Working with a Professional Builder: Does It Really Matter?
How homeowners benefit from an established builder’s systems and relationships Over the past decade, many new contractors have emerged as homebuilders. This has given homeowners more options, tempting some to choose a contractor based strictly on price. Bad idea. It’s nearly impossible to compare apples to apples when collecting competitive bids, especially for a complex custom home.
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Construction Quality
As a professional builder, our company takes pride in creating high-quality homes. So we’d like our homebuyers to understand the difference between a well-built home and something less. What do we mean by “quality”? It’s not a mystery—construction quality is easy to see when you know what to look for. We’ve found that the best
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Controlling Moisture to Prevent Mold
Your professional builder knows the best techniques and materials to keep mold at bay We’ve all seen stories about black mold in houses, and no one wants to experience that. But even a new custom home can develop a mold problem if the builder doesn’t use the right construction practices and products. Mold is a
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Exterior Home Finishes
The right materials on the outside of your house can both distinguish it and add to its value. The exterior finish is a home’s first impression, a greeting to neighbors and visitors, and a mark of the homeowner’s taste and style. Making the right choices in cladding, roofing, trim, and hardscaping can protect your home
- Published in Construction Industry Insights, Custom Home Building
7 Tips for Finding a Trustworthy Remote Builder
If you are planning on building a second home, hiring a remote builder can offer a lot of benefits. Not only can it save you time and money, but it can also give you access to a wider pool of talent. However, finding a trustworthy remote builder can be a challenge. To help you navigate
- Published in Construction Industry Insights, Custom Home Building
Pros and Cons of LVT
Lots of homeowners are interested in this popular flooring—here’s what you need to know. Although the word “vinyl” raises some people’s eyebrows, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is actually a high-quality engineered flooring material. In recent years, LVT has become wildly popular, even among well-heeled homeowners. It’s easy to see why: with looks similar to hardwood
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Where’s My Garage Door?
Although professional builders do everything in their power to keep home construction on schedule, they face more challenges than ever. Most have to do with back-ordered products—ongoing fallout from the pandemic. The supply chain affects every builder in the country, but as an illustration let’s consider a highly respected design/build company in Orlando that needed
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Avoid the Pitfalls of Pinterest (and Other Photo-Sharing Sites)
The first step to getting real value from these sites is to understand their strengths and weaknesses Many of our custom home clients love photo-sharing sites like Pinterest, and those sites can be a big help when searching for design and product ideas. However, they can also lead to frustration and disappointment. The result you
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
Understanding Resilient Design
A growing topic of discussion among builders in recent years has been resilience. Homes designed and built for resilience will weather all but the most extreme environmental conditions and will remain livable during power outages. They offer homeowners true shelter and peace of mind. The most obvious natural events are those that make the news—
- Published in Construction Industry Insights
What’s Your Real Market?
The answer will have an impact on the selections you make and the final home cost. Potential clients often ask for our homes’ average cost per square foot. The question is understandable. Price per square foot is a metric the real estate industry uses to gauge the competitiveness of resale homes, and homebuyers have internalized
- Published in Construction Industry Insights