Is it better to build a new home or remodel an older one? No one will be surprised to hear us argue that building a new home is the better choice, just as a remodeling contractor would argue the opposite.
So, with our professional bias disclosed, here are some totally objective reasons why we believe buying a new home provides greater benefits than remodeling.
Better Construction. Today's new homes, specifically those offered by a professional builder dedicated to high performance and durability, are better built than those of even a decade ago, and much better built than those of a generation ago.
In every aspect, from windows and doors to structural and mechanical systems, a new home today is built to deliver a higher, more integrated level of comfort, convenience, flexibility, and efficiency. As a result, a new home stands up better to inclement weather conditions, requires less maintenance, and costs less to heat and cool than an existing home. Even when older homes are upgraded with new products and systems, the outdated structural and mechanical elements cannot integrate these products for their optimum performance.
Lifestyle Flexibility. New homes are designed to accommodate changing lifestyles and household circumstances. Open floor plans with bonus or extra rooms enable homeowners to use and re-use spaces as home offices, nurseries, in-law suites, art studios, or workshops to suit practical needs and whimsical passions throughout the life of the home.
By contrast, home remodeling is typically done to address an immediate need, such as making room for an in-home business or an elderly parent, which may not suit a future need or stage in life. New homes are designed and equipped to allow the owners to age in place. This type of design is the owners' best insurance against the need for future big remodeling projects or moves to another home.
Financial Stability. Because of their superior construction and lifestyle flexibility, new homes hold their value better than older ones, especially those that have not been remodeled to modern standards. Even the older home that has been well remodeled to accommodate a specific need -- such as the room for the in-home business or elderly parent -- will not appeal to future buyers who don't share the same household circumstances. By contrast, a well-designed and built new home will appeal to a large population of potential buyers, if and when that time comes. At the very least, the new home will show a greater increase in value because of its mass appeal.
Pride in Ownership. Whether you buy a new home or remodel your existing home, you are a homeowner. However, a new home differs from an older home because of the choices that professional builders allow the new owner to make. If you decide to build, you can suit your personal tastes and needs. When you tailor a new home from the ground up, you not only have the pleasure of achieving a 'perfect fit' but also the long-term satisfaction of having created a more satisfying, comfortable, and convenient home. The element of personal creativity adds great pride in ownership.
The Hassle Factor. Living through a remodeling project can be very stressful on a family's day-to-day routines. Although a new-home project presents some challenges, it is done without intruding on existing home life. New owners can relax (at least a little), maintain normal family life and enjoy the creative process instead of dreading the dirt and noise. With the right builder, visiting the new house under construction, witnessing its progress, and moving into a space in which everything is brand new is an exciting and fulfilling experience.
As a professional builder, we favor building a new home over remodeling an existing house and we believe that our preference is not mere bias. We think we have set out some persuasive and objective arguments to make our case!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Step one: Preparing the Site
If you've ever driven past a new subdivision just getting started, you've likely seen a fleet of earth-moving equipment, multiple colored stakes in the ground, and the beginnings of streets, sidewalks, and foundations. These are the tell-tale signs of the building site being prepared for construction.
Site preparation includes several steps. A survey comes first. Topographical features -- trees, streams, rocky outcroppings, relative elevations, and open areas -- are carefully marked, providing the basis for everything that follows. Property lines must be located precisely to confirm setbacks (the allowable distance between a structure and a property line) in compliance with local codes. Streets and sidewalks are mapped and flagged. Then the surveyors stake out the location of the various underground utility conduits through the neighborhood and to each house. In the case of a single house under construction, the existing utility services in the neighborhood must be located and the connections to the proposed house carefully plotted. Finally, a soils test is ordered to help determine the type and design of the foundation construction.
Most, if not all, of this information is mandated by the local building authority. Copies of the surveys and tests, usually signed and stamped by a registered professional engineer, must be attached to the proposed construction drawings and submitted for permits or approvals from that authority.
Once those steps are taken and the plans are approved by the building department, the next "site prep" step can be taken. The location of the foundation or footprint of the home is staked to provide a guide for excavation. Typically, the stakes and batter boards (which demarcate every corner or turn in the layout) are connected by nylon strings to outline the exact perimeter of the foundation to be built.
Then backhoes or excavators can get to work, digging ditches to extend existing or new utility conduits -- for electrical, plumbing, natural gas, etc. -- to serve the house (or houses). Foundations are excavated using the staked-out lines as a guide. The plans will call for footings and -- according to individual designs -- a crawl space, full basement, concrete slab, and/or perimeter foundation walls in preparation for concrete forms, blocks, or other materials to support the main floor.
Every new-home project requires these site prep steps, and it is important for our homebuyer clients to understand this phase of the job to track our progress and get a complete picture of what is required to build their new home.
Site preparation includes several steps. A survey comes first. Topographical features -- trees, streams, rocky outcroppings, relative elevations, and open areas -- are carefully marked, providing the basis for everything that follows. Property lines must be located precisely to confirm setbacks (the allowable distance between a structure and a property line) in compliance with local codes. Streets and sidewalks are mapped and flagged. Then the surveyors stake out the location of the various underground utility conduits through the neighborhood and to each house. In the case of a single house under construction, the existing utility services in the neighborhood must be located and the connections to the proposed house carefully plotted. Finally, a soils test is ordered to help determine the type and design of the foundation construction.
Most, if not all, of this information is mandated by the local building authority. Copies of the surveys and tests, usually signed and stamped by a registered professional engineer, must be attached to the proposed construction drawings and submitted for permits or approvals from that authority.
Once those steps are taken and the plans are approved by the building department, the next "site prep" step can be taken. The location of the foundation or footprint of the home is staked to provide a guide for excavation. Typically, the stakes and batter boards (which demarcate every corner or turn in the layout) are connected by nylon strings to outline the exact perimeter of the foundation to be built.
Then backhoes or excavators can get to work, digging ditches to extend existing or new utility conduits -- for electrical, plumbing, natural gas, etc. -- to serve the house (or houses). Foundations are excavated using the staked-out lines as a guide. The plans will call for footings and -- according to individual designs -- a crawl space, full basement, concrete slab, and/or perimeter foundation walls in preparation for concrete forms, blocks, or other materials to support the main floor.
Every new-home project requires these site prep steps, and it is important for our homebuyer clients to understand this phase of the job to track our progress and get a complete picture of what is required to build their new home.
Step one: Preparing the Site
If you've ever driven past a new subdivision just getting started, you've likely seen a fleet of earth-moving equipment, multiple colored stakes in the ground, and the beginnings of streets, sidewalks, and foundations. These are the tell-tale signs of the building site being prepared for construction.
Site preparation includes several steps. A survey comes first. Topographical features -- trees, streams, rocky outcroppings, relative elevations, and open areas -- are carefully marked, providing the basis for everything that follows. Property lines must be located precisely to confirm setbacks (the allowable distance between a structure and a property line) in compliance with local codes. Streets and sidewalks are mapped and flagged. Then the surveyors stake out the location of the various underground utility conduits through the neighborhood and to each house. In the case of a single house under construction, the existing utility services in the neighborhood must be located and the connections to the proposed house carefully plotted. Finally, a soils test is ordered to help determine the type and design of the foundation construction.
Most, if not all, of this information is mandated by the local building authority. Copies of the surveys and tests, usually signed and stamped by a registered professional engineer, must be attached to the proposed construction drawings and submitted for permits or approvals from that authority.
Once those steps are taken and the plans are approved by the building department, the next "site prep" step can be taken. The location of the foundation or footprint of the home is staked to provide a guide for excavation. Typically, the stakes and batter boards (which demarcate every corner or turn in the layout) are connected by nylon strings to outline the exact perimeter of the foundation to be built.
Then backhoes or excavators can get to work, digging ditches to extend existing or new utility conduits -- for electrical, plumbing, natural gas, etc. -- to serve the house (or houses). Foundations are excavated using the staked-out lines as a guide. The plans will call for footings and -- according to individual designs -- a crawl space, full basement, concrete slab, and/or perimeter foundation walls in preparation for concrete forms, blocks, or other materials to support the main floor.
Every new-home project requires these site prep steps, and it is important for our homebuyer clients to understand this phase of the job to track our progress and get a complete picture of what is required to build their new home.
Site preparation includes several steps. A survey comes first. Topographical features -- trees, streams, rocky outcroppings, relative elevations, and open areas -- are carefully marked, providing the basis for everything that follows. Property lines must be located precisely to confirm setbacks (the allowable distance between a structure and a property line) in compliance with local codes. Streets and sidewalks are mapped and flagged. Then the surveyors stake out the location of the various underground utility conduits through the neighborhood and to each house. In the case of a single house under construction, the existing utility services in the neighborhood must be located and the connections to the proposed house carefully plotted. Finally, a soils test is ordered to help determine the type and design of the foundation construction.
Most, if not all, of this information is mandated by the local building authority. Copies of the surveys and tests, usually signed and stamped by a registered professional engineer, must be attached to the proposed construction drawings and submitted for permits or approvals from that authority.
Once those steps are taken and the plans are approved by the building department, the next "site prep" step can be taken. The location of the foundation or footprint of the home is staked to provide a guide for excavation. Typically, the stakes and batter boards (which demarcate every corner or turn in the layout) are connected by nylon strings to outline the exact perimeter of the foundation to be built.
Then backhoes or excavators can get to work, digging ditches to extend existing or new utility conduits -- for electrical, plumbing, natural gas, etc. -- to serve the house (or houses). Foundations are excavated using the staked-out lines as a guide. The plans will call for footings and -- according to individual designs -- a crawl space, full basement, concrete slab, and/or perimeter foundation walls in preparation for concrete forms, blocks, or other materials to support the main floor.
Every new-home project requires these site prep steps, and it is important for our homebuyer clients to understand this phase of the job to track our progress and get a complete picture of what is required to build their new home.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
BIA HomeQuest
3 Pillar Homes is participating in the BIA HomeQuest March 13-14, 20-21 and 27-28. 3 Pillar Homes will be featuring 2 of our beautiful homes, our model location at 5241 Summer Ridge Lane, Galena, OH 43021 and our newest inventory home in Tartan Ridge, located at 9533 Tartan Ridge Way, Dublin, OH 43017. Stop in and see us from 12-6pm any of the HomeQuest days and we will be happy to give you a personal tour! For more information, please visit the HomeQuest website.
That Spacious New Home Feel:
Does it seem to you that new homes are generally bigger than older ones? If so, your observation is correct. The average new home today is nearly 500 square feet (or 25%) larger than the average house built 20 years ago, and 12% larger than those built in the late 1990s.
However, mere square footage is not the primary reason why new homes are more spacious than their predecessors.
Homes are now designed to enhance the perception of larger space and to allow a variety of functions in the common areas of the home. Open floor plans, increasingly popular across all housing types, sizes and prices, create long views through the home and afford "shared" spaces that serve multiple needs.
The perfect example of this concept is the combination kitchen-eating nook-family room. An uninterrupted view from either end makes this space appear quite large as each "area" spills easily into the next. A kitchen island extended into the eating area, for instance, may serve as the family's everyday dining area, homework or bill-paying center, or craft counter. In turn, that area transitions seamlessly into the family room where family members and guests can relax but stay in touch with activity and conversations in the kitchen -- where the cook used to be isolated!
This perceived space is made even greater by a row of windows along the long wall of the room looking into the back yard. More windows may be located on the kitchen and/or family room end-walls.
These windows extend the long interior view even further to the exterior of the house, giving the illusion of more space inside. Extensive daylight -- especially from three walls -- also creates a more comfortable and energy efficient living space.
The benefits of the open plan kitchen-eating nook-family room are now being extended to include other rooms on the main floor of the house. Passageways from the living room and formal dining rooms to the more informal areas of the house are uninterrupted by doors to maintain the shared usage and long sightlines that create the feeling of spaciousness.
The open plan concept is taken to its extreme in floor plans that eliminate the distinction between living room and family room to create a "great room" that is entirely open to other areas of the house. Another variant, the loft-style house (born out of urban industrial warehouse space adapted to residential use) offers an open floor plan that is completely flexible in its use -- and therefore appears to be the most spacious option of all.
Other design features that enhance perceived or actual space in new homes include the use of higher ceilings -- most effective in large rooms where good proportion can be maintained -- and greater access to usable outdoor living areas. Patios, decks and balconies fitted with furnishings, cooking and eating areas, pools and spas, and lounge areas with flat-screen TVs and fireplaces are a more recent and popular innovation in new homes that actually boosts a home's practical footprint.
In summary, it is clear that design trends in new homes offer greater space and lifestyle flexibility. Existing homes, even those from a decade ago, cannot match the spacious look and feel of new homes.
However, mere square footage is not the primary reason why new homes are more spacious than their predecessors.
Homes are now designed to enhance the perception of larger space and to allow a variety of functions in the common areas of the home. Open floor plans, increasingly popular across all housing types, sizes and prices, create long views through the home and afford "shared" spaces that serve multiple needs.
The perfect example of this concept is the combination kitchen-eating nook-family room. An uninterrupted view from either end makes this space appear quite large as each "area" spills easily into the next. A kitchen island extended into the eating area, for instance, may serve as the family's everyday dining area, homework or bill-paying center, or craft counter. In turn, that area transitions seamlessly into the family room where family members and guests can relax but stay in touch with activity and conversations in the kitchen -- where the cook used to be isolated!
This perceived space is made even greater by a row of windows along the long wall of the room looking into the back yard. More windows may be located on the kitchen and/or family room end-walls.
These windows extend the long interior view even further to the exterior of the house, giving the illusion of more space inside. Extensive daylight -- especially from three walls -- also creates a more comfortable and energy efficient living space.
The benefits of the open plan kitchen-eating nook-family room are now being extended to include other rooms on the main floor of the house. Passageways from the living room and formal dining rooms to the more informal areas of the house are uninterrupted by doors to maintain the shared usage and long sightlines that create the feeling of spaciousness.
The open plan concept is taken to its extreme in floor plans that eliminate the distinction between living room and family room to create a "great room" that is entirely open to other areas of the house. Another variant, the loft-style house (born out of urban industrial warehouse space adapted to residential use) offers an open floor plan that is completely flexible in its use -- and therefore appears to be the most spacious option of all.
Other design features that enhance perceived or actual space in new homes include the use of higher ceilings -- most effective in large rooms where good proportion can be maintained -- and greater access to usable outdoor living areas. Patios, decks and balconies fitted with furnishings, cooking and eating areas, pools and spas, and lounge areas with flat-screen TVs and fireplaces are a more recent and popular innovation in new homes that actually boosts a home's practical footprint.
In summary, it is clear that design trends in new homes offer greater space and lifestyle flexibility. Existing homes, even those from a decade ago, cannot match the spacious look and feel of new homes.
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