While most of my bloggings are a bit of rambling on my thoughts for the day, this one is meant to be more practical.  As is often the case though, this one starts with a question from a client.  Certain areas of the house tend to trip breakers more often than others, particularly the kitchen…

One question that I like to hear asked by prospective clients, but probably never adequately explain my answer to, is “where do we fit price wise with our competitors?”  That’s a bit of a tricky question because one first must really decide who our competitors are.  For a design/build firm that provides a similar level…

A common misconception we observe is the idea that square foot pricing of an existing home is a meaningful method of comparison or way to project remodeling costs.  With existing homes, it is often the case that it would be impossible to rebuild the home today for what it is currently valued at.  Even new…

As a state licensed contractor I’m required to attend continuing education classes every year.  Sometimes the takeaway from these classes is surprising.  At a recent class I attended, a homebuilder made a comment that stuck with me. “We’re the only industry where the customer gets to see the sausage being made”.  When I chimed in…

Sometime back, I took my teenage son out to lunch to check out a “new to us” burger place.  Marietta Burger Bar, to be exact.  In case you were wondering, the food was excellent, and I would highly recommend paying them a visit, but that’s not the point of this story.  While dining, a past…

The other day, my tile installer asked me if I had heard of the health problems with LVP and LVT flooring.  He went on to say his wife read that it was toxic, especially for kids, you shouldn’t walk on it barefoot, and they won’t even stay in a vacation property that has the flooring,…

I like whiskey.  Particularly rye whiskey.  I savor a glass after a long week of work, or sometimes just after a long day.  I don’t drink to get drunk, rather a nice glass of rye is a special treat.  I truly enjoy the flavor and experience of putting a record on, pouring a glass, and…

It is often difficult for clients to discern why there can be such a big difference in price from one contractor to another for ‘the same’ set of plans.  While on our last family vacation, I noticed several things that stood out to me as to what the difference is.  The home we stayed in…

That is the question. Here at Custom Dwellings we’ve had clients ask us both to permit projects and not to permit projects, but more often than not, the questions are whether we permit jobs or whether we should permit theirs. Permitting itself is an extra expense, but in the grand scheme of things, it is…

Every so often when providing pricing for larger projects such as a new home, major addition, or stand-alone structure we hear the phrase “I can go buy a ‘new’ home for that”.  Sometimes, the response legitimately means that they can go by a brand-new home in a development for less than the cost of a…