Armchair Builder

CAT | Home Addition

As your family’s needs change, your home needs to change as well.  Maybe a new baby is on the way and a second bathroom or third bedroom is needed.  If you’ve already finished your basement or don’t have a basement, you may have decided that putting a new addition onto your home is the best […]

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Adding on to a Home

Adding on to a home can be a great way to expand living space to better suit your growing family.  But does it make sense to take on this project?  Are there circumstances where you wouldn’t want to consider adding on to a home?  We will tackle these questions and touch on the typical costs […]

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Attic Remodel

Is an attic remodel feasible for your home?  What kind of return will you get on this project when you go to sell your home?  We wrote an article for Buildipedia that was recently published that explores the options.  The truth is, there are times when creating living space in an attic is not the […]

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Housing affordability has reached a new all-time high for the first quarter of this year.  Along with this, mortgage rates are now at an all-time low (3.75 for 30 year fixed).  But what does that really mean?  For anyone who doesn’t yet own, now is a great time to buy a home and make it […]

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The new homes built in the 90’s brought us two story rooms that created a dramatic, grand feel.  These two story rooms are still built today because they give the feeling of openness while making spaces feel bigger.  Although interesting architecturally, these rooms can be difficult to heat and waste space that could otherwise provide […]

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As an owner-builder, you want to make sure you have insurance coverage for your new project both during and after construction.  This insurance should protect you in case of fire and weather damage, theft and accidental injury.  There are several different types of insurance available to protect you…let’s take a look at each. Builders Risk […]

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As an owner-builder, you want to make sure your new home addition will be of the highest quality with the fewest possible problems.  So make sure you require your HVAC subcontractor to run a manual J calculation (or equivalent) to check the equipment sizing for your existing home with new space added and give you […]

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You’ve decided to put an addition onto your home as an owner-builder in order to add valuable space.  Once your new addition is complete, your family room and kitchen will open up into the large, new space that your family will enjoy for years to come.  Your new construction project will go on for several […]

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For your new renovation, it is critical to put the time and effort into making sure your new floor and roof line up with the existing floor and roof.  This sounds obvious and simple but based on the number of homes I have seen with one or both of these screwed up, I thought I […]

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There are a couple phrases we never want to hear as an owner-builder after our new project is complete.  The first is…you need a variance.  The second is…tear it down.  So how do we deal with the “V” word and how do we avoid ever having to take down a project we just built? If you […]

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