Q: Does Ace ever do commercial projects?
A: We do occasionally take on modest commercial jobs. We have just remodeled the AG Edwards building at 100 South Street for a group of psychologists who are moving into the third floor. We have remodeled several local restaurants, worked as a sub-contractor on 3 or 4 of the recent, large UVa projects and have been contractor on numerous small business projects.

Q: Have you ever starred in any movies?
A: Yes.

Q: Tell us about it.
A: In 1992 we built a new home for Oded Kishony, violin maker, and Gloria Bowers and their daughter Emma. The entire process, from marking the trees to be removed on the lot through move-in, was filmed by Seth Graves of Earth Communications. From this 7 or 8 months of material, Seth edited out a series of short, how-to videos covering all aspects of construction and all keyed to this one project. This series is geared towards high schools and vocational schools. In addition, from the same material, he has produced "The Fifty Minute House". This movie shows the whole chronology with narration and would probably be of interest to anyone planning to build a house.

Q: Have you really worked for a lot of architects on their personal projects or is that just hype?
A: We have built (or are building) new homes for 6 architects and have done remodeling projects for many others, including two past Deans of the UVa School of Architecture. It's a complete mystery why they choose us.

Q: Which of the three brothers is the best fly fisherman?
A: Simple. The handsome one. (Coincidentally the author of the text in our web site.)

Q: When Ace comes to remodel our house, do we have to move out?
A: No, but it helps.

Q: Come on, get serious.
A: Well, in fact, we have had many clients who have arranged their projects to coincide with a vacation, a stay at their summer (or winter) residence or even a lengthy sabbatical in Europe. Most, however, stay during the project. We always try to do as much work as possible before encroaching on existing living space and we make every effort to control dust, dirt and debris. Still, remodeling is always disruptive, especially when primary use areas like kitchens and main bathrooms are involved. Major building projects are invariably intense, personal experiences for all concerned and we try to be attentive and sensitive to this fact, especially when our clients are living in half of their house while we are working on the other half.

Q: How much of a deposit do you require before starting work?
A: We never ask for a deposit. We always bill for work already completed. (Occasionally this includes materials stored off-site, like windows that we aren't ready to install, or deposits to subs, like a deposit to a cabinet maker to buy materials.) Our billing cycle is either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the project.