We’re a design-build construction company that stands out by integrating our core values into every project we take on. Our services launch by listening to you, the homeowner, to ensure your vision is at the heart of our work. We’re committed to making your home as green as possible, incorporating sustainable practices that focus on reducing waste and energy consumption. Our dedication to thoughtful design goes hand in hand with our community involvement, as we strive to build not just homes, but stronger, more sustainable communities.
Our Purpose
How it Started
In 2000, Mike D’Onofrio and Eric Youngren were entry level carpenters for a small general contractor. They loved building and the close relationships they forged with their clients. They became acutely aware that oftentimes clients weren’t exactly sure what they were getting; they didn’t understand blueprints and there was a disconnect between what they wanted and what was actually designed. To answer this need Mike and Eric started SoBo Homes in 2003.
How it’s Going
Their simple vision was to do major remodels that greatly improved older homes in south Boulder. SoBo’s kept customer communication at the center of everything we do. Over 20 years later, SoBo Homes now has a staff including an architect, interior designers, estimators, project management and construction talent. Our 5-star ratings prove we’ve got the recipe right.
Our Design-Build Values
- The key to our designs is that we listen to you. We believe that you should have ample opportunity to dream and iterate with us in sculpting your home. We incorporate your ideas into everything we design.
- Your home must flow properly to be successful. We spend a considerable amount of time with each design to create a floorplan that is easy to live with.
- Every square foot should be used wisely.
- Open and bright public spaces are inviting and feel generous.
- Secluded private spaces feel comfortable, intimate, and relaxing.
- Any additional or remodeled spaces need to be in proportion with the rest of your house.
- We always strive to accentuate your property’s virtues and eliminate its shortcomings. You will help us decide what these are.
- We are huge advocates for outdoor spaces that blur the lines between inside and outside.
- Money is always a major part of the process. We consider ourselves to be your personal home advocates. We work to empower you with ideas and costs so that you can make smart financial decisions.
Construction Values
- We consider ourselves to be the stewards of your home while we’re working on it. We treat your property like it belongs to a family member.
- That means it is clean and safe at all times. It also means we are respectful to your property and your neighbors. In the end, we want your home to work well, age gracefully, and be low maintenance.
- Success in construction is based on 4 things: Schedule, Budget, Quality, & Client Satisfaction. The latter is only achieved if the first 3 are met.
Our Services
Major Remodels
When you partner with SoBo Homes, you tap into a full design-build experience. We’re a tight and mighty team that includes a licensed architect, interior designers, professional estimators, client care and on-staff construction crew. Our co-founders get to know you nd your project. Our expertise is remodeling older Boulder County homes – we’ve been doing it for over 20 years.
Additions
Whether a small bump-out or tacking on multiple rooms, an addition gives your home the space it’s begging for. It can also improve traffic flow and increase a level’s usefulness. We love additions because their value to the entire home is worth more than just its square footage – they tend to elevate the whole home’s vibe. We consider aesthetic flow between new and existing structures for a stunning result.
ADUs
Accessory Dwelling Units are ideal for generating extra income, housing aging parents, hosting visiting guests, or giving children who’ve moved home their own private space. Depending on the Boulder County city you live in, there are regulations as to what classifies as an ADU. SoBo Homes knows how to navigate codes and build well-designed and comfortable separate living spaces.
Pop Tops
With views like Boulder County’s, raising the roof to capture views – and extra space – is a delightful way to add space. We’ve built basic studios for hobbies to extensive pop tops that include a spacious primary suite, bathroom, and living space. SoBo Homes is the local expert in architectural design, layout, and construction of pop tops. Spell it pop-top, poptop, or pop top, building up can be the way to go.
Garages
Garages are invaluable in Boulder County for both vehicles and sporting gear. We envision garages beyond a parking space – although it’s nice to fit today’s larger SUV’s, trucks, and rooftop racks inside. We’ve built extra-deep garages to include shop or studio space and developed entertaining space in the layout. Let us show you how to make the most of your available back- or side-yard.
Making Your Home as Green as Possible
- We believe one of the most environmentally conscious things you can do with a major addition/remodel is to keep the square footage sensible.
- We advocate for efficient use of space to keep heating/cooling loads as low as possible.
- We pay holistic attention to your home’s energy use (heat, insulation, solar, appliances, etc).
- We believe remodels are more sustainble than new builds. They infill land use, reduce materials, and re-use existing infrustructure.
- From top to bottom, we advocate that: traditional roofs require less material than complicated rooflines; rectangles are quicker and more efficient to build plus use less materials than angles; getting off natural gas and installing energy efficient appliances lessens a home’s carbon footprint.
- Forward-thinking “future proofing” mentality; if we’re working on your electrical panel, we suggest adding a car charger even if you don’t yet own an EV.
- Water conservation is considered in appliances to rooflines to land use.
- Indoor/outdoor spaces tend to use less heating and cooling energy from their inherent blurring of natural-to-conditioned transitions. It’s adding usable space without a huge energy use lift.
Waste and Energy Reduction
Waste and Energy Reduction
We walk our talk. Following are ways we reduce our waste and energy usage:
- Partnered up with PACE and Boulder County to help us reach 0 emissions by 2050.
- Curbside single-stream recycling and composting.
- 90% of office food comes from waste-free Nude Foods.
- Converted to recycled paper products.
- Use cloths and towels instead of single-use paper towels.
- Subscribe with Ridwell, which provides a recycling/repurposing outlet for many different hard-to-recycle items.
We have a thing for old buildings (which happen to be historical churches!)
At our previous office building on Pearl we converted the following energy-efficient updates, and have a plan to implement at our current office space on Arapahoe:
- Replaced an old, debilitated gas furnace with electric air source heat pump.
- Updated a gas water heater with small electric water heater.
- Added an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) to the building to keep air quality high and energy consumption low.
- Rehung old single pane windows with new high performance windows.
- Landscaped to add plant life and tree canopy to improve the environment around the building.
- Installed a Low use irrigation system.
- Added bike lockers to promote riding to work.
Job site recycling
We dumpster dive on job sites! The huge amount of de-construction and scrap material waste is a dirty truth in the building industry. By diverting waste from landfills and sending it to facilities that recycle/resell/repurpose (like Boulder’s ReSource Central), repurpose, or reuse it, we’re doing our part toward a sustainable industry.
- Untreated wood, dimensional wood, plywood, engineered wood.
- Metal. Infinitely recyclable.
- Cardboard. Just a tree in a flat form, this can be recycled.
- Styrofoam. We custom-sewed sheets that hold styrofoam until we’re able to bring it for recycling.
- PERKS, our de-construction vendor, reuses/sells/repurposes materials.
- We’re a member of the Colorado Green Builders Guild, continuing our education and knowledge on how to continually be at the forefront of sustainability.
Community Involvement
For organizations and causes that are important to us, we put our money where our mouth is.
Organizations that we regularly support:
Other causes we support:
- TGTHR
- ALS Association
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- St. Baldrick’s Foundation
- Children’s Hospital
Local schools and sports:
- GRUPY (GrassRoots Ultimate Program for Youth)
- Creekside Elementary PTO
- Columbine Elementary PTO
- Whittier Elementary PTO
- Louisville Elementary PTO
- Lafayette Elementary PTO
What Our Clients Say
Wow... so much good stuff to say about SoBo. From start to finish, Eric and Mike (owners) + Mason (production manager) and Kyle (on-site PM) and the core crew of Floey, Chino, Dave and others continuously impressed us. We started with a 1980's build that had too many walls and corners where we were always bumping into one another. Eric and Mike gave us an out-of-the-box design that makes our house feel twice the size as it was before while only adding a small addition in reality. The floorplan remodel was ingenious and it didn't stop there. The personalized attention throughout the design phase, through finish selection, and eventual construction was second to none. When the inevitable hiccup arose with city permits (yay, Boulder...), SoBo dealt with it and got us the approvals. And because they meet with you every week on-site, there were never any miscommunications or things that fell through the cracks -- in fact if anything came up, they always proactively caught things before we did, and had a remedy in mind ahead of time. In short, we're living in our dream home and have the SoBo team to thank for it!
—Nick P.