Ideas, Tips, Advice, Oh My!

​Having completed a number of home remodeling projects in Central Florida, a common question that we hear from clients is which home improvements yield the highest return on investment. While the answer to this question can vary, another question worth exploring is which home remodeling projects yield the worst return.

While no building contractor can guarantee a rate of return on a home remodeling project, here are 5 improvements that typically yield the lowest returns on investment:

1. Master Suite Addition
We've used our blog to touch on the concept of aging in place, and some homeowners that are choosing to stay in their existing homes through retirement are adding a master suite addition on the main level.

​You should think of your front door as the key to your home's curb appeal. Since the front door is such a focal point and one of the first impressions that people will have of your home, those building custom homes tend to splurge for a unique front door that will make a statement.

Since choosing front doors for custom homes can be a daunting task, we wanted to share several factors to consider to help you make the best choice:

Types of Front Door Materials
Front doors primarily come in three materials: fiberglass, steel, and wood. While there are advantages to all three of these materials, they all have their weaknesses as well.

​Have you been constantly tossing around the idea of building a custom home? While making the initial decision to move forward can feel a bit overwhelming, there are fortunately a few clear signs to help you realize that you're ready to pull the trigger:

1. Your current home is not functioning for your lifestyle needs.
Maybe you have a growing family and don't have enough bedrooms to accommodate everyone. Perhaps you've made the decision to work from home, but don't have the space to dedicate to a home office. Or, if you do a lot of entertaining, you're finding that you don't have the square footage to comfortably  host a party at your home.

We've used our custom home building blog to discuss the increase in demand for an open floor plan. Homes with open floor plans foster togetherness by turning the kitchen, living room, and dining room into one large entertaining space. With the elimination of doorways and the use of wider passageways, an open floor plan can make a home feel larger than the square footage suggests.

While there certainly are a number of advantages to having an open floor plan, one of the more challenging aspects is to keep the space clean and orderly. This is especially true in the kitchen where there is the potential for a clutter of dirty dishes to be out in the open for all eyes to see.

We recently talked about the importance of quality framing in your custom home. Another aspect of the custom home building process that you need to give careful attention to is your window selection.

While you likely are taking cost into consideration, you certainly don't want to skimp on the quality of windows that you are installing in your home. While we're fortunate to experience fairly mild winters in DeLand, we also can run into some brutally hot summers. The windows that you choose for your home can play a critical role in maintaining a comfortable temperate and make your home more energy efficient. 

​Without question, one of the biggest demands that custom home building clients want is an energy efficient home. Investing in energy efficiency will not only save you time and money, but you'll also create a more comfortable and durable home.
While there are a number of ways that you could make your home more energy efficient, let's focus this article on insulation.

Many people in the custom home building industry would agree that insulation is the most important building material in an energy efficient home. All too often, homeowners are tempted to splurge on fancy energy efficient appliances; however, without a good insulation system in place, the energy efficient appliances in your home may not be able to perform as intended.