Once and future homes
Creative Caves LLC, founded earlier this year, specializes in turning unfinished basements into the most fun room in the house ...
By Michael Schwartz / Sunday News Staff Writer mschwartz@lnpnews.com

Jessica Long apologized for the screaming.

The mother of four quieted her young children. “Obviously,” she said, “We needed a space for the kids to be themselves.”

That space is the basement, but the now-finished bottom level of the Long house is anything but a dank, cinderblock dungeon.

Natural light illuminates the 900-plus square feet, which features a play area for the kids and a home theater for the whole family.

When Jessica and husband, Shaun, surveyed the completed project, they summed it up succinctly: “Perfect.”

Creative Caves is the company responsible for the Longs’ new sanctuary.

The brainchild of Bob and Charlene Snavely, Creative Caves LLC grew from Snavely Construction, which had remodeled basements for years, but not with the focus of the new business.

“After we finished [the Longs’ basement],” Snavely said, “I realized we had found a market and that we could do something neat and unique.”

For one client, this involved creating an Irish pub-themed space, complete with oak bar and pool table. The Longs wanted a large, comfortable living room, in contrast to the formal rooms on the first floor.

For Creative Caves’ first client, Don and Laura Geiter, the job consisted of turning an underused space into an office, a play area for the couple’s two children, and what Don referred to as the “man area.”

The man area, to which their 4-year-old son Jacob, has taken an early liking, features a TV, a couch for game-watching, a foosball table and other man-friendly accouterments.

“The first question we try to answer is ‘What do you like?’ ” Snavely said. “We try to help with ideas but once we know what they want, we make it happen.”

Cave art
Snavely grew up learning the hands-on parts of the construction business firsthand at his father’s company.

Now a principal in Snavely Construction, Snavely received his masters of business administration in 2003 after graduating from Millersville University more than 25 years ago with a degree in education and a love for art.

“I can lay brick,” Snavely said. “But I remember the old bricklayers telling me how much their backs hurt and that I should use my brain.”

Snavely’s brain took him on a career path to New York City and the printing industry before bringing him back to Lancaster and construction.

“Now that I’m using my brain and my hands,” he said, “I’m having more fun than I have in a long time.”

In early 2007, Snavely told his wife, Charlene, about his idea to spin off part of Snavely Construction to focus specifically on luxury basement remodeling.

Charlene, a nurse and artist, loved the concept and suggested the new company offer themed designs such as a 1950s retro look or, for example, an Irish pub. She went straight to work on sketches and now serves, in her spare time, as president and chief executive officer of Creative Caves. Mike Garrett, vice president of production, rounds out the full-time managing trio.

The company has seven projects either completed or under way. The cost, Snavely said, ranges from $15,000 to $60,000-plus. Snavely divides his time between Creative Caves and Snavely Construction but has two clear goals.

Within two years, he said, he would like to grow Creative Caves to earn $2 million in revenue annually and devote his time only to that company.

‘Bob the builder’
For the Longs and the Geiters, choosing Creative Caves over other bidders was an easy decision.

“They were just so on top of everything,” Jessica Long said. “They came in first with their quotes and had the subcontractors here within two days.

“Customer service is so important to me,” she continued. “They made such a good impression right up front.”

Don Geiter echoed those sentiments.

“When you’re finishing your basement, you’re bringing people you don’t know from Adam into your home all the time and it’s stressful.

“We chose Bob because of his professionalism but it’s important to have someone in your home you’re comfortable with.”

Geiter’s son, Jacob, was so comfortable with Snavely and his crew that he would hang out with them while they worked and even gave Snavely the nickname “Bob the builder.”

“We want our customers to be our friends,” Snavely said. “We want them to miss us when we leave.”

While Jessica Long didn’t say she missed the Creative Caves group, she did call the remodeling “one of the best [professional] experiences” she’s ever had.

“If you’re sincere and honest and you treat people the way you would want to be treated,” Snavely said, “I don’t know how you can’t be successful.”

Contact Creative Caves at rsnavely@creativecaves.com or 627-3271.