Some customers complain that their bonus room above the garage is either too hot or too cold. More
Hip, chic, and trendy are great for clothes and cars. But when your product is designed to last for generations, you tend to be a little skeptical about what's hot and what's not. To find out what design elements are resonating with today's buyers, Builder interviewed production, semi-custom, and custom builders, architects, real estate agents, and interior designers nationally, as well as Gopal Ahluwalia, staff vice president of research for the NAHB, to create our own top 10 list. More
Bullnose corners. Layered geometric patterns. Fiber optic glamour lines and sweeping curves. With dozens of specialty beads, new tools, and even complete dome-building packages available, why not enhance your drywall detailing? For a couple hundred bucks' worth of labor, you can create a million-dollar impression. More
If you build entry-level houses for buyers who prefer value to flash, a run-of-the-mill storage system will be more than adequate. If you're catering to the move-up buyer, however, you better change your strategy. To this group, closet storage is more important than it used to be. More
Bob DeHaan was the only contractor who responded to a call about a leak. When Traci Polacco bought her Kalamazoo, Mich., house, she was already renting in the neighborhood. Bob DeHaan used Chief Architect, a program he's used for seven years, to create the design on Traci Polacco's house. More
Shattered homes left in the wake of a Maryland super tornado point out both the strengths and shortcomings of modern building codes.On April 28, some of the residents of La Plata, Md., discovered the answer to that question, when a monstrous Category F4 (to F5) tornado cut a 24-mile swath through their town, leveling 344 homes and businesses and killing four people. Photo: Greg PeasePoor attachment of the roof to the frame, variations in roof overhangs, and other small details often made the difference between survival and complete destruction of the home's roof. More
For residential applications, steel flooring systems require new tools, attention to fastening, and a detailed plan for mechanicals. Steel floors are covered in the new International Residential Code (IRC) and currently cost about 3 percent or 4 percent less than dimensional wood floors. Screws that connect pieces of steel should go through the thinner piece first. More
EIFS is just one of the products that have cost builders millions over the years. That's why virtually every production builder shares the opinion of Randy Luther, vice president of construction technology for Centex Homes, about new products." More
Jeffrey Prostor, president of Brookfield Homes, likes turning the tables. He asks people to imagine a history in which builders have been using steel, instead of wood, for the past 100 years. Imagine what would transpire if such a builder were approached by someone, product in hand, proposing the use of wood. More
Custom electronics designer Charles Apostolos is making his first house call of the day, a 160-mile round-trip from his office in Woburn, Mass., to Keene, N.H., to see a potential client. None of this extra work would be necessary had the client thought to bring Apostolos and the builder together sooner. More
