Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Movin on Up!
We are happy to report that 3 Pillar Homes is ranked #4 among the top Custom Home Builders in Central Ohio for 2009 by Business First! The market is definitely moving in the right direction and activity has picked up significantly! The lot inventory is dwindling down and the rates are historically low. If you are thinking of buying and taking advantage of any opportunities left, I would strongly encourage you to act quickly.
As always, thank you for your continuing support!
Cheers!
Zenios
As always, thank you for your continuing support!
Cheers!
Zenios
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Building Is Better!
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 Even when older homes are upgraded with new products and systems, the outdated structural and mechanical elements cannot integrate these products for their optimum performance.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!
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!
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.
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