Lake Homes

Understanding Allowances Included in Building Contracts

When a builder provides a bid to a potential customer for construction of a new home or remodeling project, they will most likely include allowances for specific items to be included in the contract. If one has never been involved in a building project, they may not be familiar with what an allowance is and why they are necessary. This lack a familiarity with this important part of a contract can, and sometimes is used by a builder to obtain an unfair advantage over the competition and usually results in problems for the customer when they realize how the allowances [...]

New Residential Energy Code Explained

New Residential Energy Code Explained Enforcement of the latest Energy Code, as decreed by the federal government, began in April of 2012. This code specifies minimum insulation values for wall and ceiling assemblies, as well as windows and doors. The code also determines the minimum efficiency of heating and cooling equipment. The assemblies and equipment installed on each project are then required to be inspected by a state certified independent company to verify that these minimums have been achieved. A blower door test is also performed by this company for each new building. This test is to determine the air [...]

Lot or Home Design what comes first?

One of, if not the very first thing to consider when building a new home is the selection of the proper lot or building site. In most cases, I strongly recommend doing this even prior to selecting a home plan. Through experience we have learned that you will almost certainly end up with the building being much more harmonious with the site by picking the property first. Every property has unique features, some of which you may want to view from certain areas of the home and some features you may want to ignore. The lot may have a stunning [...]

Hollow core or solid core doors?

I recently had a conversation with a customer about the choice between hollow core and solid core interior doors. I thought it might be useful to share my thoughts on this subject. The following is a list of comparisons that may help guide with your decision. Durability: Common sense would dictate, with little dispute, that the s.c. (solid core) door will have an extended life beyond that of a h.c. (hollow core) door. The question would then be how much longer the s.c. door will last, as compared to the h.c. door. I’m unaware of any studies on the [...]