With more people conducting online research and shopping for clothing, furniture, cars and homes online, it comes as no surprise to us that they’re also gathering information about what it takes to build a new home.
An informed consumer is usually an empowered, more confident consumer – unless, of course, the information he or she has gathered is inaccurate, unbalanced or fails to be presented in context. This is usually when misconceptions fester, worries brew and fears escalate.
Advice from the Experts in New Construction Homes
Experts in Your Home are here to reassure you that together, we can build the house of your dreams. Like a skilled carpenter, let us square why you should not feel daunted by the prospect of building a home and why working with the Experts ought to fill you with confidence.
- Online bulletin: The National Association of Home Builders reports – and many of our customers have discovered – that it takes an average of 22 different contractors to build a home.
- Apply the carpenter square: On balance, 22 might sound like a lot of contractors. But if you look at what it takes to build a house, from the ground up, 22 adds up if you assume that it takes at least one and maybe two contractors, working as a team, to complete each phase of the construction process. Contractors generally work in this order to:
- Lay concrete for the foundation
- Frame the house
- Install the roof
- Do masonry work
- Install siding
- Hang gutters and downspouts
- Install the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system
- Wire the house for electricity
- Lay plumbing lines and install faucets, sinks, showers, tubs and other fixtures
- Install installation
- Hang drywall
- Install doors and windows
- Paint
- Do widespread carpentry work, including hang cabinets
- Install flooring
- Build a deck and/or install fencing
- Install landscaping
- Clean up after the entire project is finished
- Remember that expertise counts: Each of these divisions of labor is a specialty unto itself. It should go without saying that you want only the most skilled and experienced contractors working on your home. Many of them – and especially electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and roofers – must hold a license because of the “life-safety” nature of their work. In other words, your life and your safety depends on their expertise. Any contractor who bills himself (or herself) as a “jack of all trades” usually fulfills the last part of the expression, too; he or she is usually a master of none of them.
- There is indeed a “mouse” in the house. Many other building companies function as general contractors and hire subcontractors to do the actual work. Sometimes these “subs” are known commodities; sometimes they are complete unknowns with checkered work histories. You can't blame general contractors for eyeing project deadlines and trying to stay on track, but you can fault them for turning to subcontractors who don't show up, show up on the job late or do such inferior work that it must be taken apart and started over again. A general contractor who promises to absorb these cost overruns must moonlight as a standup comic, for he is surely joking. The customer inevitably ends up footing the bill.
With Experts, All Contractors Work Under Our Roof
Before your worries brew and your fears escalate, it's vital to understand that the contractors who build homes for Experts in Your Home – whether they number 22 or 32 – are also employees of Experts in Your Home. They are more than known commodities; they are highly skilled and conscientious trades people who are part of our cohesive team. This team is led by a project manager – a general contractor, for all intents and purposes – who is responsible for supervising their work and being an accountable, available resource for you. No matter what you've read online, this project manager is available whenever you need him, every day – until you can finally stop dreaming about your home and start living in it.
Contact us today if you want to get started on the new construction home of your dreams!
