Ernest G. Crews Construction, Inc. originated in 1991 in Brunswick County, NC and has specialized in custom-building since 1994. Ernie has worked in the construction industry since he was 19 years old. Ernie, his wife Donna and their two sons, Alan and Billy, reside in Ocean Isle Beach.
Ernie specializes in “custom home building” and has an unlimited residential General Contractors License. He is a member of the South Brunswick Islands Home Builders Association and the National Association of Home Builders of the US. Ernie served as President of the South Brunswick Islands Home Builders Association in 2006 and was also voted "Builder of the Year" by the South Brunswick Islands Home Builders Association in 2006. He served on Board of Directors for the South Brunswick Islands Home Builders Association for the 2008-2009 term. More recently Ernie was voted #1 Builder in Brunswick County in the "2010 Best of Brunswick" Reader's Choice Award by the Brunswick Beacon, as well as winning the same award in 2008 and 2009.
Our company basically builds within a ten-mile radius of our Ocean Isle Beach office. This area includes the golf course communities of Ocean Ridge Plantation and Sea Trail Plantation in Sunset Beach, NC Other areas are Crown Stream, Bent Tree Plantation, Brunswick Plantation, Bricklanding Plantation and Ocean Isle Beach, NC Having jobsites within a small area like this allows Ernie to be on any jobsite within ten minutes. It is a rare occasion to come into our office and see Ernie sitting behind his desk. He is typically on the jobsite about 95% of the time. But that is not to say that he’s hard to reach. We, and all of our subcontractors, are on the Nextel radio system. This allows us to be in constant contact with each other.
We do have a “Preferred Vendors List” (with local vendors) for supplying materials for our jobsites. These “local vendors” go out of their way to make building a new home a pleasurable experience for our homeowners. So many of our homeowners are from other areas and probably half of them are actually building their “Dream Home” long distance. Our vendors and subcontractors do everything possible to make this as easy as possible. Most of our subcontractors have been with Ernie since he started his business. These include our electrician, plumber, HVAC, framers, roofers, masons and painters. By using the same subs on a continuous basis, Ernie creates a sense of loyalty between himself and the subs. Also a sense of pride develops in knowing that you are going to get a job that is well done. If a problem does arise, you don’t have to worry about who is going to take care of it, as Ernie handles this personally.
Richard LaChance, originally from Boston, MA. has been project supervisor with our company since May 2002. Rich is a “jack-of-all-trades” and had several years of experience in remodeling prior to relocating to this area with his family.
Keith Gunther, also a project supervisor, left corporate banking lifestyle in 2004 for a new style of living. Keith and his family live at Holden Beach, NC. He has had a lot of experience in construction and also in customer service and satisfaction.
Jack Echard, a retired Sea Trail resident, is also part of our staff. With numerous years of experience in construction, you will see him on our jobsites doing just about everything. Jack is very knowledgeable and capable.
Keith and Richard work diligently with our subcontractors throughout the construction process and are available at the end of construction for any touch-ups that are necessary. They, along with Jack, handle our “punch list” items at the end of construction and can be found on the jobsites doing whatever it takes to make our clients “happy homeowners”.
Pam Callihan, a retired Ocen Ridge Plantation resident, has also been added to our office staff. With her computer and organizational skills, she maintains the office while everyone is out on job sites.
Cathy C. Brown, construction coordinator/office manager, usually can be reached at the office. Cathy works as a liaison between the homeowners, vendors, subs and contractor during the construction process. Using the Nextel system, if a question arises, she has constant communication between the homeowner and everyone involved in the construction of their home. She is also available to help the homeowner with making decisions on flooring, cabinets, lighting and other selections needed for their new home.
Ernie’s profession in life is building high quality custom homes, but his goal in life is having happy homeowners. He is a firm believer that “word-of-mouth” advertising. Prior to building a home, Ernie provides a list of previous clients, bankers and business references to the prospective homeowner and encourages them to contact the people on the lists. As Ted and Crystal Horwitz, two of our homeowners, put it “We had a superb experience. The thing that struck me about Ernie is his integrity. He pays his bills promptly. He’s always on top of his subs. He gave us a list of homeowners. We could have called any of them and we did call a few. We have a standing offer for Ernie to show our home. We have what we think is a beautiful home, and Ernie did a lot of little extra things to make it special. We are proud of it.”
Our “professional team” ---Ernie, Rich, Keith, Jack, Pam and Cathy---does our very best to make your building experience as pleasurable as possible. Making your homebuilding experience a positive one is a major goal for our team of experts.
We can also help our clients when relocating to our area, whether they need a rental for several months or accommodations for a week. Please contact us for more details on available rentals.
Call today for an appointment to make your “Dream Home a Reality”.
Our office is conveniently located at 6649 Beach Drive Unit 2, Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.
