Will Construction Blog

I recently attended a real estate forecast put on by our largest local real estate company.  This is a huge annual event and always a good source of current and historic information about our market.  This year one of the main points was a lack of inventory.  Because of the recent recession new home building slowed dramatically.  Because of that very few builders have been building anything that wasn’t already sold.  So if you are now in the market to buy a new home it is very likely you can’t find one to buy.  However there are still plenty of lots for sale and they are still selling at great prices.  This makes it a great time to buy a lot, hire a builder and design and build the home of your dreams!  Designing and building a custom home is a very rewarding and fun process and when it is over you get to move into a home that is designed just for you.  Interest rates are so low that most people can afford more than they think they can.

If you ever wanted to have a new home in Durango or Bayfield Colorado, now might be a great time to do it!

When building a new home one of the first things most people think about is how much will it cost.  There are many decisions to make and most of these can effect cost in one way or another.  Some of the most important decisions we have to make as your builder is who to use for subcontractors and employees.  This is one area where cheaper is not necessarily best.  Often times what appears to be a cheaper option is definitely not the best.  Quality and value is what is important here and we have found that sometimes it just makes sense to use a more expensive sub or employee.  To a certain point you do get what you pay for.  We want to use high quality professionals that we know will get the job done on time and to our standards.  Beyond that we want to know they will be around to stand behind their work should any warrantee issues ever come up.

At Will Construction we are committed to using only the highest quality subs and employees.  These are people we have worked with many times before, they do a fantastic job for a fair price and we know we can count on them.  This is the backbone of our organization and one of the most important decisions we can make regarding the construction of your new custom home.

I believe that cost control and quality control are an important of building any custom home.  One of the ways we do that is by completing some of the most important structural work using in-house employees.  Most often we do the concrete foundation as well as the framing ourselves.  On the rare occasion that we do hire a subcontractor, we use crews that we have a long history with and trust completely.  This short video shows our employees working on a recent basement slab pour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6xLG2kLVjU&feature=plcp

Because our employees work well together, enjoy what they are doing, and are proud of the results, our clients know they can expect the highest quality job.  We know we will have to frame on the foundation and getting it right makes the rest of our job easy.

In a previous post I talked about options for deck and rail materials.  Since we recently completed a deck remodel using composite decking and aluminum railings I thought I would share a couple of photos.  The deck is “Evergrain” brand and the railings are a factory product that comes in different lengths and styles.  The rails are cut to fit on the job for a custom installation.  The finished product is virtually maintenance free and looks great!

One of the many choices people face when designing and building a home is what kind of decking material to use.  Typically the choice comes down to either redwood or one of the composite materials like Trex.  There are advantages to both.

The biggest reason to use the composite materials is maintenance.  Unlike redwood, with the composite material you don’t have to stain and seal the decking.  It is virtually maintenance free.  It is however not as strong as wood and for that reason we sometimes will use redwood to build rails.  Another advantage is warrantee which varies among manufacturer but is something you don’t get with redwood.  The material can stain however and if it does can be difficult to clean.  The composite decking material is more expensive to install but for many people the lack of maintenance makes it more than worth it.

Redwood on the other hand is a natural material and when properly taken care of will remain beautiful indefinately.  Redwood is naturaly resistant to decay so when it is stained it holds up very well.  Staining is something that will need to happen on a regular basis though.  Depending on the exposure to weather and sun you might need to re-stain the deck as often as every year.  Redwood is a stronger material than the composite choices so it works very well for railings and usually can span longer distances so sometimes less framing material is needed.  Redwood is less expensive than the composite decking.

In all, both materials work very well and there are good reasons to use both.  Consider carefully when planning your next deck project and you will be able to enjoy the space for a very long time!

Many people would like to improve the value of their home.  There are many different options when it comes to home improvement and some will effect the value much more than others.  Of course adding space to the home in the form of an addition will certainly add value.  There are also many things you can do in terms of remodeling that will help too.  Here are just a few ideas that are relatively inexpensive to complete but will really dress up your home:

Painting inside or out.

Installing new siding.

Replacing old roofing material.

Replace old windows and/or doors.

Install new carpet.

Replace or re-finish interior trim.

Adding a deck to create some outdoor living space.

Replace old plumbing and light fixtures.

Re-finish or replace cabinets and countertops.

These are just a few of the many ideas to dress up your home.  Certainly there are many more and they are only limited by your imagination.  We would be happy to help you with any contruction projects you might be considering.  Please call anytime at 970-884-9830.

One of my hobbies involves indoor aquariums and outdoor  ponds.  I particularly enjoy an aquarium with live plants and Discus fish inside and a natural pond with waterfall and koi fish out in the yard.  I have succesfully kept both of these for many years at my house.  Now if you know very much about either of these setups, you know that taking care of them can be time consuming.  I have utilized proceedures to automate much of the maintenance tasks using some built in systems.  For example in my discus tank, water changes happen automaticaly and unattended!

If you are considering a new home or remodel, I can help build in systems to make beautiful aquariums and/or outdoor water features easy to take care of.  Call me anytime at 888-875-3984.

One challenge that everybody faces when building a new custom home is cost control.  We all have a tendancy to want the finest of finishes and maybe a bigger house than we really need.  One of the best ways to help control costs is to get a builder involved in your project from the very beginning.  When we are a part of the entire process including helping with design we can help keep tabs on the total costs.

It is important that you as the consumer are as honest and upfront as possible with your builder about your desired outcome and how much money you would like to spend to acheive it.  As long as we have a clear understanding of your goals and your budget, we can most likely help you acheive it!  To a very great extent your new home can cost as much or as little as you want it to.

At Will Construction we like to be involved from the beginning.  We can offer in house design, and we also have a long list of qualified architects and draftsman that we like to use.  In some cases, if you decide to build with us we can even design your house for free!

Building a new custom home is a team effort and you as the owner are the team leader.  Choose the players on your team carefully and your project will be alot of fun and the results will be exactly what you want.  If you would like to discuss any project ideas you have, please feel free to call us anytime at 970-884-9830.

Lumber and other material costs have been rising lately.  The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan has many people starting to think about re-construction.  This will create larger demand for materials and the markets are adjusting accordingly.  So far the increases are fairly minor but who knows what the future will hold.  Just one more reason why now is a great time to build.  Construction costs will likely go up from here.  Besides the increase demand in Japan, as our US market rebounds, and it will!, our demand will go up too.  This will slowly drive the cost of materials and labor upward.

At this point building costs in Durango and Bayfield are as good as I have seen them in a long time.  Interest rates are fantastic.  If you can do it now is the time to build!

Call me anytime at 970-884-9830 or email me at kurt@willconstruction.com so we can discuss your next project.

Many of our clients really want the look of a log house but don’t want the extra expense and maintenance that sometimes comes with them. One way to solve this issue is to us log siding. There are many different sizes and profiles of log siding available today. Of course some look more realistic than others and the price range can vary too. One of the biggest challenges in making the siding look real is how to deal with the corners. You can miter and butt the siding joints but keeping everything aligned is a challenge. You can use standard 2×6 lumber to form corner trim to butt the siding into. Or for a more realistic look with minimal added cost you can use full round logs on the corners.

This idea actually came from one of my clients many years ago. He wanted the log look without the cost and hassle of buidling a true log house. For his project and several others since, we used a fairly economical log siding and fabricated our own corners. For the corners we bought full round hand peeled logs from our local lumber yard. We then simply cut 1/4 of the log out using a chain saw. This allowed us to fasten the log to the corner of the house and then butt the siding into it. The finished look is clean and gives the appearance of a full log post in the corners.

There are many different ways to construct a house. What’s best for you will depend on your desired look and your budget. We are very good at creating the house that works for you! To discuss ideas for your house please call 970-884-9830 or email: kurt@willconstruction.com