Net Zero home in Ithaca, NY

“The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts”

Aristotle

Custom home living room with nice corner windows.

Testimonials

Hi Ralph-

I hope this email finds you well. Early on when we began working together, you used this Gmail, I hope it is ok we are sending this message through this address. As you may remember, we are approaching a year since moving into our incredible home you designed for Baruch and I. As Baruch and I have been reflecting on how amazing life has been in the house and how much we appreciated you and all your support through the process, we wanted to reach out and share our continued appreciation for all you did for us. Thank you!

We still to this day wake up and cannot believe we live in a house as beautiful and functional and perfect as this house is. Your work was truly life-changing for us!

Thank you and again, sending you and your family all positivity and happiness!

Be well!

Adam and Baruch

Ralph Varn’s experience as a builder shines through in his architectural skills and creativity. As a team, they’re punctual, polite, and insightful when it comes to all of the elements – small and large – that go into creating a beautiful home. Our project was a small studio home for our mom to comfortably live in during extended stays. She’s elderly and has significant mobility issues.  Ralph did everything with our mom in mind, and the result is a gorgeous place she loves and can maneuver about easily and safely.      She loves the place!

Reed and Greta Dewey

“Ralph Varn has worked on two projects for our family. He did the architectural drawings and designed the houses with us from the outset, all the time understanding our needs. His understanding of the construction process and his design expertise also helped us stay within our intended budget. Ralph has great ideas and pays attention to details. We would highly recommend Ralph Varn“

HUNT BRADLEY

“Ralph is a very conscientious and talented builder. He worked closely with us on a complex design of a very energy-efficient custom Craftsman-style home that included solar PV, solar thermal, and geothermal heat pump energy systems. He modified our original plans to meet NY standards and to save us money with several creative changes, Ralph was also quite helpful with interior design choices and did an excellent job on the interior woodwork, hardwood flooring, and tile work. He was pleasant to work with and kept us informed about any delays with the subcontractors that were needed for certain jobs as a result of the complex structure and energy systems (e.g. heat pump installation, wall and attic insulation, and excavation work) for the house.
My wife and I were very pleased with the result and would certainly recommend him to others.”

JEFFERSON WILLIAM TESTER - CROLL PROFESSOR OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS - CORNELL UNIVERSITY

“Working with Ralph was a pleasure from start to finish. Creatively inspired by drawings at the outset, Ralph developed our vision for a new house with professionalism, creative flare, and vision.
Sensitive to the requirements of our location, the house was built in good time, allowing for a few hick-ups along the way (always to be expected).
His aftercare has been excellent.
I can thoroughly recommend this company.”

NICHOLAS DOWN

“Our experience was excellent. We had a five-week window between closing and moving in, and the guys worked very hard to get the job finished. Ralph was very helpful in finding some of the specific hardware at a good price. They worked with our suggestions and offered many helpful ones in their room. I would recommend Ralph unconditionally”

KTOLHURST16

“Ralph did a major renovation of my 150-year-old house. Not only is everything now modernized and efficient, but it looks true to the style in which it was built.”

STEVEN KYLE

“I stopped at the job yesterday to look at the spray foam insulation. I thought it was one of the nicer workmanship that I have seen.”

BRENT CROSS - BUILDING INSPECTOR