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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
What to Look For in a Builder When Designing a Custom Home in the West
Along with arranging the finances for your custom home you need to identify a reliable builder to design and construct your home. There are many things that need consideration here. We often see people opting for the same builder that built their friend's house. It's a good idea provided that your need matches more or less with that of your friend's. Otherwise it may not work out well for you as what might have worked well for your friend may not be suitable for you. So here are some tips to consider when you are looking for a builder, no matter in which part of USA you are building your custom home.
Whether the Builder is Well Qualified and Experienced
Anybody can don a hard hat and wield a few building tools to claim to be a builder. The best proof of experience of a builder is the house that he has built, especially the type of house you are interested in. Next you should check for the qualifications of the people that run the building organization. A graduate master builder (GMB) certified builder is the ultimate professional in home building. This certificate is issued to veterans in the field of building and construction that have at least five years of experience in this line and they also must be certified graduate builder (CGB) designation holder. Various certificates are issued by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), the apex body that sets higher standards in the field of building and remodeling in America. To obtain the certificates builders will have to pass stringent review criteria including: period of operation in the industry, consumer satisfaction (quality delivered, adherence to promised time for completion etc.), financial performance, and government compliance. The matter doesn't end if a builder is certified once. There will be periodic reviews that will decide whether the certificate should be renewed or not. The presence of NAHB is prominent in all states of the USA. Another qualification that you should look for in your builder is whether they have the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification (LEED). Possessing such a certificate would mean that they would help in building an energy efficient building and help you leave a smaller carbon foot print on the planet. Professionals with project management, engineering, and architect degrees and experience in building custom homes also may be trusted with building your custom home. But the safest bet is NAHB certified professionals. NAHB certified professionals that come as referral from your friends should be what you should be looking for when you are searching for a builder.
Other Qualities to Look For
When you have more than one such qualified builder that we have discussed in the previous paragraph, opt for the one that have local knowledge of construction business. It always helps if a builder knows the local market and business. The construction job progresses smoothly when local sub contractors are hired. If your builder has already worked with them, they finish their jobs swiftly. Otherwise your custom home will become an experiment where they will be studying their chemistry.
Often a big building firm may not be suitable for your need. If they do huge housing projects they may not truly pay attention to your custom home unless you are a popular person or someone that really matter to them. Select such a building firm so that you remain as a valuable customer for them. That means a small or mid sized building firm should be your choice where you can interact with either the owner or a key employee in times of need.
Custom homes in the West usually come with a lot of wood or stone. So the builder should have expertise in these types of homes. Again the knowledge of local building styles on the part of the builder should be put to test for this. Keep your eyes open and keep asking questions to your builder. After all it's your hard earned money and you deserve the best builder to construct your custom home.
Whether the Builder is Well Qualified and Experienced
Anybody can don a hard hat and wield a few building tools to claim to be a builder. The best proof of experience of a builder is the house that he has built, especially the type of house you are interested in. Next you should check for the qualifications of the people that run the building organization. A graduate master builder (GMB) certified builder is the ultimate professional in home building. This certificate is issued to veterans in the field of building and construction that have at least five years of experience in this line and they also must be certified graduate builder (CGB) designation holder. Various certificates are issued by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), the apex body that sets higher standards in the field of building and remodeling in America. To obtain the certificates builders will have to pass stringent review criteria including: period of operation in the industry, consumer satisfaction (quality delivered, adherence to promised time for completion etc.), financial performance, and government compliance. The matter doesn't end if a builder is certified once. There will be periodic reviews that will decide whether the certificate should be renewed or not. The presence of NAHB is prominent in all states of the USA. Another qualification that you should look for in your builder is whether they have the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification (LEED). Possessing such a certificate would mean that they would help in building an energy efficient building and help you leave a smaller carbon foot print on the planet. Professionals with project management, engineering, and architect degrees and experience in building custom homes also may be trusted with building your custom home. But the safest bet is NAHB certified professionals. NAHB certified professionals that come as referral from your friends should be what you should be looking for when you are searching for a builder.
Other Qualities to Look For
When you have more than one such qualified builder that we have discussed in the previous paragraph, opt for the one that have local knowledge of construction business. It always helps if a builder knows the local market and business. The construction job progresses smoothly when local sub contractors are hired. If your builder has already worked with them, they finish their jobs swiftly. Otherwise your custom home will become an experiment where they will be studying their chemistry.
Often a big building firm may not be suitable for your need. If they do huge housing projects they may not truly pay attention to your custom home unless you are a popular person or someone that really matter to them. Select such a building firm so that you remain as a valuable customer for them. That means a small or mid sized building firm should be your choice where you can interact with either the owner or a key employee in times of need.
Custom homes in the West usually come with a lot of wood or stone. So the builder should have expertise in these types of homes. Again the knowledge of local building styles on the part of the builder should be put to test for this. Keep your eyes open and keep asking questions to your builder. After all it's your hard earned money and you deserve the best builder to construct your custom home.
# posted by gopi @ 7:46 PM 
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