Category Archives: Home Design

General Contractor Services

A general contractor is a manager and possibly also a tradesman that is employed by a client, usually upon the advice of the project’s architect. General contractor services are responsible for the overall coordination of a building project.

A general contractor must first assess the project-specific documents (referred to as a bid, proposal, or blueprint documents). In the case of renovations, a site visit is required to get a better understanding of the project. Depending on the project delivery method, the contractor will submit a fixed price proposal or bid, cost-plus price or an estimate. The general contractor considers the cost of home office overhead, general conditions, materials, and equipment, as well as the cost of labor, to provide the owner with a price for the project.

General contractor services will include contract documents such as blueprints/drawings, project manuals (including general, supplementary, or special conditions and specifications), and addendum or modifications issued prior to proposal/ bidding ad prepared by a design professional, such as an architect. The general contractor may be considered as the construction manager.

General Contractor Services

General Contractor Services and Cost

General Contractor Services and Responsibilities

A general contractor is responsible for providing all materials, labor, equipment and services necessary for the construction project. A general contractor often hires specialized subcontractors to perform all or portions of the construction work. When using subcontractors, the general contractor is responsible for the quality of all work performed.

The number one priority of general contractor services is safety on the job site. Other responsibilities may include applying for building permits, advising the person they are hired by, securing the property, providing temporary utilities on site, managing personnel on site, providing site surveying and engineering, disposing or recycling of construction waste, monitoring schedules and cash flows, and maintaining accurate records.

General Contractor Prices
Hiring a general contractor is a necessary expense for medium to large construction projects. When a project involves the necessity to hire multiple sub-contractors to work on a related project then a general contractor is the person you want to hire.

So much confusion can go on during a construction project. Establishing specific times for various workers to come in and do their part, handling any unexpected issues, and holding contractors accountable are all something that a general contractor does. It may seem like something simple to coordinate a project yourself but even something as simple as a basement refinishing project or a kitchen remodel needs organization.

Hiring general contractor services will allow you to have one contact that is responsible to make sure the project comes out the way you want it to. It eliminates the excuses and blame games that can happen when separate contractors work on the same job. It focuses the accountability onto one person.

It will cost $300 to $400 per day to hire a general contractor. Many times, a general contractor will also be a carpenter and do a lot of the work that needs to be done. That is a great help and cost savings to the project. Whether a general contractor will do work on a project depends on their skills and the outlook of the job. If your general contractor does not do any labor, he may charge 10% to 20% of the cost of the project. If he does the carpentry, he will want 45% to 65% of the money paid to contractors on the project.

Click Here to Get Started

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive construction design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows general contractor services to be shared with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

House Building Cost Guidelines

Continue Reading →

House Building Cost Guidelines

If you’ve always dreamed of owning your own home and you’ve weighed the pros and cons of whether to build or purchase and you’ve decided to build these house building cost guidelines will help you through the building process.

The average cost to build a house is $428,000. That estimate is based on a 2,800 square-foot, single-family house which makes the cost to build a house about $153 per square foot.

It’s important to note that the cost to build a house is based on changing factors like size, location, labor, materials and current real estate trends, which make it difficult to nail down an accurate answer. So, let’s break down these house building cost guidelines.

House Building Cost Guidelines

House Building Cost Guidelines and Plans

House Building Cost Guidelines

1 – Buy the Property
It’s important that you locate and purchase the property where your house will be built, find a quality real estate agent to assist you. These experts, also called buyer’s agents, will help you hunt down and negotiate a deal on land for the perfect location to build your house. A good agent will know where to find up-and-coming areas so you can plant roots in a spot that’ll make your home more valuable over time.

2 – Create and Make Plans
Once you’ve located the plot of land, get ready to make a lot of decisions. In each phase of construction, you’ll make dozens of choices that affect the cost to build your house. You’ll need to start off with a well-planned, detailed vision of the home you want. The most important part of the house building cost guidelines is that you decide on a specific budget.

It’s important to note that change orders are work items that need to be added or removed from the original set of plans. They’ll send your budget through the roof and drive your builder crazy, so avoid these issues at all cost.

To help you prepare for the decisions you’ll have to make decisions at each stage of the home-building process, we’ve broken down the typical costs to build a home into separate stages, beginning with site work and moving all the way to landscaping and even the final sales price. While we can’t read your mind and predict how much it will cost to build the house you have in mind, we can show you what costs to expect and when.

Home Building Cost Breakdown

  • Site Work: $17,000
  • Foundations: $28,000
  • Framing: $41,000
  • Exterior Finishes: $35,000
  • Mechanical Systems: $33,000
  • Interior: $32,000
  • Final Finish: $33,000

3 – Site Work:
This is the first part of the house building cost guidelines. After you decide on your property, you’ll need to pay for site work such as inspections, permits and building plans to prepare for the actual construction. The steepest cost here includes fees for water and sewer inspections, which will be about $5,000 of your budget. Next in line are the $4,000 of fees (give or take) to obtain a building permit.

For engineering and architecture, you’ll need about $3,000. Pro tip: Have your architect and builder develop the plan together. Your builder can make sure your architect isn’t designing something that’s ridiculous or super expensive to build.

4 – Foundation:
Foundation work is where the real fun begins and when you break ground on your new home. Breaking ground, or excavation, requires heavy-duty equipment and expert operators to make sure the land is level before laying the foundation of your house. And know that if a bunch of large rocks are hiding beneath your plot of land, excavation costs could shoot up.

After excavation, your builder will lay the foundation for your home, which usually includes lumber and concrete. Homes with basements typically cost more than ones without because there’s more square feet to cover.

Your house could also need retaining walls installed to hold back surrounding soil from crumbling and falling onto your foundation. Since foundation work requires specialty equipment, material and labor, the cost usually cuts into your budget.

The foundation is an important part of the house building cost guidelines. This process sets up the success of every other building phase. Casually throwing together a “straw-and-stick” budget here could crush you with unexpected costs.

5 – Framing Cost:
The frame of your house will be one of the highest costs in your house-building budget beaten only by interior costs and the sales price. This is when your house will start to take shape. Building the skeleton of a house (including the roof) takes a lot of lumber, which can drive up the cost.

If trusses the fancy name for a series of triangular structures designed to support the roof aren’t included in the cost to build the roof, they might add another $4,000 – $5,000 to the framing budget.

Once the framing is in place, you’ll need to pay for sheathing. Sheathing is a flat layer of boards that cover and protect the frame and trusses. Think of it as the skin that covers the framework of your house. If you add metal or steel materials, your framing expenses will bump up the budget another $1,000 – $3,000.

6 – Exterior Finishes
When considering the house building cost guidelines, the exterior wall is an expensive line item because it covers the perimeter of your house, and that requires a lot of material. It also supports the roof and structure of the house and prevents outside weather from getting inside, ensuring that when the weather outside is frightful, your home will be pleasant.

Exterior finishes also include installing any openings in your house like doorways, windows and the garage. You can count on those costs being somewhere in the neighborhood of $9,500. Finishes on the roof will tack on another $9,000. This is another category where you’ll want to have at least a $2,000 cushion.

7 – Major/Mechanical Systems Installation
Installing major systems in your house will cost about as much as the exterior finishes. Major systems include HVAC, Plumbing, and Electricity. These costs don’t refer to the actual fixtures (sinks, toilets and lights) that hook into plumbing and electrical systems. Those fixtures are grouped into the cost for interior finishes. On top of these major system costs, keep an extra $2,000 in your reserves.

8 – Interior Finishes
Besides the sales price, the interior is usually the most expensive step of the house building cost guidelines. This makes sense, of course, since you’ll spend most of your time and make most of your memories inside. Do you like granite countertops? Hardwood floors? Stainless steel? Whether you’re simple or fancy in taste, the finishes add up quickly. There are a lot of expenses to cover, so let’s quickly break it down!

  • Cabinets and Countertops $13,000
  • Doors, Trims and Mirrors $13,500
  • Drywall Installation $10,000
  • Flooring $12,000
  • Painting $8,000
  • Insulation $7,000
  • Appliances $9,000
  • Plumbing Fixtures $5,000
  • Lighting $3,500
  • Fireplace $2,800

9 – Final Steps
You’re almost there! Just a few more bricks to add to your budget. The final steps of your house building cost guidelines are to include outside items like landscaping and the driveway. They also include surrounding structures like a porch, patio or deck. And the final clean up can cost.

10 – Miscellaneous Construction Costs
Above and beyond the cost of each stage, the majority of home-building projects require $5,000 for a separate, miscellaneous category that goes toward the overall construction cost. So, plan for that extra $5,000.

Click Here to Get Started

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive architectural construction design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their house building cost guidelines and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Market Data Sources: National Wood Flooring Assn. (NWFA)Hardwood Floors magazineCatalina ResearchFloor Covering WeeklyU.S. Department of CommerceConlumino/Global DataStatistics CanadaHardwood FederationNorth American Laminate Flooring Assn.Statista.

Building New Affordable Housing

Continue Reading →

Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology

A recent home builder survey finds increasing adoption of Wi-Fi smart home technology in new homes. 35% of surveyed large-scale single-family builders provide the networking infrastructure to provide a “smart-home-ready home” for their customers.

A new study of U.S. home and multifamily builders that sell or install Wi-Fi smart home technology reveals the most common strategy among large-scale single-family builders (LSBs) is to install a whole-home Wi-Fi network.

Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology

Smart Home Wi-Fi Connectivity

Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology Survey

The survey reveals 35% of LSBs provide the networking infrastructure to provide a “smart-home-ready home” for their customers. 29% of LSBs install an interactive security system, which remains popular among builders.

Those surveyed show large and small home and MDU builders throughout the U.S. that are actively involved in specifying, recommending, or installing Wi-Fi smart home technology in their products. The research finds a majority of LSBs surveyed install Wi-Fi routers as a standard feature, while one-third install smart speakers with voice assistants as standard.

All builders report smart-home technology is highly popular with consumers, and connected products are rapidly replacing non-connected models as standard in the home. Additionally, new consumer experiences, such as the current impact of COVID-19 on working at home and the need to monitor loved ones, will increase the value proposition of smart home tech among consumers And while the coronavirus can’t be filtered by an HVAC system, people are thinking more about indoor air quality (IAQ) and how to create and maintain a healthy environment for their loved ones.

The majority of large-scale single-family home builders surveyed offer Wi-Fi smart home technology to increase the appeal of the house and not to add to the sales price. Smart lights, thermostats, door locks, and garage door openers are typically offered as standard, while smart appliances and smart water devices are usually offered as upgrades.

Low price points put Amazon and Google in a good position to expand further in the builder market as a control interface. The low-price points of their smart speaker products give builders an economical means to integrate these Wi-Fi smart home technology features as a standard in their homes to boost their value among home buyers. Leading builders, such as Lennar, KB Homes, and Shea Homes, have all selected smart speakers as the user interface of choice.

Click Here to Get Started

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their Wi-Fi smart home technology ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Smart Home Design Software Products

Continue Reading →

New Trex Cladding Boards

Trex Company is expanding beyond composite decking and outdoor living products with the launch of new Trex Cladding boards. This new cladding is a composite board cladding system derived from square-edge Trex Transcend deck boards.

Trex’s composite boards are made from 95% reclaimed wood scrap and recycled plastic. These new Trex Cladding boards are available in three board lengths and 10 color options nationwide, and feature a nine-element surface formulation that provides both a timber-like grain pattern and ultra-durable finish. The boards resist fading, staining, scratching and mold, and will not rot, crack or warp over time.

New Trex Cladding Boards

New Trex Cladding Boards

New Trex Cladding Boards for Rainscreens

“Rainscreen is extremely popular right now across the building industry and is a natural extension for us,” says Adam Zambanini, president of Trex Residential. “The unparalleled performance attributes of our Trex Transcend boards make them ideally suited to outperform wood in rainscreen applications. Furthermore, the premium exterior aesthetic and ultra-low maintenance of our new Trex Cladding boards product is especially appealing to architects and business owners, allowing us to expand our footprint in the commercial arena.”

These low maintenance cladding boards are designed for use over rainscreen systems. This new cladding is a composite board cladding system. The boards may be applied horizontally or vertically, and feature an open-joint façade system designed to provide airflow over a rainscreen assembly. trex.com

Click Here to Get Started

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive architectural design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and plans for these new Trex Cladding boards with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Exterior Home Design Materials

Continue Reading →

Exterior Home Design Materials

There is more to the exterior home design materials than just a pretty facade. In residential projects, system design of the building envelope (exterior) seldom receives the attention it deserves. High-performance home exteriors along with more time and resources need to be spent on what is the homes main defense: the building envelope.

Given the issues of building resilience, durability, design, and client comfort, more single-family builders are leaning on performance standards to create high-performance home exteriors. It all starts with understanding a few important principles.

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas for exterior home design materials and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

Exterior Home Design Materialsand High-Performance Home Exteriors

Exterior Home Design Materials

Addressing Exterior Home Design Materials

Condensation Issues:
Condensation is important when considering exterior home design materials. Opposing exterior and interior temperatures create condensation where cold, warmth, and humidity meet, which turns vapor into droplets. Depending on the outside temperature, temperature difference, and relative humidity, these droplets may form on the siding, on the water-resistive barrier, on back of the plywood, on the studs, and even on the drywall. Typically, they need a surface and do not accumulate in the middle of an insulation batt, though batts can get soaked from the condensation accumulating on framing surfaces.

Condensation Solutions:
There are two ways to control condensation:
1) Limit the amount of humid air inside the building assembly. This is typically done with good air sealing; air leaks carry far more humid air into a building assembly than vapor diffusion.
2) Raise the temperature of the building assembly to keep materials above the dew point temperature. This is increasingly done using continuous insulation, which greatly improves overall thermal performance and relocates the dew point condensation away from the wall cavity.

Implementing these condensation ideas will assist you in creating high-performance home exteriors.

Bulk Water Control:
An increasing number of both production and custom residential builders have found simple ways to implement rainscreens in their exterior home design materials. Vertical batten nailers (“strapping”), nylon matrix mats, or siding that installs with rainscreen clips are all readily available and effective ways to uncouple the cladding from the rest of the wall assembly. This disconnect is commonly referred to as a “drained and back-ventilated rainscreen” (DBVR).

Adding 1 inch to 1.5 inches of foam, or using a foam-sheathing combination (sometimes referred to as “structural insulation”) is fairly easy and inexpensive to build in because most rainscreen claddings don’t require additional framing to accomplish a robust and high-performance home exteriors, thermally broken building enclosure, solving for both condensation control and water control.

Stucco Exterior Siding:
Using stucco as one of your exterior home design materials. Knocking on traditional stucco is fighting talk for many old-school builders and plasterers who appreciate its benefits. It’s thick, durable, and inexpensive. It is fire- and pest-resistant. But three-coat stucco has a lurking secret not enough people talk about: thermal mass. Because stucco isn’t ventilated, it doesn’t address dew point. It can also cause homes to use more energy than necessary.

The Southern exposure of any home in the Sun Belt region gets absolutely crushed by solar gain. A day with 100-degree ambient temperature can easily result in a 150-degree wall temperature all day. Homes with concrete masonry unit block or wood-framed homes with direct-applied stucco use much more energy into the evening and early morning than a home with a ventilated rainscreen cladding. A stucco home holds the heat, so the HVAC must work longer and harder. Some builders have been using a drain wrap between the sheathing and felt paper layers to create more drainage. Even if that can be achieved, however, it’s not enough space to uncouple the stucco from the structure to allow the needed separation and ventilation that would allow the wall to cool in near-real-time to manage condensation. If your trying to implement high-performance home exteriors into your home design plans, it’s important to consider these factors before installing stucco.

Materials Matter:
With exterior home design materials, you have a trade-off. Often, the more environmentally friendly and healthy the material, the less durable and higher maintenance it is, therefore increasing life cycle costs and environmental impact substantially. Wood is a good example. By contrast, metals have a high embodied energy in manufacturing and even geopolitical footprint, but they are highly durable and resilient making them one of the more durable high-performance home exteriors.

Cement, sand, pulp, and water make a formidably durable and affordable combination. You need robust raw materials like this to make something that is sustainable from the standpoint of performance, maintenance, and longevity. It also helps that products made with these raw materials are generally within reach for almost every construction budget. But manufacturers need to invest in decarbonizing their final product that uses as little of these raw materials as possible.

Click Here to Get Started

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and implement all types of exterior home design materials. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Popular Home Design Trends

Continue Reading →

Advanced Smart Home Systems

Advanced smart home systems from Brilliant and Savant allow new home buyers to centralize and quickly control everything from lighting and utilities to security and entertainment. These types of new smart home designs help homeowners integrate their homes with their busy lifestyles.

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive advanced smart home systems. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their new smart home designs, ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of smart home floor plans. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Advanced Smart Home Systems with New Smart Home Designs

Advanced Smart Home Systems

Builders with Advanced Smart Home Systems

The New Home Company (NEW HOME; NYSE: NWHM) has unveiled EVO Home Tech, a technology-forward program that integrates modern digital features with connectivity, ease of use, customization and efficiency.

Advanced smart home systems such as the EVO Home Tech package will include the purchase of all upcoming new smart home designs that will include the following:

  • Whole-home Wi-Fi
  • Video doorbell
  • Wi-Fi thermostat
  • Wi-Fi garage door opener
  • Smart electronic entry door lock
  • Lighting control

Home builders can also offer “White Glove” service that will ensure home buyers have the ability to operate their technology components. These options will include:

  • In-home orientation
  • Activation of all smart-home devices
  • Wi-Fi setup and connection to homeowner provided router from service provider
  • Training for homeowners on all products included in the EVOHome Tech Package

As part of the launch of these advanced smart home systems EVO Home Tech, NEW HOME has partnered with two emerging leaders in the smart-home industry: Brilliant and Savant.

Brilliant offers an in-wall touchscreen control system that makes it easy to control smart devices and experiences throughout the home: lighting, doorbells, locks, climate, music, video intercom, scenes and more. With these advanced smart home systems with Amazon Alexa built-in, Brilliant also offers the option to enable voice control in any room without the need for countertop voice appliances. Brilliant Controls install in the place of a standard light switch and include a built-in motion sensor and camera with a privacy shutter.

Brilliant is designed to evolve with the needs of a homeowner and works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonos, Ring, Ecobee, Honeywell, Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, August, Philips Hue, LIFX, TP-Link, Wemo and SmartThings.

Home builders are excited to partner with The New Home Company to bring the best possible smart home experience to every NEW HOME customer,” said Aaron Emigh, Co-Founder and CEO of Brilliant. “By offering new smart home designs with a pre-installed Brilliant Smart Home System and devices like a Ring doorbell, smart lock and smart thermostat, NEW HOME is setting the new industry standard for what a true integrated smart home should be.”

In May of last year, NEW HOME announced that it became the nation’s first home builder to offer Savant Breaker-Companion Modules into its energy efficient residences in California. These highly intelligent modules have been designed to enable homeowners to add energy management services and lighting control solutions to their smart home functionality and enhance their lifestyle while meeting California’s strict Title 24 energy regulations.

Click Here to Get Started

Market Data Sources: National Wood Flooring Assn. (NWFA)Hardwood Floors magazineCatalina ResearchFloor Covering WeeklyU.S. Department of CommerceConlumino/Global DataStatistics CanadaHardwood FederationNorth American Laminate Flooring Assn.Statista.

Smart Home Design Software Products

Continue Reading →

Home Renovation Money Saving Tips

Renovating a home is a good way to not only increase how much you enjoy the space, but also increase the value of the home. There are hundreds of potential renovations that can be done, some which are small and easy and some that are more difficult that can take months. These home renovation money saving tips are a great way to improve your homes value while not spending too much money.

Home renovations are also incredibly popular as the market for them in America is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. That is a lot of people fixing up their homes. So while these home renovation money saving tips are common and can renew your love for a room or your home as a whole, they can often cost thousands of dollars.

However, renovating your home doesn’t have to leave you in financial ruin. There are several of these home renovation money saving tips you can do during, before and after a renovation in order to save money. Without any further ado, this article is going to look at a couple of different ways to help you save money on a home renovation.

Popular Home Renovation Money Saving Tips

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for any of these home renovation money saving tips when creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan, design and implement these home renovation money saving tips. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Home Renovation Money Saving Tips

Home Renovation Money Saving Tips

Important – Have a Budget and Stick to It:
First and foremost, you want to be sure to have a budget. You need to know how much you can afford to spend on the renovation and stick within that range. Too many people overspend or go into debt for renovations, which isn’t often a good move.

Of course, try and leave a bit of flexibility in this budget. Things rarely go as expected and having a bit of extra money to play around with if need be is a good idea. Your budget should cover all facets of the renovation. You should have a budget for materials, for labor and anything else you can think of when implementing these home renovation money saving tips.

For example, if you are looking to replace bathroom cabinets, be sure to have a price range in mind, and look for providers or options within that range. If you look at everything, even what is far out of your range, you can easily end up overspending. If you’re looking for high quality, yet affordable, bathroom cabinetry, consider checking out this link: bathroom vanity cabinets – cabinet city kitchen and bath

Handle Some Things Yourself:
While things like materials can cost a fair bit, a lot of the costs from a renovation come from the labor. If you handle some of the renovations yourself, you could potentially save a whole lot of money. One of the best part of these home renovation money saving tips is for the homeowner to handle some of the work themselves including demolition and hauling things to the dump, but depending on your skills, you could also handle a lot more.

However, be sure to know your skills and don’t try to extend yourself too far. If you try and do something out of your skill range and end up messing up or failing in some way, it can be expensive to fix. Not only will you have to undo the damage you have already done but will also have to hire someone else to redo it. Sometimes, it’s better to hire a professional and pay them rather than trying to handle something you’re not capable of.

Be Careful About Who You Hire for Help:
Speaking of hiring someone, you need to be careful about who you hire for help. Not all contractors are created equally. Everyone will have different skills, experience, costs and reputation. However, don’t simply go with the one that charges the least. Sure, that will save you some cash in the short run, but if their work is poor, it will often need to be redone, which can cost you.

When implementing these home renovation money saving tips be sure to do your due diligence and hire a contractor that you feel will do the best work, without charging you an arm and a leg. Hiring the right person can save you money and make your entire renovation a more positive experience.

In conclusion, the three methods and tips included in this article will help you save money during your next home renovation project.

Click Here to Get Started

Different Window Replacement Styles:
There are many window styles and manufacturing companies to choose from. Here are a few we recommend; Renewal by Anderson , Pella Windows and Doors , Jeld Wen Windows and Doors , Home Depot and Lowes.

Zillow Home Flipping Business

Continue Reading →

Smart Builder Business Lessons

Today’s builders can streamline their business with these smart builder business lessons that include new technologies and procedures borrowed from other industries. Implementing these successful builder business guidelines will help any builder achieve a thriving and profitable business.

It’s easy to criticize some builders’ resistance to new technology but, given the complexities of this business and the huge financial risks, their hesitance is understandable. Established methods can seem safer and more predictable than changes that may or may not pay off.

However, a growing number of builders understand that implementing these smart builder business lessons will improve their survival and profitability. Implementing these new guidelines will ultimately depend on their willingness to adopt new business practices and technologies. These practices usually aren’t complicated they tend to be proven, mainstream, and even obvious. The key is having the mindset to embrace them.

Case-in-point: San Diego-based Murfey Company, a 10-year-old builder/developer of single and multifamily homes as well as commercial projects. Owners Russ and Scott Murfey say that the careful application of new technologies and ideas has helped them build a thriving business.

Besides using industry-specific software (like ProCore for project management), the Murfeys often look to other industries for best practices and smart builder business lessons. This has helped them reduce errors, raise revenues, and improve employee retention. But getting there hasn’t been without challenges.

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of professional designers, builders and contractors implement these smart builder business lessons. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Smart Builder Business Lessons and Successful Builder Business Guidelines

Profitable Smart Builder Business Lessons

Here are some smart builder business lessons:

Going paperless takes time. Digital communication is the norm in many industries, and homebuilding is getting there.

“We still need paper plans, but we also give our supers tablets and digitize everything,” say the Murfeys. “Our projects are cloud-based, with all documentation available online.” Getting the system in place has taken a few years, but it’s saving time and money.

The slow adopters of these successful builder business guidelines have been some sub-contractors. “We still get faxes from some of them.” And while the Murfeys try to help subs go digital, they realize that keeping a reliable one may require an exception. “We’re not heavy-handed. It’s case-by-case.”

Simple tools are important. Take plan changes, for example. “Markups can really get out of hand,”. For instance, if you decide to change a smaller JELD-WEN window for a bigger one, the framer needs to get the correct new rough opening.

For field changes, these builders prefer a generic tool like Adobe Acrobat for these successful builder business guidelines. The details can be marked up and then synced to the framer’s phone via a cloud service like iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

SOPs are superpowers. Manufacturing companies rely on standard operating procedures, or SOPs, to make sure work gets done efficiently, whereas builders tend to lag behind here.

The Murfeys are big believers in SOPs, which they develop and reinforce through weekly, monthly, and quarterly meetings. “We strive for a Henry Ford approach, which means looking for ways to do everything the same way, every time.” This is the most productive of the smart builder business lessons.

Letting go can be smart. Pulling a horse’s reins on these successful builder business guidelines slows forward motion and, the Murfeys insist, the same goes for people. That’s why they loosen the reins and allow employees to work remotely part of the time. Site managers have to be on the job, but office-based staff—sales, accounting, purchasing, etc.—don’t necessarily need to be in the office.

There are two big payoffs to allowing remote work:

Better talent. Flexibility attracts self-starters. “We want lifelong learners who embrace new ways of doing things and have no problem attracting people of all ages and experience levels who fit that description,”. “We give them direction and opportunities to excel, but we don’t micromanage. This empowers them.”

More sales leads. Employees who spend more time in the community and less time in an office tend to meet more people. To leverage this, the Murfeys make it clear to all employees they’re part of the marketing department and incent them to look for business opportunities. This helps fuel the sales tank. “For example, one of our supers has good relationships with a few architects, which has brought in work. And we have a project manager who consistently brings us new deals.”

The Murfeys insist that the prerequisite to creating smart builder business lessons is a culture for the builder to embrace technologies and processes that attract creative people. It’s smart business.

Click Here to Get Started

For assistance with your projects, visit JELD-WEN’s professional portal.

Optimizing Net Zero Homes

Continue Reading →

Zillow Home Flipping Business

When Zillow Group pivoted from an advertising-based business model to the algorithm-based Zillow home flipping business in 2018, its executives knew this day for the home flipping markets would come. Zillow and other tech-driven companies were able to refine their technology enough to make tiny profits on cookie-cutter houses in deserts and small metropolitan areas.

But to make $20 billion a year in revenue from Zillow Offers within five years as executives boldly projected, the Zillow home flipping business would need to crack major coastal markets, where homes are at least twice as expensive, and prices can change dramatically from one block to the next.

Zillow Home Flipping Business and Home Flipping Markets

Home Flipping Markets are Growing

According to The Real Deal real estate news, Zilllow Offers, the firm’s iBuying arm is moving into the Los Angeles housing market with a field staff and two veteran brokers. More hires are expected. Zillow Offers is already working in 21 other home flipping markets including San Diego, Sacramento, Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta. “L.A. is easily the biggest and most complex market that we are going into,” said Zillow president Jeremy Wacksman. “It is not a market, but a whole bunch of markets. Of the ones that we’ve opened in, it’s the biggest geographically, population and the average home price.”

The Zillow home flipping business iBuying model offers sellers a chance to quickly offload their property, giving them fast access to cash to buy other homes. It’s a business with extremely thin margins, and requires Zillow to set aside large pools of money to make the purchases, perform simple updates to the property, and sell it again, with the ultimate goal of financing the buyer’s purchase through its new mortgage arm.

Zillow lost an average of $4,826 on each home sale in the third quarter, after interest expenses — up from $2,916 in the second quarter, the company revealed last month. Still, Zillow does make money on the home flipping markets transaction fee, which runs between 6 and 9 percent. And that’s the focus.

Zillow is looking to move as quickly as possible and earn their money off the transaction fee. And ultimately because this transaction sits at the nexus of all of these adjacent markets that we know so well, that are big businesses in and of itself, they’re dying to be integrated into one thing. For Zillow, the L.A. launch will be a defining test on how far its Zestimate technology has come, and whether it can gain an edge in higher-stakes markets.

Click Here to Get Started

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home design software. Cad Pro is great for creating innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

Quickly share any Zillow home flipping business ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of real estate agents, homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of home designs and plans. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Landscape Plans Add Value

Continue Reading →

Kitchen Cabinet Design Plans

Before getting started on any kitchen cabinet design plans, you may want to create or purchase kitchen cabinet plans to determine the optimum design and layout of your kitchen cabinets. You can find a large variety popular kitchen cabinet designs and plans on the internet or at your local home improvement store.

Ideas from Top Rated Kitchen Designers
There are many resources available for creating all types of kitchen cabinet design plans. You can find these popular kitchen cabinet designs everywhere from national home improvement stores to independent design firms. Some are free, but some custom plans require purchasing. The one you use may depend on your individual ideas for your kitchen redesign (and, of course, your budget).

Kitchen Cabinet Design Plans and Popular Kitchen Cabinet Designs

Kitchen Cabinet Design Plans and Ideas

Once you have determined your design resource, you will need to determine the exact measurements of your kitchen space so the design plan can be as accurate as possible. This will ultimately save you a great deal of time and money as it can eliminate potential mistakes in the installation of your actual kitchen cabinet design plans. You will need to include any and all appliances in your kitchen cabinet plans so to ensure that the cabinets fit correctly around them when installed.

While determining the layout of your cabinets in your plan, consider a couple of key tips. Above all else, kitchens are work-spaces. Try to design your cabinet layout to provide the best work triangle between the refrigerator, the sink and the stove; this facilitates the flow that most chefs desire in their work-space. This is especially important if your kitchen is smaller. In the case of a kitchen with small square footage, knowing the shape of your kitchen—U-shaped, L-shaped, galley, or island layout—will help determine how best the most popular kitchen cabinet designs can be laid out to maximize the efficiency of your work-space.

Since many modern kitchen plans include open concept designs with no separation between the kitchen and other living spaces in the home, you may consider breaking your kitchen cabinet design plans into “zones,” separating the work spaces from the storage spaces and the gathering spaces of your kitchen.

Finally, no matter which design source your plans come from, they should reflect your own personal style and budget. Plans should include any specialty furniture or appliances that you want in your kitchen—whether it’s a built-in bookshelf to house all your favorite cookbooks, or a built-in wine fridge to house all of your favorite wines. Custom plans lead the way to custom installations, which lead the way to your own unique dream kitchen.

Kitchen Cabinet Design Plans and Ideas

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive cabinet design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their kitchen cabinet design plans and ideas with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Click Here to Get Started

High-Tech Smart Kitchens

Continue Reading →