Custom Swimming Pool

Below: Pool

Should I hire A New Builder Or An Experienced One?

Should I hire A New Builder Or An Experienced One?

Perhaps, the best way to address this question is to explain why you need a Builder in the first place. I remember years ago when my daughter Melanie, introduced me to one of her friends. She asked me what I did for a living. I replied, I'm a Custom Home Builder. She replied, so you hammer the nails? I responded, no I don't hammer nails or install the roofing, drywall etc. Well, then what do you do?

Though a Builder hires all these specialists to actually construct a home, the Builder is the only one that sees the big picture. A Builder through his years of experience sees and understands what's really happening on your home site. Sure these specialists know their jobs but sometimes they overlooks things.

I've explained to people, I not only see a construction site, I actually feel a home with all my senses. Does a room size feel right? Does the space between the vanity and the bath tub feel right? Many times, I walk a job site when none of the workers are present. It allows me to actually hear potential floor, truss or joist squeaks. 

Just walking across the floors, allows me to feel high spots in the poured concrete or subfloor that will create issues with flooring installations. I even know what a home under construction should smell like.

Walking the roof sheathing, I can feel soft spots in a valley or spot a crowned truss at a distance. Feeling a home is vital. It gives me the ability to head off potential issue early before a problem becomes a really huge one. 

An experienced Builder can eyeball the top of the stem wall and tell that the slab elevation has been set too low before the slab gets poured.

An inexperienced Builder doesn't know what he doesn't know!

Sure the new Builders price my be lower than the Builder with 30 years of experience but who's going to end up paying the price for that lack of experience?

Do you really want to have your Builder walk off the job because he's finally realized he's not going to make enough from your home to make it worth while or he can't pay his trades with the funds vailable?

Frankly, I'm tired of hearing bad contractor stories. The one about the woman that recently hired a Builder to remodel her home and lost $150,000 because the Builder left town. She thought she was getting an unbelievable deal! It sure was an unbelievable deal. Go to Home Depot and get a deal but not when you are paying $100,000's for your home. There's just too much at stake!

Looking for a great deal on a Custom Built Home in Orlando, then hire the most experienced Builder you can find. If you don't know how to build a home and neither do the individual trades, then you need somebody that does. 

Hire the experienced Builder because you have no idea what you don't know and neither does the new Builder.

Corner-less Living Room

Study

Precast Fireplace

Below: Precast Fireplace

Disney Suite

Below: Disney Suite

Living Room

Wet Bar

Master Bedroom

Breakfast Bar

Custom Built Home, Windermere

Thank You!

Thanks for your views!

In just 3 month my Blog has received over 4,000 views. Frankly, I'm delighted! 

I appreciate your loyalty and have more great ideas for future posts.

Let me know if you would like to see a post on a particular topic.

Kind regards,

Mike

How To Get Your Best Deal On A Custom Home

How To Get Your Best Deal On A Custom Home

This is a Blog post that should get a lot of attention!

How do you as a Homeowner get your best deal when building a Custom Home?

Building a Custom Home is something new for most home buyers. How do you wrap your arms around this complicated process to make great choices and not over spend?

Design Build!

1) Interview 5 or less builders that you have researched thoroughly.

2) Select one of the Custom Builders to work with.

3) Use the Architect and Interior Designer he recommends.

4) Have "Selected Builder" produce "Scopes of Work" that detail exactly, what you want included in your home.

5) Using Scopes of Work and Completed plans, Selected Builder provides final pricing.

6) Submit Scopes of Work and Plans to 2nd choice builder for a check price.

7) Select Builder to construct your dream home.

Interviewing 5 Custom Home Builders will provide you with enough information to make a great decision. Don't overly focus on the price per SF as this number is going to change as the plans and scopes of work are developed. The price per SF number just needs to be in the ballpark of what you want to spend. You can count on this $/SF number increasing!

Select one of the 5 builders to work with (see Blog post, "How to Select a Custom Home Builder"). Pick the building Team that will be the best at developing your building plans and bid package.

Using an Architect the Builder recommends will insure the Architect is qualified to design your dream home and since they are use to working together the process will be smoother. The two of them will work out many issues behind the scenes that you won't have to be involved with. The Builder will help keep the final cost in check and make sure the Architect doesn't design something that can't be built in the field or will be high maintenance.

Have the Builders, Interior Designer help you specify all the pieces and parts you want included in your dream home.

Don't forget to ask your Builders, Realtor for their opinion of your plans and specification. After all, one day you will want to sell this palace and it will be too late then to fix floor plan defects.

The Scopes of work will specify all the building elements and the Interior Designers specification package will provided all the other details, from columns to flooring and appliances. Everything should be included at this point or contain an allowance amount if a final decision hasn't been made. The fewer allowances the better, as you want your Builder and team pricing out a complete package.

Now that the plans and scopes of work are fully developed, your selected builder has a complete vision and so do you. He has bid out the project with his team and able to tell you exactly what your dream home will cost.

Submitting the fully developed plans and scopes to your 2nd choice Builder will give you the piece of mind that you are paying a fair price for your home. When you hand him the bid package, make sure the 2nd choice builder understands that no substitutions will be accepted and that all you want him to do is fill in the line that says, price. All the variables between Builder 1 and 2 have been eliminated. This is extremely important, receiving multiple bids with different variables will not allow you to compare apples-apples. Believe me, no matter how capable your are if the variables are different between the two builders you'll never be able to determine which one is providing the best value.

Make your final Builder selection. By this point you have spent months with your 1st choice Builder. You've had an opportunity to see how he works with you and his team. Do you want to spend the next 12 months working with him? This Builder has spent months working with you and invested a great deal of time and money. Even if you are paying Builder 1 for his time you aren't really compensating him enough for all the help and guidance for the previous months. The fair thing to do is sit down with him and review the two competing bids together. 

If your 2nd choice Builders, check price, is lower, now you have a tough decision. This Builder is a relative unknown entity, as you haven't spent  months developing plans and specifications with him. Perhaps, he's not seeing the project as clearly as Builder 1. After all, Builder 1 by now knows your project from "soup to nuts"'. If you have any doubts, choose Builder 1 as he's the safest bet. He's spent months earning your business, he deserves it!

Remember there's more to consider here besides price.

Who Moved My Cheese!

What are your expectations? 

Before you decide to build a new home or remodel it's important to check in with yourself and ask, what are my expectations? Are they reasonable?

Like you I'm a consumer too. I travel, eat at great restaurants and occasionally indulge in the finer things in life. On the other hand, I'm not going to McDonald's and expecting the Seasons 52 experience. Even if I visit a "Top Shelf" restaurant, paying big bucks, I know before I go that the experience is not going to be perfect.

It's really amazing, when you buy a new car for $50,000 and you pick it up at the dealership, it's almost perfect! One would think if you are paying $1,000,000 for a new, custom built home, that home, would be close to perfect too! Unfortunately, if that's your expectation your are most likely going to be disappointed.

A new car is just one of a thousand just like it. They created a prototype refined it multiple times and then put it into production, refining as they receive feedback from the market place. It's being manufactured by people and robots that do the same exact thing every day in a climate controlled environment.

A new, custom built home "IS A PROTOTYPE". It's never been built before. Even if you are building a plan that is a duplicate of another home you have viewed before, it's really not the same. The lot is different and so are the components. Pieces and parts from all over the world are being assembled on site, rain or shine. Changes to the prototype are being adjusted on a daily basis to meet site conditions. A workman constructing your home was building something entirely different last week.

Even though we use a laser level, the concrete slab in not perfectly level, the lumber isn't perfectly straight and no matter how hard we try the finished house is not going to be perfect. That doesn't mean we quite trying to build the perfect house, it just means that if you are expecting your brand new  $1,000,000 custom built home to be perfect, you're going to be disappointed.

I've been building homes for over 30 years and have yet to build a perfect home. Frankly, that's difficult to type as some people have called me a perfectionist.  I use to be an accountant where all the columns we straight and all the accounts had to balance.

Building a custom home is one of the largest, on site, hand crafted products. Frankly, it's not going to be perfect. 

How Much Do You Charge Per Square Foot?

How Much Do You Charge Per Square Foot?

I get it, perhaps the answer to that question is just a starting point for discussions. On the other hand, maybe it's like asking, how much per pound are you charging for that new car?

I've had people call and that's the first question they ask! Sometimes the only question they ask, if my number isn't low enough.

Usually, that question means, how much do you charge per square foot of living area?

Well, that depends......

Since boiling an entire home down to price per SF of LA lumps a great number of things together, the number can vary widely.

How big is the front porch, lanai and garage? The larger these are the higher the price per SF.

Does the house have a tile or shingle roof, pool enclosure, swimming pool? Does the price include the building lot?

If you already own a lot, how big is it? The bigger the building lot the more sod, landscaping and driveway required.

Do you want to live in a community with a Home Owners Association that has ridged covenants and restrictions? Some require $125,000.00 window and door packages, other do not.

Are we talking Home Depot plumbing fixtures or something much different?

What kind of interior finishes do you want?

So the answer to the question, how much do you charge per SF is like throwing a dart at a board with prices on it. 

What would you like that price to be? We can throw a dart at a board or sit down and discuss what you home is really going to cost?

Support For Our Soldiers

We adopted an outstanding, American Soldier, that was stationed in Iraq. Honored to call this brave man that served 2 tours of duty in Iraq, our friend.

Mission Statement

The Regal Classic Homes Promise

Part 4- Fabulous Lanais!, Other Considerations

Part 4- Lanai, Other Considerations

Fireplace, Fire Pits, TV's, Misters, Summer Kitchen

Fireplace- Lots of options here. Most homeowners install a prefabricated one but make sure it's stainless steel. Regular steel fireplaces rust, especially if you have a pool as the chlorine will attack the metal. Another option is a modular, non-metallic fireplace. Isokern, makes a great product but it's a bit more expensive than a prefabricated one.

http://earthcore.co/isokern/

Fire Pits- have become very popular but they take up floor space. If you go this route make sure a gas line is installed before you set your flooring materials.

TV's- are most often installed above an outside fireplace. Make sure you plan for a way to keep the TV dry.

Misters- provide a cooling effect for occupants but I understand the ladies complain that it messes with their hairdos. http://ezmister.com/

Summer Kitchen/Bar- the sky's the limit on this one. Just make sure the cabinets are exterior grade and use stainless steel appliances.

Victorian Custom Built Home by Regal Classic Homes

One of our Custom Built Victorian Homes on the cover of "Better Homes And Gardens" magazine!

I Love My Regal Classic Home!

Most people have a job they do almost every day. At some point you ask, am I doing a good job or are Clients happy with what we do? For me, that gut check moment comes when I place my company's sign in the front of a newly completed Regal Classic Home. I'm proud of what we do and the positive relationships we have developed with our Homeowners.

Thanks for the opportunity to build your New Custom Home!

Letters Of Recommendation, Regal Classic Homes

Fabulous Lanais! Part 3

Part 3- Lanai Ceilings

For years, Builders have be placing textured drywall on Lanai ceilings in Orlando. It really wasn't a great application for a drywall product but that's what the market wanted. The knock down texture on the drywall, only made the situation worse because many homeowners couldn't tell the difference between the textured drywall and stucco. They quickly found out the drywall didn't tolerate water like stucco when they tried to wash off the cob webs and wasp nests.

Eventually, the Custom Home market demanded a new product for exterior ceilings.

There's lots of issues to discuss regarding lanai materials, that's why homeowners need an experienced Builders help. Depending upon the style of home there are flooring, railings, columns, siding, ceiling , screening etc. choices to be made. 

In this post I'll limit the discussion to just ceiling materials. I've supplied some links below for additional information but I also included my recommendations for most Central Florida applications. 

1 x 6 Cypress "V" joint.

You can also use pine as it's less expensive if you want a raised grain look with knots. 

1 x 6 #2 Pine 

The Cypress has a smoother texture and a closer grain and can be stained or painted though I recommend painting for more finish durability.

Smooth Cypress 1 x 6 can be turned over for a bead board look too.

http://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com/porch-ceiling.html

http://celebrateusa.hubpages.com/hub/Lanai

https://texascustompatios.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/how-to-choose-a-finish-for-your-patio-ceiling/

If you check out the above links, you will quickly learn that what works in one part of the US doesn't necessarily work in the Orlando Area. We have a unique environment with high moisture, insects and hurricanes. 

Obtaining expert guidance is a must.

Fabulous Lanais! Part 2

Screening Your Lanai

Your Lanai can be screened by your pool enclosure or separately. It really depends upon the proximity of the pool in relation to the Lanai. If the pool is designed so it's parallel to the Lanai the screening of the pool and Lanai can be combined. 

The entire issue becomes more complicated if your home is being build on a lake front lot. Maximizing the view from the home becomes a big priority so blocking your view by looking through an enclosure is undesirable. 

Additionally, if the rear of you Custom Home faces West shading from the setting sun is vital. In Orlando the summer sun may make your Lanai uninhabitable until the sun sets late in the day. 

Fortunately, there is a solution! A wonderful product is a retractable screen. A Lanai can have some fixed screen as well as retractable ones where the lake view is critical.  An additional benefit, retractable screens now have a separate sun shade feature that can be used separately or in conjunction with the insect screen. This is a wonderful feature especially on a lake from property

Check out the link below for more information on the cool product!

http://goretractable.net/products/phantom-motorized-patio-screens/

Fabulous Lanais! Part 1

Fabulous Lanais!

Part 1:

The day of the boring Lanai is definitely over! It's now an extended family room with a summer kitchen, motorized screen room, cooling misters, casual bar with a TV and fire pit. Frankly, it's an imagination space!

In this blog post I'm going to explore Lanai possibilities.

Extension of the family room- even the flooring materials in the Lanai can be the same as the family room so one space flows into the other. The floor slab levels are even and visually the spaces are joined.

Many times the doorway between the two spaces are corner sliding glass door panels that slide back and out of view. These doors can be heavy and sometimes motorized. 

Where To Spend Your Money When Building A Home

Where To Spend Your Money

Once you've selected your lot, where should you spend your money when building?

Realtors will tell you a house should have 3 wow's! What they mean is, you can spend money all over your new custom home and nobody will notice. A little here, a little there, upgrading along the way but nobody will ever notice the dollars you spent.

It's better to concentrate the money spent on upgrades into 3 wows! The magical 3 wows is what sells a home.

Of course, a home must be inviting from the street to entice buyers into your home. After that, it takes 3 wows to sell your home. Usually it's the kitchen, master suite and the money shot when standing in the foyer.

A home should be like opening a present, buyers like to experience surprises as they experience your home. 

Don't forget to make the area outside your front door sharp. Most people judge the quality of your home by what they see standing outside while they wait for you to answer the door. Don't scrimp in this area or it will hurt you when it''s time to sell.

Porch or Lanai Ceiling Material Choices

Lanai/Porch Ceilings

For years, Builders have be placing textured drywall on porch ceilings in Orlando. It really wasn't a great application for a drywall product but that's what the market wanted. The knock down texture on the drywall, only made the situation worse because many homeowners couldn't tell the difference between the textured drywall and stucco. They quickly found out the drywall didn't tolerate water like stucco when they tried to wash off the cob webs and wasp nests.

Eventually, the Custom Home market demanded a new product for exterior ceilings.

There's lots of issues to discuss regarding lanai or porch materials, that's why homeowners need an experienced Builders help. Depending upon the style of home there are flooring, railings, columns, siding, ceiling , screening etc. choices to be made. 

In this post I'll limit the discussion to just ceiling materials. I've supplied some links below for additional information but I also included my recommendations for most Central Florida applications. 

1 x 6 Cypress "V" joint.

You can also use pine as it's less expensive if you want a raised grain look with knots. 

1 x 6 #2 Pine 

The Cypress has a smoother texture and a closer grain and can be stained or painted though I recommend painting for more finish durability.

Smooth Cypress 1 x 6 can be turned over for a bead board look too.

http://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com/porch-ceiling.html

http://celebrateusa.hubpages.com/hub/Lanai

https://texascustompatios.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/how-to-choose-a-finish-for-your-patio-ceiling/

If you check out the above links, you will quickly learn that what works in one part of the US doesn't necessarily work in the Orlando Area. We have a unique environment with high moisture, insects and hurricanes. Obtaining expert guidance is a must.

Custom Kitchen With Stainless Steel Appliances

Getting the glass block centered was one of the bigger challenges.  

Custom Built Pool and Orlando Lifestyle

Windowless Bath With Natural Light

There are times when a bathroom just doesn't lend itself to having a window. In this instance, we generated natural light without using a skylight in this Regal Classic, Custom Home. Small windows were placed between the trusses. The outside wall faced North so the room was flooded with indirect light without the heat from the hot, Central Florida, sun.

Open or Closed Roof Valley?

Open or Closed Valley?

What's the difference between an open or closed valley and why is that important?

Below is a photo of an open tile roof valley:

Below is a photo of a closed tile roof valley:

At first thought, most homeowners will select a closed roof valley because it looks better.  The problem, nobody explains the disadvantage associated with that choice.

Unless your home has no trees on the property a closed valley is a poor choice, it requires maintenance to remove leaves and debris that get trapped under the roof tile. 

The trapped debris caused water to back up and results in roof leaks. Additionally, the trapped, rotting material, causes the valley metal to rust and eventually leak.

Custom Kitchen

Edgewood Fl, Custom Home On Lake Conway Canal

Spring Parade of Homes

Mark your calendar for this years Spring Parade of Homes. We have an entry that will be open for viewing on April 18-19. Come out and meet the Builder behind the Blog!