SheepdogConstruction
Stone home with traditional gables and a timbered entry, from Sheepdog’s existing website imagery

Sheepdog Construction · Aiken, South Carolina

Owner-builder consulting for thoughtfully planned homes.

Manage your build with practical guidance on plans, budgets, materials, and the decisions ahead.

Explore Packages

Existing Sheepdog website imagery · not a consulting case study

Choose your starting point

A clearer plan.
The right amount of guidance.

Start with the assessment, then choose support for the agreed stages of your build. Suitable planning you already have can be carried forward.

Understand the project

Planning & Budget Assessment

$1,500

Understand where your project stands and leave with a practical plan for moving forward.

  • Plans, priorities, and budget considered together
  • Agreed bid reviews within the wider assessment
  • Written project roadmap and one discussion

Document-based assessment. Site visits quoted separately.

View Package Details
  • One agreed plan version and supplied property information.
  • Roadmap covering goals, budget gaps and assumptions, material choices, professional questions, and assigned next steps.
  • Trades, bid counts, review rounds, document limits, and timing agreed before starting.
  • Detailed takeoffs, substantial design work, professional approvals, and visits are separate scopes.
  • No standalone bid-review service or budget engagement below $1,500.
  • Eligible assessment credit toward an ongoing package for the same project within 60 days, applied once.
Download the full consulting guide (PDF) ↓

Through the agreed shell

Shell Consulting

from $5,000

Get guidance through the foundation, structure, and exterior work that makes your home weather-tight.

  • Planning, agreed shell scopes, and material quantities
  • Scheduled calls and written next steps
  • Up to five agreed advisory milestone visits

You manage the trades. Calls, visits, and support are limited.

View Package Details
  • Included allowance: 35 total consulting hours within a six-month service window.
  • Up to five agreed local advisory milestone visits and six scheduled 30-minute calls, within those hours.
  • One takeoff for specified shell work from one agreed plan version; trades and suppliers confirm quantities.
  • Up to three owner-supplied bids per agreed shell trade package, considered within planning and budget work.
  • Preparation, travel, reports, calls, visits, and messages share the allowance.
  • You provide current documents, ready access, timely decisions, and required local professional input.
  • Changed work, extra visits, pauses, and extensions require written agreement. Support ends under the agreed deliverables, allowances, and window.
Download the full consulting guide (PDF) ↓

Through the agreed build stages

Full-Build Consulting

from $15,000

Keep a Sheepdog adviser involved through planning, materials, construction decisions, and closeout.

  • Shell support carried through the wider build
  • Scheduled calls and material budget sessions
  • Up to eleven agreed advisory milestone visits

Defined stages and allowances. You remain in charge of the build.

View Package Details
  • Included allowance: 110 total consulting hours within a twelve-month service window.
  • Up to eleven agreed local advisory milestone visits, up to 26 scheduled 30-minute calls, and two 90-minute material budget sessions.
  • Includes shell support, one initial plan version, and review of up to ten significant budget decisions.
  • Up to three bids for each of ten agreed major trade packages, within the wider program.
  • Research for up to three priority trades: two or three possible candidates per trade and one follow-up attempt, subject to availability and replies.
  • Shell work, preparation, travel, reports, messages, and all sessions count within program totals.
  • You supply current information, timely decisions, required professional input, and ready access. Extra work, new plans, extensive purchasing, pauses, and extensions require agreement.
  • Written recommendations, owner responses, and an open-items closeout record keep decisions connected.
Download the full consulting guide (PDF) ↓

Take a closer look.

Compare inclusions, service limits, visits, upgrade credits, and responsibilities in one guide.

Download the Sheepdog Consulting Guide

Starting fees shown above. Final scope, allowances, fee, and availability are confirmed in writing. Additional authorized work within an existing engagement: $150 per hour.

Why guidance matters

Get help before
a mistake is built in.

Managing the budget, the trades, and every decision yourself can leave you in over your head.

An illustrative budget gap: a $400,000 build that runs 25% over budget needs another $100,000 to finish.

  • A budget with no breathing room.

    Missing site costs, optimistic allowances, and no contingency can leave money running out before the home is finished.

  • Cheap work that becomes expensive.

    Choosing on price alone can overlook poor workmanship. Foundation, framing, and weatherproofing mistakes can leave costly problems hidden inside the bones of the home.

  • Problems reaching the finish line.

    DIY work must meet code. Funding gaps, incomplete work, or unmet lender requirements can complicate financing. Confirm requirements with your lender before committing.

Sheepdog helps you question the numbers, plan for unknowns, and work through decisions before committing money or building them into your home.

Is owner-building right for you?

You lead the build.
We help with the decisions.

This fits a homeowner who wants to hire trades, coordinate the work, and make decisions each week—with practical advice along the way.

Sheepdog’s approach puts traditional character, rural properties, durable construction, and sensible spending together. Think porches, roof complexity, windows, access, drainage, and the choices that shape the whole home.

You select, contract with, schedule, and pay trades, approve spending, and arrange required permits, inspections, and professional input.

Prefer a contractor to run the build? Explore construction services ↗

How it works

Start with a conversation.

The first discussion establishes fit and local availability. Detailed plan and budget analysis belongs in the paid engagement.

  1. 01

    Discuss your build

    Tell us about the property, plans, timing, and the role you want to take.

  2. 02

    Agree the work

    Normally, begin with the assessment and roadmap. Carry forward suitable existing planning. Confirm scope, payment, limits, and timing before onboarding.

  3. 03

    Work through the next steps

    Use the agreed reviews, calls, and visits. Record decisions and close out with the agreed project records when support ends.

Client workspace

Your next decisions.
All in one place.

Keep plans, budget changes, adviser recommendations, and next actions together.

Fictional Willow Cottage demonstration · no live integrations
Sheepdog ConstructionFictional project

Willow Cottage

What happens next?

  1. 01 Confirm budget priorities
  2. 02 Gather property information
  3. 03 Record the next decision

Before you begin

A few useful answers.

Full details in the consulting guide ↓
Who hires and pays the trades?

You do. Sheepdog advises within your agreed scope; you select, contract with, schedule, and pay trades. Consulting does not make Sheepdog the contractor running your jobsite.

What do advisory visits cover?

Agreed questions about safe, accessible work, followed by written observations and next steps. These visits do not replace required inspections, engineering, code approval, or daily supervision.

Request visits at least five business days ahead and confirm readiness before travel. Local travel initially assumes about 45 minutes each way from the assigned adviser, subject to confirmation. Longer travel, extra visits, or return trips are agreed in advance and may use additional allowances.

What if my plans change or I need more help?

New plans, added reviews, extra visits, pauses, and extensions may change the scope. We explain the extra work and estimated cost and obtain written approval before starting. Calls, visits, total hours, and the service window are bounded; support is not unlimited. Corrections to our own work are not client extras.

Can earlier work or payments carry forward?

Yes, where suitable. An eligible $1,500 assessment credits toward an ongoing package for the same project within 60 days. Shell fees credit toward Full-Build for unchanged project and included work. Credits apply once; the proposal records completed work, used allowances, and the balance. See the guide for the example.

Where is consulting available?

Initially Aiken County and nearby South Carolina locations, subject to confirmed availability and travel arrangements. Remote consulting elsewhere is a planned expansion.

Let’s talk about your home

What are you planning to build?

Tell us where you are in the project. We’ll discuss a practical starting point.

Aiken County & nearby South Carolina · availability confirmed by project

Tell us about your project

Discuss Your Build

The first conversation establishes project fit and local availability. Detailed plan and budget analysis starts in the paid Planning & Budget Assessment, normally $1,500. Your details go to the Sheepdog team so we can follow up about your build. Submitting an inquiry does not book a visit, begin an engagement, or authorize payment.

Fictional demonstration record