REVIEWS AND TESTIMONIALS
Explore the wealth of positive reviews and testimonials on our website, offering insights into the experiences of satisfied customers.
"Building a new custom home can be frustrating for people who don’t do it regularly. Tommy and BCI Custom Homes are a team that I can trust and know that he will make it a rewarding experience for our clients. I’ve worked on more projects than I can count with BCI Custom Homes since 2002 here in the Central Hill Country and in my experience he is great at giving each client the attention and the personal care that they deserve. While I have worked with lots of builders over the years, BCI happens to be the only Energy Star Certified Builder I have worked with. Tommy keeps up with the latest in building science and is extremely conscientious about how operating and maintenance cost of the future are impacted by what he builds for you today.
In the end, our design clients spend more time with the builder than they do with us. There are plenty of builders who start out strong. Tommy and his team have been building for decades and he knows that in the end it is about doing a great job of finishing the project."
-Ben A.
"BCI Homes did an excellent job on our home. They are very professional, know the right contractors to use and we couldn’t be happier. Their customer service is what matters to them. Everyone is friendly and helpful while getting things done timely Mr. Lipe takes pride in their craftsmanship."
-Kathy Budde
"After interviewing and obtaining bids from eight builders, we settled with Mr. Tommy Lipe of BCI Custom Homes to build our retirement home and we are so glad we did. From the first day we met Tommy and Russell, and throughout the construction, I found them to be very open, honest, diligent and trustworthy individuals to work with. The later point was particularly important to us since we were living in Houston while building our home in Fredericksburg. Even though we had designed our home plan and had an architecture firm to draw it up, Tommy spent many hours going over it making some valuable suggestions that saved us thousands of dollars. He did this on his own time, before we even had a contract. We are very happy with the work and value his working relationship with us. Great job with integrity, honesty and friendly attitude – we couldn’t have asked for more."
-Mo and Mary Saiidi
"Working with Tommy Lipe and BCI Custom Homes was extraordinary through both the design and construction phases. The final result was even better than we had hoped. BCI worked with us on several changes and made great recommendations along the way as well. This was the fourth time we have built a custom home. The primary difference that we saw with BCI versus other builders was Tommy’s integrity, attention to detail, and “ownership” of the project. It felt as if he were building the home for his own family and wanted a top quality product as much as we did. After living here for a year, we can report that our home is extremely energy efficient. Even with pool pumps and teenagers, our bills have been much less than expected. BCI has provided excellent service after the sell as well.
We would recommend BCI to anyone wanting to build a home in the Texas Hill Country. The work is top quality and, best of all, Tommy and his team are honest and ethical. Bottom line – we love it!"
-Todd and D’Aun Denton
"Tommy and the BCI Custom Homes crew did a great job on our outdoor kitchen / living area! They were easy to work with and patient when we changed our minds along the way (and when we asked lots of dumb questions). The finished product includes a bar with inset lights created by Riverbed Concrete, a cozy fireplace and stylish rolling barn doors. We have really enjoyed this space and receive compliments every time we have people over. Our teenagers spend a lot of time there with friend, which was part of the plan all along. We recommend Tommy and BCI Custom Homes to anyone."
-Kevin & Cindy Young
"We have built five homes and without question our favorite was built by BCI Custom Homes and Tommy Lipe. BCI provided our family with a custom built home in the Menger Springs development in Boerne, which met our every need. The home was detailed throughout with granite, hardwood floors and stone. The best feature was the outdoor living space, complete with a pool, sport court and a kitchen (including a kegerator). The building process was second to none. BCI provided us with quick responses to all of our needs. Their attention to detail and support is exactly what you want and need from a builder. Although they are a custom homebuilder, they also provided us with a great price for our home, which was competitive with much larger homebuilders. The quality of workmanship, responsiveness, and follow up were fantastic from the entire team at BCI. We have no reservations in recommending BCI to anyone interested in building a custom home."
-Sharon and Joe Regnier
"BCI has done an exemplary job designing, constructing and finishing our energy efficient, custom home. Every aspect of the building experience with BCI has been enjoyable, from the design and layout of the house, to the selection and installation of everything that we wanted and needed for our perfect home. The quality of the construction and attention to all of the details involved in the construction of a custom home was always foremost on BCI’s agenda. No shortcuts were taken.
We have received numerous compliments from guests visiting us on the quality they have noticed in our house. Energy efficiency is evident in our relatively low heating and electricity bills for our large house. Electricity bills averaged $170 per month for the year and propane, which is used for heat, hot water, fireplace and grilling only cost $600 for the entire year.
The most outstanding aspect of our building experience with BCI is the honesty and integrity of all of the employees, from the owner down to the artisans that performed the work. I highly recommend BCI to anyone wanting a quality home constructed at a very reasonable cost."
-Bob and Caryn Gates
"Thank you for helping us build our custom home here in the Hill Country. After you remodeled our house in Fair Oaks Ranch, there was no question, you would be building our new home here on The Ridge in Tapatio Springs.
This is the fourth home we have built. However, our building experience this time was by far the most fun and rewarding due to your daily, personnel involvement from start to finish. Your many ideas and suggestions contributed to making our completed home beyond our expectations. Not only do we now live in a beautiful, new home, but your experience in constructing and designing an ecofriendly energy efficient house dramatically reduced our electric bills by 32.7%. You and your crew were professional, provided excellent customer service, and a quality finished product.
Thank you, Tommy. We could not be more pleased."
-Barry & Kathy Christman
"We have lived in our BCI Custom Home since it was completed in April of 2014. The entire planning and building process took less than a year from the purchase of the lot, to the custom floor plan, to the construction from the ground up. Being the first home that my husband and I have built or owned for that matter, this was quite a learning experience for us. Tom Lipe and his team were extremely helpful, attentive and thorough throughout the entire process. One of the most important factors for us during this process was staying within budget, which BCI did an outstanding job of working with us on. BCI consistently communicated options, and helped us stay on track with time and budget, while ensuring that the quality of the home remained.
We could not be happier with the finished product. There were multiple times that BCI used creativity to add to the value and appearance of our home. Two examples include using very large rocks from the property to build a beautiful and natural retaining wall in one section on our yard as well as building custom frames for the mirrors in our bathrooms. In every inch of our home, they went the extra mile. BCI has continued to go the extra mile as they have followed through on several items since the house has been completed. In addition, we have been extremely pleased with our electric bill, which on average is $114 a month.
BCI Custom Homes is top notch. They build beautiful, quality homes, are true to their word, go the extra mile and are very professional. We are so grateful to BCI for their commitment to quality and integrity!"
-Kate and Aaron Batchelor
"Dear Tommy,
We have been very happy with the home you built for us in May. Since we were living out of town during the building and planning process, we especially appreciated the way you returned all our phone calls and emails in a timely manner. The construction photographs Russell sent us by email were a great help to us.
BCI promptly followed up on any needed adjustments to our house after closing as well.
Our average electric bill runs $85 a month and we feel the house is very well insulated.
Sincerely,"
-Dr. Gerald and Gladys Frels
"Dear Tommy and Staff,
I would like to express my gratitude for the exceptional building experience I had with BCI Custom Homes. You provided outstanding service in the planning phase, permitting process and construction of my building, Rudkin Productions in Boerne.
This is my fourth building project and I can honestly say, your company is unparalleled. You focus on taking care of the details and getting the customer into their project in a timely manner. Because of your excellent service, support, professionalism, high standards, flexibility, responsiveness, fairness, as well as staying in budget, I would highly recommend BCI Custom Homes to anyone who is seeking to build a light commercial project or home in this area. Great Experience!
Would use you again in a heartbeat!
Sincerely,"
-Kathy Rudkin,
Rudkin Productions Advertising and Web Development Company Boerne, Tx
"Could not have asked for a better group of people (builder and subcontractors) to work with and depend on for building our home. They cared for the building of our home as if it were their own. Quality of build was exceptional. Even the third party building inspector that I hired was over the moon with the quality of the build and attention to details that he reviewed. Would recommend highly."
-David R.
"My team at Green Zone Home provides energy efficiency rating and evaluation services for BCI Custom Homes. We evaluate thousands of homes yearly in central Texas. BCI Custom Homes goes far beyond the base standards by using advanced insulation, equipment, and other components. They also voluntarily work to have their homes certified and labeled with the Energy Star for Homes program of the federal government. These extra efforts lead to increased comfort and lower operational costs."
-Curt V.
"BCI Custom Homes was a wonderful company to work with. We have been in our home for over a year and just love it. They were careful with our budget and made sure we did not go over. The design and the finishes are just what we wanted. They were always there to help if there was any problem during the building. Our utility bills have been a pleasant surprise, extremely low. The house is even cool when the A/C has been off, such as us being away for a few days in July. Tommy and his crew are great and I would recommend them to anyone."
-The Birkners
"We are so pleased with the house that BCI built for us. One of the nicest things about working with BCI is that we were able to tell you what we wanted to spend, and then you designed a house within that guideline that also incorporated our preferences. When we wanted to tweak the plan here and there – which was a LOT! – you and the entire BCI staff cheerfully provided us with a cost estimate – up or down – that each change would make.
We also loved working with you personally, Robin. You guided us in making the hundreds of decisions about colors, floor coverings, bathroom hardware, and even the number of window divisions we wanted. It was altogether a wonderful experience.
We also are pleased with our utility bills. When some of our friends here who live in similar (but not BCI) homes were complaining about high utility bills, we were puzzled. Truthfully, we had complained, too, but little did we know what our friends were up against. Their summer utility bills were in the $400 to $600/month range. We were flabbergasted. Our average total monthly gas and electric bill is $162 ($31 gas and #131 electric). So we don’t complain anymore.
Thank you for a great experience and a beautiful and economical home."
-Barry and Joanne Cheshier
"We have lived in our BCI home for almost one year, having moved in, in May. As this first year anniversary comes along we want to send you our “Thank You” once again for the pleasure of having you as our home builder. From the first meeting when we sketched out what we were looking for, to the May move in, we have been fully satisfied with what you and all other persons connected with your business did for us. All of the BCI folks listened to our needs and concerns, responded quickly, worked professionally, took care of any little (and they were little) problems, and were as serious as we were in completing a home of which we could all be proud.
We would be pleased to offer our recommendations to any potential customers you have.
P.S. Examples of our utility bills are, for December Electric $91 and Gas $71. In April Electric $79 and gas $23
Sincerely"
-Tom Cole and Joyce O’Rear
"We found BCI to be on the job everyday. We saw a lot of the builders in Fredericksburg taking 1 year or longer. BCI built our house in six months. Other builders will go days and weeks with no workers on the job. Not BCI. BCI had crews on the job all but two days. These were days too icy for the framers to stand on the beams.
It was important for us to not have the job sit idle and they didn’t let us down.
As for utilities, WOW. In 1995 we built an Energy Star house (in another county and with a different builder) with the same square footage as our new BCI house. But the changes in technology and BCI’s use of excellent products made a big difference. During the 9 months we have been here, our average utility bill is running about 50% of what the older house was.
Our average bill is $143 over the past 9 months, which includes all the summer (with the highest utility rates in history) and operation of the water well. I keep the house at about 69 – 70 degrees."
-Glenyth Barrows
"Our experience with BCI Custom Homes can best be described as outstanding. From the start to finish, we were kept informed of every detail of construction. Information was provided to BCI so that we could make educated decisions throughout the building process. Helpful suggestions were always forthcoming. This is our first experience with building a home. With BCI Custom Homes we would not hesitate to do it again.
Donald and Suzanne Vecchio
Average utilities – April $118 per month
We talked to several local builders about building a custom home. We decided to go with BCI Custom Homes because of the exceptional value they offered at a reasonable cost. BCI personnel assisted us by converting our drawings (self designed) to workable blueprints. They also assisted us with specifications that included energy efficient items such as radiant barrier roof decking, LowE windows throughout, excellent insulation package, and Energy Star appliances. (We were pleasantly surprised when our first electric bill was $85)
BCI built a quality home with excellent materials and labor, and we are very happy with the finished home. Better yet, they did this while staying within our initial budget for building this home. We would highly recommend BCI Custom Homes to anyone considering building a custom home. P.S. our electric bills have averaged $110 for April for a 2200 sq.ft. home."
-D.C. and Linda Faught
"When we walked into a home under construction, my wife looked at me and said “we’re Home”. Granted the home was still in the drywall stage with a pile of rock in the living room that would become a Custom Jewel of a fireplace. The excitement that we experienced as our home was being completed was more than we had ever hoped for, not the anxiety filled process that many friends had advised us to expect. This project was truly a Turn Key experience for us. As this was an award winning Parade Home, we couldn’t do much but sit back in Awe at the excellence in both construction and design that took place, rather than fret the decision making project choice process.
The staff @ BCI Homes was more than responsive to our concerns and although the home was a finished design, always sought our input. What a fantastic group of people to work with, I can’t say enough about their caring attitude, reachability, responsiveness, and fabulous sense of humor! From the cookies in the stove to the floral arrangements, no detail was ever missed. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
Our Utility Bills are running right around $190 a month, but Hey, that’s with a pool and a spa!"
-Dr. Darin Holmes
"Building a new home is a major investment and as such we wanted to be sure we found a builder who would not only provide a quality service but also build a quality home. We found both with BCI Custom Homes! Our custom home had a number of engineering requirements that required our builder to go beyond the common building standards. BCI Custom homes not only met these advanced standards, but exceeded them in many cases. We would recommend without reservation BCI Custom Homes to anyone else.
Our average electric bill is $66 per month with a high of $140 and a low of $30. Our average gas bill is $43 with a high of $88 and a low of $14. These averages were calculated from May to April , when rates were so high."
-John & Carolyn Roup
"From the day we came in to BCI Custom Home to look at different house plans which we combined with our own ideas, we were very pleased with how quickly things progressed. We were very surprised how, in just one day, we had picked out the majority of the color schemes, siding choices, flooring and counter top and cabinet choices. All in one day with the helpful guidance of Robin, who kept us on track and a certain color scheme. She set up an appointment for us to meet with the lighting company and in another half day we were done. She kept in constant contact with us, pointing us in the right direction for the loan and letting us know which papers needed to be faxed and when.
Once the frame went up it was not long before our home started taking shape and with every question anyone had about what to do about a certain situation, Robin was on the phone to us, so everything would be exactly as we wanted. We have had so many compliments from our friends about the layout and the beautiful colors in our new home. We are so proud of it.
Our typical utility bill is around $100 – $125 for our home, which is all electric. It really stays cool during the summer with the air conditioner not even coming on till afternoon.
We really enjoy our home and were very glad to have chosen BCI Custom Homes as our builder."
-Michelle & Gary Kuhlmann