Last updated on May 28th, 2024 at 08:14 am
From Birmingham’s upscale suburbs to the blue waters of the Gulf Coast, Alabama is a great place to build the custom home of your dreams. This is a list of the best contractors in the Yellowhammer State, who build private custom homes and luxury estates in Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Orange Beach, Fairhope, and more.
The home builders on this list are highly knowledgeable and experienced and are working on the leading-edge of the industry. These Alabama Master Builders dare to build big and beautiful, to push the envelope, and to make something truly wonderful and lasting for their clients. Many of the firms on this list have prestigious certifications from the National Association of Home Builders and have won local, regional, and national awards.
If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
15) Alexander Modern Homes
298 River Road, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661
Located in Muscle Shoals, Alexander Modern Homes has perfected the sleek, clean lines; open floor plans; and essential indoor-outdoor atmosphere of the modern style. The company is unique among Alabama custom home builders for its dedication to modern architecture and design. They are a licensed builder for Florida-based Phil Kean Design Group’s (PKDG) Waycool Homes, which offers 26 modifiable home plans featuring elegant modern design, retractable sliding doors, and high-end features. A world-renowned design firm, PKDG was chosen by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the architect, builder, and interior designer of the “2017 New American Home.”
Alexander Modern Homes is led by Rusty and Lisa Alexander. Rusty has been in the custom home building and remodeling industry since 1976 and has worked on commercial projects in Muscle Shoals as well. Lisa Alexander is an industry veteran and designer with an eye for kitchen layouts. The company is a member of the NAHB’s high-end 20 Club and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA).
14) Wilkes Construction Company
295 Fossil Rock Road, Springville, AL 35146
With nearly 30 years in the construction and remodeling industry, Wilkes Constructruction Company is a leader among custom home builders in Alabama. Though based in Springfield, the builder works in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Fairhope, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia. Founded by owner Robert Wilkes, the company specializes in high-end, luxury custom homes; remodels; and commercial projects.
Wilkes Construction Company has an A+ Rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and its work has been featured in Architecture Daily and AL.com. The contractor offers a free consultation to all potential clients, and each project is overseen by an on-site manager. Wilkes Construction recently completed a stunning “Modern Farmhouse” on a lake in Jasper, which was designed by award-winning Alabama architect Chris Reebals of Christopher Architecture & Interiors. Sitting on a cliff edge above the water, the 4,460-square-foot home features a mixture of classic farm-style elements with a clean and open modern design. The emphasis is on the views, with a glass-walled living room inviting the dramatic environment into the home’s elegant interior.
13) Stidco Construction
2081 Columbiana Road, Birmingham, AL 35216
Alabama custom home builders Stidco Construction works with some Alabama’s top architects to build multimillion-dollar luxury homes in the Birmingham area. In addition to high-end homes, the company regularly works on large remodeling projects, office developments and other commercial projects, and the restoration and repurposing of historic buildings. Founder and President Andy Stidfole is an industry veteran and graduate of Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in management. In his over than 20 years in the industry, he has has worked on projects ranging from 10,000 square feet to 125k square feet.
CFO and Vice President Tim Garner owned his own business for 20 years before joining the company. He is a graduate of Auburn University with bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in administration. The builder recently worked with Architect Chris Reebals — of Christopher Architecture & Interiors — on an award-winning project in Indian Springs. The “Indian Springs Pool House” won a 2017 Residential Design Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Birmingham Chapter.
12) TCC General Contractors
6378 Highway 63 South, Alexander City, AL 35010
TCC General Contractors has more than 40 years of experience building high-quality, hand-crafted homes in Alabama. The custom home contractor works in Alexander City|Lake Martin, Birmingham, Mountain Brook, and elsewhere. The new-home builder’s work has been featured in Veranda Magazine, Country Living, Birmingham Home & Garden, House Beautiful, and Southern Living. The home building company was founded in 2006 by Marbury McCullough, a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in civil engineering. The residential contractor, which also does remodel and commercial projects, has an A+ rating from the BBB.
TCC recently worked with Birmingham firm Krumdieck Architecture + Interiors on a gorgeous Lake Martin home. Winner of a 2017 Residential Design Award from AIA Birmingham, the “Lake Martin Residence” is a 3,000-square-foot, modern-style structure cut into a hillside above the water. The main living space is a “glass lean-to” that reaches out to the lake, and the home features limestone and painted-wood exteriors and wonderfully bright and sumptuous interiors with amazing views of the lake outside.
11) Loper Construction Company
24693 Canal Road, Suite B, Orange Beach, AL 36561
Loper Construction Company builds stylish and memorable custom homes in Orange Beach and all along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Loper Construction has won numerous “Best of Orange Beach” awards and has been inducted into the Orange Beach Business Hall of Fame. The company’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Mansion Global, and Coastal Lifestyle Magazine. A member of the NAHB and a recipient of an A+ rating from the BBB, the company also received a national Pacesetter Award for Customer Service from Custom Home Magazine.
The company was founded by Chad Loper and focuses on luxury custom homes and remodels. In addition to understanding what it takes to build a high-end home in a tornado-prone area, Loper Construction knows all about the exquisite, elegant details that go into making a truly beautiful residential structure. The firm’s recent finished projects feature antique stone flooring, exposed wood beams, mahogany double doors, reclaimed antique distressed oak flooring, barrel metal roof tiles, and custom-built cabinets, shelves, and bunk-beds.
10) Drake Homes
2700 19th Place, Suite 200, Homewood, AL 35209
A leading home builder and remodeler in greater Birmingham, AL, Drake Homes was named to Remodeling Magazine’s 2016 list of the “Big 50” remodelers in the nation. Drake also received a Remodeling Excellence Award from the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders (GBAHB) in 2017, 2016, and 2015. The residential contractor builds custom homes and remodels throughout the Birmingham area, including in Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia Hills — hometown of the Drake Homes founder and president, Andrew Lange.
A graduate of of the University of Alabama with a degree in real estate finance, Lange has more than 15 years of experience in the residential construction industry. Lange started his custom home company in 2011. He offers each potential client a feasibility study of the project, putting in a substantial amount of time and effort before being hired to ensure there are no big surprises down the road. No wonder Drake Homes has an A+ rating from the BBB.
9) Willow Homes
111 Broadway Street, Suite 3, Homewood, AL 35209
A talented design-build firm in Birmingham, Willow Homes builds new custom homes and high-end remodels in many of the area’s upscale neighborhoods, including Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, and Avondale. Willow Homes has consistently won awards from the Greater Birmingham Parade of Homes and the Alabama Remodeling Excellence Awards (AREA) in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Willow Homes recently won Best in Show and several other awards at the 2018 AREA Awards from the Home Builders Association of Alabama. President Jason Hale comes from three generations for home builders. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in business, and he earned a law degree from Cumberland School of Law.
Vice President Rob Hale has been a custom home builder for more than 25 years. He has a degree in civil engineering from Auburn, and he served as Alabama division president for a national home building company before joining Willow Homes in 2014. The company’s design arm is led by Allison Hallman and Katherine Bailey, designers and owners of Willow Design Studio. Hallman studied industrial design at Auburn, and Bailey is a graduate of the school’s architecture and interior design program.
8) Day Star Construction Inc
4005 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35222
Day Star Construction, Inc. president Stephen Dorsky started out in Alabama’s custom home building industry as a laborer and plasterer. Since 1983, he has owned Day Star with his wife, Lori Dorsky, building new custom homes, working on major home renovations and remodels, and small commercial projects. They work throughout greater Birmingham, including Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Forest Park, and Cahaba Heights. Over the years Dorsky has earned prestigious certifications from the NAHB, including Certified Master Builder and Remodeler. The company has an A+ rating from the BBB.
The custom home contractor takes on all kinds of jobs, from luxury properties to kitchen and bathroom remodels, and it was a finalist in Birmingham Home & Gardens Magazines Fresh Kitchen Project.
7) Westmark Construction Inc.
250 Governors Drive, Suite L, Huntsville, AL 35801
Located in Huntsville and building custom homes all over North Alabama, Westmark Construction started in 1992 and has since become a leading light in the region’s luxury home industry. Founded by Steve West, the company is active in the Huntsville|Madison County Builders Association (HMCBA) and has received several of the group’s Builder of the Year Awards.
West, a past president of the HMBCA, learned how to build custom homes while growing up with his father’s construction company. He was already supervising new-home builds at the age of 19. West has a bachelor’s degree in building science from Auburn University, and he is certified by the NAHB as a Graduate Builder. The company’s two in-house construction managers have, combined, more than 50 years of experience building luxury custom homes. Westmark has considerable experience building sprawling lake homes and Southern family palaces in various grand and classic styles. The company’s interiors are typically elegant, warm, and luxurious, with exquisite kitchens and bathrooms.
6) Shelton Construction Inc.
247 E. Moulton Street, Decatur, AL 35601
North Alabama custom home builder Shelton Construction received the Home Builders of Association of Alabama (HBAA) 2017 Don Nolan Builder of the Year Award. Founded by Philip Shelton in 1993, the contracting company builds custom luxury homes and renovations in Decatur, Athens, Huntsville, Madison, and elsewhere. Shelton is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable builders in the state, certified by the NAHB as a Graduate Master Builder, Graduate Builder, Graduate Re-modeler, Graduate Master Re-modeler and Certified Green Professional. He is also certified as a Green Builder through the HBAA and has an A+ rating from the BBB.
Shelton, a graduate of the University of Alabama, is a three-time past president of the Greater Morgan County Builders Association (GMCBA). In 2016 the home builder won GMCBA’s Builder of the Year, and in 2015 Shelton was named Graduate Master Builder of the Year by the NAHB. He also was named the HBAA Remodeler of the Year in 2011, and his work has been recognized with several Alabama Remodeling Excellence Awards.
5) Cotton Construction
4001 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35222
Founded in 2006, Cotton Construction works with some of the state’s top architects on beautiful custom homes throughout greater Birmingham. A small and focused boutique custom home builder, Cotton Construction is led by Trey Goldstein, a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in building science. Before starting Cotton Construction, Goldstein worked in commercial healthcare construction for many years, managing large crews for projects totaling more than $1B.
Cotton worked with Christopher Architecture and Interiors on a house that won HGTV’s Lakeside Retreat Contest and a 2016 Design Award from AIA Birmingham. The 5,000-square-foot lake house features custom stone work, an outdoor kitchen, reclaimed wood beams, and custom cabinetry. In a recent remodel project, Cotton Construction endeavored to match the style of a Craftsman home with authentic materials and period details, including cedar-beam porches, reclaimed brick floors, soapstone countertops, and even a white picket fence made of reclaimed oak floorboards. The custom home builder’s work has been featured in Birmingham Home & Garden, Birmingham Magazine, and AL.com.
4) FA Bryant Construction
2637 Valleydale Road, Suite 200, Hoover, AL 35244
FA Bryant Construction has built nearly 600 custom homes in Alabama since 1960. They build everything from luxury showplaces to lake homes, hunting cabins, and farmhouses. The company also does boutique commercial projects, including offices and churches. FA Bryant worked with Jeff Dugan Architects on “Country Farmhouse” in Lowndesboro, which won a 2016 Design Award from AIA Birmingham. The wonderful family compound, surrounded by 3,000 acres of nature, includes a shuttered sleeping porch and an outdoor dining room with a corner fireplace.
FA Bryant’s work has appeared in Southern Living and Birmingham Home & Garden, and the company has an A+ rating from the BBB. Founder Francis Bryant started out a carpenter and later moved into custom home building. After more than 50 years in the industry, the company is now headed by President and third-generation builder John Bryant, and Vice President Kevin Gann.
3) Hufham Farris
13924 Wares Ferry Road, Montgomery, AL 36117
With offices in Montgomery and Birmingham, as well as in Florida and Georgia, Hufham Farris builds custom homes all over the Southeast and and the Gulf Coast. The custom home builder was founded in 2003 by Auburn University graduates Bob Farris and Coleman Hufham. The builder’s work has been featured in Southern Accent, Traditional Home, Birmingham Home & Garden, Veranda, and other publications. Hufham Farris builds throughout the Birmingham, Montgomery, Mountain Brook, and Lake Martin areas.
The company constructs residential projects, including high-end luxury homes, vacation homes, plantations, stables, and kennels, as well as commercial projects. The residential and home remodel contractor also operates Pike Road Millwork, which creates gorgeous custom woodwork for Hufham Farris’s new custom homes and remodel projects. Not surprisingly, the contractor’s homes are typically filled with wonderful woodwork. On a lake home that Hufham Farris built with architect Bill Ingram on Lake Martin, the company used bleach cypress for the exposed-beam ceiling and antique limed oak for the floors.
2) WSC Distinctive Builders
365 Winding Wood Drive, Wetumpka, AL 36093
WSC Distinctive Builders is a family-owned construction company that builds architecturally designed custom homes in Lake Matin and central Alabama. President Kevin Shubird has more than 35 years of experience in residential construction. Shubird started out in 1975 as a high school apprentice with a Texas home builder, and he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from Auburn University.
A high-end boutique home builder, WSC builds four to six homes a year, each with an emphasis on efficiency and sustainable practices. The company also specializes in building on the water, including constructing seawalls, decks, piers, and floating docks. The custom home builder has constructed more than 240 homes in Alabama and has completed more than 300 remodeling projects. Shubird is an NAHB-certified Graduate Builder and Certified Graduate Remodeler, and his company has twice been listed on Qualified Remodeler Magazine’s list of the top 500 remodelers in the nation. Shubird is a past president of the Montgomery Home Builders Association (MHBA) and received the NAHB’s Lifetime Spike Award.
1) Philip Woods Home Builder
1102 20th Street S, Suite B, Birmingham, AL 35205
Philip Woods Home Builder has been constructing custom homes in greater Birmingham for more than 25 years. Founded in 1993 by company namesake Philip Woods, the residential builder has an A+ rating from the BBB. The Alabama custom home builder’s work has been featured in Milieu, Veranda, Birmingham Home & Garden, and StyleBlueprint. The company builds stunning, high-end luxury custom homes in Mountain Brook, Spring Valley, and all over the Birmingham area.
Philip Woods recently worked with the Birmingham architectural firm Design Initiative on the major remodel of a Mountain Brook home, originally designed in 1963 by famed local architect Fritz Woehle. The new, 3,500-square-foot modern home features a wonderful two-story glass volume and restores what was great about the old house. The structure includes new space for entertaining and displaying the owner’s art and artifact collection, while a new steel-clad fireplace opens up the dining room and living rooms. The “Mountain Brook Residence” won a 2017 Design Award from AIA Birmingham.
How can I find a contractor or home builder near me?
Read our latest articles on the best residential contractors and home builders in and near Alabama. If you don’t see your city or project type below, just let us know – we are happy to create a tailored recommendation list just for you.
Custom home builders in the United States
About Our Rankings
This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration.
Get Bids For Your Build
If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.
