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, absolutely. They're about to put in a door we sketched out, you know, six months ago. Yeah, I love that because it's always fun to try to do something a little different, like you said, than what you see on every house plan. And with front doors you can do radius, you can do different glass, they have all those privacy glass options, so that's cool. They also have a custom millwork shop where they can do moldings. So do you ever have moldings sometimes that you draw out? That's a little different, or are they coming up with something for you? That's.

Eric Reidinger:

Yeah well, the crown molding. In this house we're seeing crown molding kind of dialed back a lot in this era, but the crown molding in this house has a little bit different profile and they were able to make that for us. The design team really knocked it out of the park with it.

Stefanie Couch:

That's awesome. Yeah, it's beautiful. The ceiling in here is really cool. I love that. What are some of the biggest challenges that you face in building today? You know you mentioned obviously y'all built this whole thing in eight months. That's amazing. But what are some of the things you run into as a builder, like just in construction in general?

Eric Reidinger:

Well, our biggest challenge as a company is land. The price of land is skyrocketed, like houses have, but really it's the land and trying to find the right pieces that fit our product line. That's our biggest challenge. On the construction side, now that the pandemic's over, we were dealing with some timelines and lead times and stuff and we've seen pricing kind of plateau and flatten out with that and actually had some price decreases lately. But I would say our biggest challenge is land.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, yeah, and there's not going to be more of it in this area you're building in is super hot. I mean, I can't think of very many metro areas that have much more. This little Roswell Alpharetta corridor is just a huge need for people with families that want to move out of downtown or commute you know from here. So that's awesome. You guys are in a really hot area. Well, talk to me a little bit how the builders show. So I was there and there was so much there to see. It was overwhelming.

Stefanie Couch:

It was too much, like you can't even see the whole thing, even if you're there for a whole week. But what were some of the most exciting things? You saw? Products that you love, things that piqued your interest or you think are going to be a cool, cool new thing, or just anything you loved.

Eric Reidinger:

Well, I had a chance to meet up with the Magmi team out there and go through some of the new window and door manufacturers. They're they're entertaining. That was a eye opening what they can do with glass and the size of the doors. Yeah, the motorized doors now every year.

Stefanie Couch:

It's like they especially the folding doors and stuff. It's just keep getting taller and wider. Right. How in the world do you install? Those is always what I think when I see it. That is a painful process for someone. I mean a crane maybe, yeah, yeah, one of them I think we saw like 24 feet wide, maybe by 14 or 16 feet tall yeah it's huge.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, that's awesome. So I know I actually saw the Quaker booth was a really cool booth that I saw. They had some cool stuff. I know Magbee was working on showing you guys some stuff there. What about the pivot doors? Have you done a lot of pivot doors?

Eric Reidinger:

We've done a few. We did one, magby did. It was five foot wide, 10 foot tall in front of a remodel, we did, and then we've done a couple smaller ones. We've done a few.

Stefanie Couch:

Okay, and you're usually doing wood front doors, right.

Eric Reidinger:

For our communities we are. We have done some steel. That door was steel. But most of the time we're doing a wood door Again. It's just, it really fits this product.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, what about species of wood? What is this one?

Eric Reidinger:

It's naughty otter. Okay, so there's some character to it.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, I love that. I see a few knots in the bottom panel, which is always nice to see.

Eric Reidinger:

We've done some white oak too. Mahogany we haven't done much of lately, but mostly the knotty alder, just because it has that rustic flare that ties into the cedar that's on this home.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, and that's one thing about Magby. Like you can spec your style, you can spec your glass and you can spec your species and they can pretty much do anything. Like you said, the two and a quarter, so that's always nice. For sure, Tell me about a client story or two that resonates with you. That, you know, just makes it worthwhile what you're doing.

Eric Reidinger:

Well, this morning I had a client we built for three years ago, four years ago, and we still communicate and he's going, we go, we go to Crawfish on Wednesdays this time of year and he's he's meeting up with me to go to Crawfish, you know. So play some golf with him. But I would say, you know, we maintain a relationship with a lot of our clients and because the entire process, from pre-construction to the end of warranties, is practically three years, you know, so that's a long time with somebody, yeah, as a matter of fact, when it's over, you know, we'll communicate and say man, it's like it's been. I haven't talked to you in six months. I went from talking to you three times a day.

Stefanie Couch:

Let's talk a little bit about homeowner journey. So what advice would you have for a homeowner that is in metro Atlanta? They're looking for a builder to build a custom home? What advice would you say for someone starting that journey?

Eric Reidinger:

I think some of the mistakes we see them make are they go and buy a piece of land without talking to a builder.

Eric Reidinger:

Or maybe they go to an architect first and they have a budget that's X and they end up at Y. You know the first thing you should do is have a builder on your team. When you start the custom home process Interview. Some find some that mesh, you know. Pick one that that's in the area you're looking, that's headquartered there and you know, find they're your. They're really your advisor. Yeah, you know, because if you have an architect and we deal with some great ones but you know, if you have a million dollar budget and it comes in at two million, you know the builder's always the one delivering that news. So it helps to have a builder on your team early.

Stefanie Couch:

Absolutely. I definitely agree with that. I've gotten a lot of architect plans that draw something that almost isn't possible, or either it is possible at an impossible budget. So you've got to be careful about that and the homeowner is not going to know that. You don't know if that front door is $5,000 or $50,000, you know when you look at it, because it's not your game right?

Stefanie Couch:

You're not. You don't do that all the time, so I love that advice. It's really smart. What's a lesson? You built over 400 homes. What is a lesson that you would say you've learned, and what excites you the most about continuing to do this?

Eric Reidinger:

I like the relationships. You know that's. That's the fun part. It's a. You know our guys, me, justin we don't feel like we go to work every day, you know it's. You know, communicating with great people. Some of the lessons I've learned over the years is just to be respectful but diligent and try to make sure stuff happens accordingly sure stuff happens accordingly.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, and you talked about use the P word processes If you're going to win a business long-term, especially with as much as goes into one home. But you've got seven homes right here. You've got other subdivisions with homes going. If you don't have good processes and maintain them, it's tough.

Eric Reidinger:

Right. So recently, the last year, we've been really focused on our pre-construction process.

Eric Reidinger:

And that's really where we've, you know, because you know building so many houses. We have this, you know, from groundbreaking to finish, covered, warranty covered, but the pre-construction was somewhere we were lacking, so we've been focused on that. We've actually created a couple of different product lines. This house we call the Icon Series, which is just, you know, full luxury, you know unlimited budget, you know, with a certain degree. Then we have one this is one step down that really kind of keeps some guardrails on so we can keep a price to where it needs to be. That's called the Legacy Series, which we built the most of.

Eric Reidinger:

And then we have a Reserve Series, which is, when I say entry level, we realize that that's probably not for everybody, but it's just given the population a chance to buy a house that elevation built, that has the same trades, that maybe not finished out the same. We start about 250 a square foot for the lower series. The next series up is about 350. And then the house like this is about 500.

Stefanie Couch:

And we've built houses up to, you know, 800 square foot or so In that middle range, because I think a lot of people are curious. They don't know what the difference between a luxury home with guardrails, as you said, and unlimited, what are some of the changes that, if you're in that middle series like, what are some of the things you see that take people to that next step.

Eric Reidinger:

The Icon series really is a difficult build from a structural standpoint. You're looking at the house we just finished framing had 70 different ridges and valleys, yeah, where the reserve series would have seven right More simpler design built. You know we dress up the front a little bit but you know millworks scaled back. Yep. These are clad Lincoln clad windows in this house. You might get a, you know, a Quaker vinyl or something like that in the reserve series, but you know like the cabinets in this house are six figures. Yeah.

Eric Reidinger:

In our lower end you're looking at 30, 30 K allowance you know, yeah, so it's really the micro details.

Stefanie Couch:

But I think one thing that people miss because they don't know construction is a lot of times things like roofs or cut up, you know in the foundation, the angles, all those things that adds so much to a build.

Stefanie Couch:

It also aesthetically adds so much when you look at it. But it does rack up the difference in the price because the framing is just so much different and the you know all the work on that. That maybe isn't the final finishes. People think finishes is what's expensive, but a lot of times it's that type of framing stuff that really gets into the difference.

Eric Reidinger:

It's also size. So the most expensive upgrade in your house is square footage.

Stefanie Couch:

Yep, that's right.

Eric Reidinger:

That's it.

Stefanie Couch:

Last question I know that every business and every job has tough days. So you talked about the relationship, and that's what's keeping you going. But what is the one thing that excites you the most right now that you're working on?

Eric Reidinger:

Probably this community. It's in an area where there's several luxury homes and we're doing something a little bit different when it comes to architecture. So, yeah, it's beautiful.

Stefanie Couch:

And there's one across the street. We're going to go see that's under construction. This one's obviously on the market, ready to sell and if someone is interested in learning more about Elevation Building Company or if you're wanting a home in the Alpharetta or Roswell area where you guys build, talk to them about how they can find you.

Eric Reidinger:

Well, you can visit our website elevationbuildingcocom or find us on Instagram. It's elevation underscore, building underscore co. Yep. And Facebook too.

Stefanie Couch:

Yeah, and you guys have beautiful photography and videography. They do a really good job on their marketing and you can actually see what you're going to get, what they're building from their socials, so check them out. Thank you so much for your time, eric.

Eric Reidinger:

And.

Stefanie Couch:

I can't wait to walk around this beautiful subdivision and see what you guys are working on.

Eric Reidinger:

Perfect, thank you.

Stefanie Couch:

That's it for this episode of the Grit Blueprint podcast. For more tools, training and industry content, make sure to subscribe here and follow me on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. To find out more about how Grit Blueprint can help you grow your business. Check us out at our website, gritblueprintcom.

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