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We strive to be a valued and ongoing resource for our clients and all those considering building a custom home. You’ll find our blogs to be educational, informational and extremely helpful to you as you consider building a custom home.
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How to Use Online Contractor Reviews
Trust? Maybe. Verify? Definitely.
A September 2011 Business Week article reported on a Texas home improvement contractor that hired a writer to post 200 positive reviews on sites like Yelp and Google. The story went on to cite other examples and estimated the percentage of fake online reviews at close to 30 percent.
Such articles have been multiplying, with a Google search for “can you trust online reviews?”
Making Sense of Allowances
For best results, narrow down the options up front
Allowances–that is, budgeting general costs for items before the specific items are chosen–are a fact of life on many projects. Some homeowners have trouble making decisions before work begins, most commonly for appliances, cabinets, floor coverings, and plumbing and electrical fixtures. In those cases, the builder can allocate a dollar amount to each category and let the homeowners choose specific products later.
Is Voice Control for You?
More and more home systems are adding voice control technology. Let’s look at the pros and cons.
The star of this year’s International Builder’s Show was a smart lady by the name of Alexa. As you know, she’s the personal digital assistant that lives inside Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, and we seemed to bump into her around every corner.
Better Than Bidding
Identifying the best pro to build your new home starts by clarifying your wants and needs.
Should you heed the conventional advice about getting price bids from three builders? Maybe, but once you understand the complexities and uncertainties that go into a bid, you will see why there may be a more effective approach.
Have Questions? Ask the Builder
It’s natural to have questions and changes when building a custom home. Prevent surprises and delays by getting answers from the top.
There are lots of things homeowners can do to keep their building project running smoothly. Number one is making timely product choices, but another key action is to direct all change requests and questions, no matter how small, to the builder or the builder’s representative (usually the project superintendent).
Shedding Light on Window Options
It wasn’t that long ago that a window was a window … was a window. Basically, a hole in the wall fitted with a wood-framed pane of glass that allowed a view to the outside and provided a little bit of daylight into a house.
Over the past 25 years, windows have changed dramatically. Not only are they far more energy-efficient than their predecessors, they are available in a wide range of styles, frames and glass options. Today, professional builders and homebuyers are able to precisely align a window’s energy performance, cost, and style to achieve an optimum solution for any home.
Meet the Maestro
The pro who conducts your project to its finale draws from a deep well of knowledge
Some builders call them job supervisors. Others refer to them as project managers, or PMs. Regardless of the title, these individuals are the unsung heroes of the residential construction business. Many homeowners don’t fully appreciate the skills these pros bring to the table, or how crucial they are to the homeowners’ satisfaction and the builder’s business.