Builder of the Year report: Toll Brothers - new guard, new era, more success

Toll Brothers' Process for Creating Winning Designs

Five over four and a door. It’s one of the simple design formulas that have served Toll Brothers well for decades — a colonial-style home with five windows over four windows and a door that can be customized with rooms on either side. Bob Toll says the home style has been a winner among Toll buyers dating back to the mid-70s. It’s indicative of the type of product the company has become known for — spacious, four- to five-bedroom, two-story, single-family detached houses with well-detailed elevations.

But through the years, the company has greatly diversified its product range to include everything from 500-square-foot, inner-city condos to 8,000-square-foot estate homes, and from ranch-style active-adult models to high-rise buildings. 

So, is there a Toll “look” anymore?

“I would say no. There isn’t one look,” says Weber. “In fact, it’s not just about the product. It’s how our buyers feel as they drive through the community. For example, we cant the homes. We don’t just line them up in a row. We upgrade the landscaping. We pour over every detail, from the signage to the landscaping to the way the community is laid out.”

Weber says every design created by Toll Architecture (and third-party firms) is scrutinized to the nth degree by the operations team, both at the design table and in the field, to ensure they meet Toll’s standard of quality. 

“The architecture group is very good and knows what we’re looking for, and they typically present us with a product that we’re very happy to start with,” says Weber, “but it’s only after a rigorous review that it’s deemed ready. It bogs down the process, but we would rather take the time to get it right.”

Once a design passes the paper test, a full-scale, physical model is built in the community for which it’s designed. There, the local operations team conducts a framing inspection with the trade contractors who built the model, as well as the local sales team, designers involved in the project, and even homeowners from the area.  

“There are two tracks to the framing inspection,” says Jed Gibson, president of Toll Architecture. “The first is constructability. How hard was it to build? What are the technical issues with building it? The second is the user experience. Does it flow and feel the way we want it to from a design point of view? What are people going to see when they walk into the home? When they walk by the powder room, do they see the vanity and mirror or the toilet?”

Weber says the inspection team picks apart every aspect of the design, from the way the homeowner will take dishes out of the sink to the direction the front door swings. “It could be the difference between seeing a blank wall or a grand view when you open the door,” he says. “We apply the design lessons we’ve learned over the years.”

Other Toll design best practices include:

Incorporate memory points. Whether it’s a dual staircase, wall of windows, or grand kitchen island, each Toll plan is designed with at least one landmark feature that will likely cause a home shopper to recall the home later.

“We understand that when people are looking at houses, they may see 50 in a day,” says Gibson. “We have the opportunity in the foyer, the kitchen, master bath, and the family room to create a memorable feature.”

Don’t skimp on products. “We’ve learned not to skimp because inevitably you end up paying twice as much in warranty than if you just spent a little more upfront,” says Gibson, citing the use of cellular PVC trim as an example. He says that Toll designs typically exceed the code minimums, especially with regard to structural design. For example, as standard, the builder beefs up the floor structure in the kitchen to allow homeowners to install marble tile down the road without worrying about cracking due to deflection issues.

“We also don’t want them to walk across their dining room and hear the china in their china cabinet rattle,” says Gibson. “Telling them, ‘Well, it meets code’ is not what they want to hear.”

Maximize lot width. “We try to maximize the width of the home on the lot, because we realize what sells a home is the feeling you get when you drive up,” says Weber. “People want to see a substantial home.”

Flexible plans. As a semi-custom builder who sells more than $100,000 on average in structural and design options per home, creating plans that can adapt to a home buyer’s wants is essential.

“We make it incredibly flexible so the same house can be a one story, two story, or a loft in the center along with all the other various structural options,” says Gibson. “For instance, we have 3,000-square-foot plans that, with options and add-ons, can end up at 6,000 square feet or larger.”