Legacy building firm Roberts Group is joining custom builder Hamor + Naegl under the leadership of Doug Dolman, Hamor + Naegl’s president. Dolman spent 14 years at Roberts Group before founding his own firm. The merged company will do business at Roberts Group’s established office on Lake Washington Boulevard under the Hamor + Naegl banner, and clients can expect the same quality in building, honesty, and transparency that characterizes both firms, combined with a strong team philosophy which is a focus of Hamor.
One update to the Hamor + Naegl brand is an enhanced service department with a new approach to home management and maintenance. “It's a customized plan based on the client’s needs and our recommendations after the home assessment. We want to do that for our clients, but also anyone who’s looking for a program to help maintain their home. That could be replacing filters, tuning up doors, small remodels, these types of projects,” Dolman says.
Dolman’s interest in home building was inspired by his uncle, an architect in San Francisco. His stepfather, Owen Roberts — the founder of Roberts Group — fostered that interest. Dolman says, “As I saw the architect side, I always wanted to understand the build side of it, how you put it together. I would always talk with Owen about aspects of building. He asked me, ‘Do you want to learn from me and join Roberts group?’ So I jumped on that opportunity, moved back to Kirkland and started working for Owen.”
Starting out as a laborer, Dolman — a self-described “numbers guy” — wanted to go into estimating and project management, but prioritized learning the nuances of building and how the whole process worked to help refine those skills. “That provided really good guidance and development, not just with Owen, but with Tim and Mark, who are project managers here, along with Randy, superintendent; their patience and willingness to help develop people - that’s what we want to do, build from within,” Dolman says.
At the time of his passing, Roberts had been working on a significant project, a home on Lake Washington that was nearly a decade in the making. Dolman first worked on the home as a carpenter, and recalls, “We did so much prep work for years and finally we're at the last quarter-mile of the project and it's one of his legacy projects. A lot of the team members that are on the project right now have that understanding, so it means a lot to finish it.”
Dolman says, “Owen was truly a titan in the industry. His eye for detail, his vision for not just the company, but the industry itself — he was always looking to improve. He loved to connect anyone and everyone, and would rather have you succeed than himself - I'm an example of that. If you said ‘Owen Roberts’ to someone who knew him, the first thing they’d do is smile.”
Dolman plans to carry on that ethos at Hamor + Naegl. According to him, getting to know clients and understanding their dreams and motivation for building is the foundation for successful partnerships, as is complete transparency in what is feasible, and how much the project will cost. He says, “We take an honest, realistic approach, straight from the beginning — we never look to provide false optimism. Cost is obviously another factor, but a third factor is trust and understanding. I tell everyone the beginning process is a lengthy conversation.”
We take an honest, realistic approach, straight from the beginning — we never look to provide false optimism.