Found 6 blog entries tagged as new homes.

When building a home, roof and drywall completion tend to be significant milestones. Each signifies a turning point, the home has a "top"; something tangible that protects the inside. Interior walls now take shape, the rooms and floor plan come off the drawings. Much has changed with each system as the building industry becomes more efficient. "Old school" methods vs "new school" methods each have their supporters, but there's little doubt that building a home today is nothing like it was decades ago.

Installing Roof Trusses

Trusses have become common place, replacing rafters in most builds, even some custom built homes. It's safe to say that most of the roof truss installation crews have no idea what a rafter is or how use a rafter…

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damaged house framing

In this post, we look at new home problems with framing. Home builders excel as magicians; now you see it and now you don't as drywall hides all sins. Framing a home is literally building the skeleton, kind of important to get it done right. The majority of new builds are not "custom homes"; they are common plans that builders prefer. Typically, they have "framing packages" delivered to the site. From there, framing crews get to work. Builders always shop price (some might say always cheapest) for materials and labor. It's all about profit, never forget that.

Trashy Framing Lumber

When I'm stammering for words, it's not good. This builder shops the throw away bins at Home Depot and Lowes; wasn't just this one either. Framing lumber is…

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There's never a shortage of horror stories with home builders around Greater Atlanta. In this post, we look at new home problems with concrete. Problems here can be catastrophic; everything rides on the foundation being properly installed. Unfortunately, what should be done, sometimes isn't (some would say that's routine). While a company might strive to do things according to the "book", enforcing this at the build site while managing budget, time frames and labor often means things don't always happen as they should. The problem here is that a home is only as good as the foundation it sits on.     

Badly Cracked Basement Slab

That video was a spur of the moment thing born of pure anger. That was almost a $2M home, and as I walked around…

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brick wall drawing

Once a very common sight around Greater Atlanta, brick is rapidly disappearing from the scene. Homes built with brick enjoy better market appeal, it's a recognized advantage over just about any other exterior surface. The brick is not structural, rather it's an exterior cladding independently supported and tied to the framing with "brick ties".  Brick is virtually maintenance free - when properly installed. The most common issues tend to involve cracking and drainage, cracks above wide openings in particular.

Brick Cracks Above the Garage

This is a pretty common occurrence and is often due to either the lintel supporting the brick sagging or one of the support columns settling over time. Here we saw the support post settle a bit, this…

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Some home buyers find themselves facing an interesting quandary; is a new home better than an existing home? Lately, many buyers just want to move into a home and live; they're either not interested in or able to update. It's hard to beat new for this segment. Others will consider homes in need of updates; existing homes tend to be more flexible on price and easier to negotiate. For those buyers, opportunity may be found. Many variables impact the final decision; however there are clearly identifiable differences that home buyers should consider. Both new and existing homes have advantages and disadvantages, the best educated buyers will examine both options.

new home or old home

New Homes are Better Than Existing Homes

What’s not to like with a new home? Most…

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There is a serious lack of skilled labor among home builders in the Atlanta area. Quality and issues exponentially increased over the prior few years, then a pandemic came to town and flipped the tables. A voracious appetite for housing met drastic labor shortages, limited inventory, rising prices and Covid-19 delays. Builders are racing to get homes built and sold; their site agents busy working getting buyers under contract for them. Who is representing the best interests of those buyers? Not the site agentpoor new construction

Who is Building Your New Home?

"ABC Homes" is not building your home; your new home is being built by subcontractors that bid for the work. A lack of  skilled labor is arguably the biggest problem with new construction. Many experienced…

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