Tradition continues but strategy changes
Crafting an item from start to finish usually gives an artisan a sense of pride that some may not understand.
Brennan Homes knows this feeling.
The company was founded in 1956 by 19-year-old Kenneth Brennan of Evans City, who died Dec. 26, 2011. He was the father of current President Robert Brennan and the grandfather of Vice President Tricia Brennan.
Kenneth Brennan trained in the trades with his uncle before starting his own business with an emphasis on quality.
Robert Brennan said he continues to maintain the high standards and appreciates the groundwork that his father prepared.
“They took the quality of their product and their brand very seriously,” Brennan said. “It's something any company needs to stay vigilant on.”
The company specializes in building new homes, and it begins by helping its customers early in the planning process. That begins by touring customers through model homes. The homes are sample schematics and also display popular paint colors and adjustable options.
Every client is matched with a consultant, who discusses budget, location and other prebuild planning. Once planning is complete, builders move in and flesh out the design.
Tricia Brennan said the planning typically takes a month or two and the average building process takes about six months to complete.
“They see their house being created from the ground up,” she said.
The basic home begins by digging a large hole and pouring concrete for the foundation.
Once the builders have a platform, they build the framing using wooden two-by-fours with studs spaced 16 inches apart. Then the electrical wiring, HVAC and plumbing are all connected.
After the guts of the home are in place, the builders begin fleshing out the project, hanging drywall on the inside while at the same time finishing the outside with the material of the new homeowners choice, usually brick, stone or wood.
After the walls and roof are installed and insulated, the builders focus on the details, installing molding and cabinets. The team then considers items such as appliances and lighting to be the final details to a project.
Tricia Brennan said the company sometimes gets special requests to integrate technology into the new home.
She said most commonly the builders are asked to include features that control the thermostat, some of which can be controlled through Internet access and can vary the temperature of individual rooms.
Security systems are also a popular addition.
Some customers want a large technological package.
She said while this isn't impossible, it is more difficult, and they take these requests on a case-by-case basis.
“We don't do many of these as this technology is still developing and there are too many players in the game to say who the winner is going to be,” she said.Robert Brennan said he feels like he has succeeded in carrying this tradition of quality, and he said the proof is in the advertising of houses for sale.“People often list in their classified (ads), 'Brennan-built home,'” Brennan said.Before returning to his retiring father's business, he worked in software, but that work felt repetitive and temporary.“What I like about construction is the permanence to it,” he said. “That's what brought me back.”After settling in the company, Brennan said he decided to make a few changes to his father's business model to compete with a changing economy and to meet a new generation of customer's demands.“Custom builders are going out of business,” Brennan said. “More and more houses are being built by production builders.”He found a way to evolve his business without degrading from the standards his father put in place. The company offers pre-modeled homes as its most basic package, but each home has not only options and variables but also potential for customization.“We can blend the two and get the best of both worlds,” Brennan said.“We've increased the volume of business without sacrificing customization or quality.“That's the response of listening to the customers and listening to the market,” he said.He noted, “When people buy homes today, they are buying the home they live in and their communities. We want to continue down the path of building complete communities.”
