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a better way to buy concrete page 50 february 2012 10 common framing mistakes www.housingzone.com page 52 6 best-selling home plans learn how these designs hit buyers hot buttons also in this issue what builders want in window systems 24 the evolution of quality management 26 5 small homes that live large 40 charter homes and neighborhoods ds davis model features raised heel-truss heights and 9-foot first-floor ceilings to give it a taller r more attractive street presence photo courtesy of charter homes and neighborhoods

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while the building industry is swimming in red ink,

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why are hurd s sales soaring the recovery is well underway at hurd our annual sales are up dramatically and we think we know why our mid-priced high-tech h3tm is the most successful product we ve ever introduced while other manufacturers seem to offer just low-e we have an entire eco systemtm of glazing options we re the only wood window manufacturer with a lifetime limited warranty and we re the only ones with coreguardtm the best wood protection in the business we also acquired superseal vinyl windows and added our transcendtm line or replacement it s a good time to be using hurd the more you know about us the better we look hurd.com 1-800-433-4873 circle 751

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february professional builder volume 77 no 2 34 26 [qualit y management the evolution of quality management more than 20 years after becoming one of the industry s first quality chiefs scott sedam assesses the state of quality management in home building sales strategies case study how a builder shattered sales records by going back to the basics by implementing sales strategies that focus on the fundamentals evans ga based ivey residential broke all sales records in its 20-plus-year history best-selling pl ans 6 top-selling home plans that hit buyers hot buttons home buyers are most likely to choose designs that balance strong curb appeal flexible living spaces indoor/outdoor connections and memorable details house review small homes that live large bigger isn t necessarily better in today s housing market with that in mind professional builder s house review design team presents five small homes that pack a punch when it comes to amenities and livability [supply chain management the harsh realities of buying concrete buying concrete turnkey can add a level of confusion about what is being purchased and for how much purchasing expert charles schneider offers a better way framing techniques top 10 framing errors an expert engineer identifies the most common framing mistakes and offers advice on how to avoid them products decking flooring and roofing products new products from azek boral stone johnson hardware kraftmaid and more 40 50 32 frontofbook 7 8 10 20 industry perspective quarterback needed editorial why are builders shying away from vet buyers market update new england builder completes passive house best of the blogs how important is speed of warranty service to the customer exclusive research window design and specification trends executive corner trumark homes michael maples on launching a home-building company during the downturn 34 40 24 66 50 52 on the cover charter homes and neighborhoods davis model features raised heel-truss heights and 9-foot first-floor ceilings to give it a taller more attractive street presence photo courtesy of charter homes and neighborhoods 56 4 professional builder february 2012

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solutions are here solve the puzzle of a home today s homeowner wants curb appeal durability value sustainability and high quality at the tapco group solving this is our strength for more than 50 years builders like you have trusted us to help finish their homes with the right pieces from siding and roofing to shutters and exterior accessories all with authenticity and easy installation if you re in the market for winning solutions we have the proven pieces a headwaters company un-puzzled see what contractors say about their proven tapco solutions circle 753

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industryperspective quarterback needed the fed white paper said further attention to easecent weeks have brought positive data ing some of these obstacles could contribute to the about housing many indicators are pointgradual recovery in housing markets and thus help ing up and even the most ardent housing speed the overall economic recovery naysayers agree that we ve likely seen the bottom the specific recommendations from the fed s in past cycle bottoms home building has quickly white paper pooling reo properties from fha rebounded all that was required of government was fannie mae and freddie mac and creating a system to get out of the way this time is different there are where the homes can be more easily rented among many obstacles to a real housing recovery from harsh others ­ merit quick response but more significantly appraisals to unfair credit requirements pulling the the understanding of housing s importance is back pieces together to jumpstart the industry will require where it should be leaders are finally agreeing on leadership from the administration and this is not something we in home building have always asserta politically motivated critique ed ­ there can be no general recovery without fixing chase ceo jamie dimon a banker with ties to housing first and fixing housing this time will take a the democratic party was recently quoted in the concerted effort led by this administration wall street journal making the same observation i would convene all the people involved in the patrick o toole publisher/editorial director business i would close the door i would stay there potoole@sgcmail.com until we resolved these issues so we could have a more healthy mortgage market dimon was quoted as saying you could fix all this if someone was in charge dimon s list of issues to be resolved include fleshing out the long-term plan for dealing with the gses fannie mae and freddie mac how best to eliminate foreclosure delays and more clarity about the new rules for pooling mortgages into bonds among other nagging housing stumbling blocks dimon s comments were prompted by a similar call from a higher banking authority the federal reserve board of governors in a highly unusual move the fed researched and produced a 26page white paper outlining `policy considerations to fix the housing market as a means to spur a more vigorous economic recovery fed chairman ben bernanke a speaker at this month s want to take the guesswork out of creating rough openings international builders show directed scan the qr code with your smartphone s the white paper to congress not the camera to view rough openings tips to make administration but the point is the them accurate every time one in a series same let s get housing moving of on-the-spot videos for seasoned pros obstacles limiting access to mortbrought to you by ainsworth engineered gage credit even among creditworthy borrowers contribute to weakness in housing demand and barriers to refinancing blunt the transmission of monetary policy to the household sector r rough openings tips to make them accurate every time circle 754

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editorial vol 76 no 2 builders shy away from vets few years ago a close friend who dutifully served our country for more than five years as a member of the national guard was able to get his own piece of the american dream or at least what many believe the dream entails he got married started a family they now have two beautiful children and bought a modest three-bedroom home in a semi-affluent suburb west of chicago it s mostly a sleepy town populated with retail strip malls tree-lined streets and mcmansion after mcmansion but it s the kind of place where parents can raise their children and not worry about violent crime or the quality of education their kids will receive soon after closing on the house he told me it may not be our dream home but it s perfect we re really happy since the early days of the g.i bill following wwii military vets have served as a vital buyer segment for many builders their ability to obtain guaranteed zero-down home loans from the va makes them a reliable stable buyer group in almost any economic climate however a recent survey of 188 home-building executives by john burns real estate consulting jbrc suggests that some builders are backing away from vet buyers not because they have suddenly become unreliable but rather due to the ultra-conservative va appraisal process va appraisers have become so conservative that the homes rarely close wrote jody kahn a vp with jbrc in a summary rea survey of builders suggests that some are port on the survey builders tell turning down veteran buyers because of us the va appraisal program is issues related to the va appraisal process broken and so frustrating that some may eliminate sales to buyers using va financing at issue are va procedures that mandate appraisers to err on the side of caution when evaluating real estate supposedly to protect vets from overpaying as a result appraised values are coming in well below the contracted sales price of the home and below appraisals for fha and conventional loans said kahn this not only causes the vet buyer to lose their dream home and the builder to lose a sale but it also impacts the appraisals of other homes available for sale in the community kahn pointed out other shortcomings va appraisals typically take longer than those for fha and conventional loans appraisers often focus on the lowest comps not the most relevant no value is assigned to upgrades and options and very little feedback is provided to builders all of the builders we spoke with love selling homes to vets but many have grown so frustrated with the process that it is becoming financially questionable to continue said kahn this is yet another example of appraisal rules and procedures impeding home sales read kahn s summary at http bit.ly/zu8ouo david barista editor-in-chief dbarista@sgcmail.com a 3030 w salt creek lane suite 201 arlington heights il 60005-5025 847/391-1000 · fax 847/390-0408 staff editorial director publisher patrick o toole 847/954-7919 potoole@sgcmail.com editor-in-chief david barista 847/954-7929 dbarista@sgcmail.com associate editor jeff zagoudis 847/954-7973 jzagoudis@sgcmail.com contributing editors susan bady bob schultz scott sedam designer robin hicks group director ­ principal tony mancini 610/688-5553 tmancini@sgcmail.com director of e-media adam grubb 317/219-7546 agrubb@sgcmail.com events manager judy brociek 847/954-7943 jbrociek@sgcmail.com director of audience development doug riemer director of creative services promotion sandi stevenson subscription inquiries circulation department professional builder 3030 w salt creek lane suite 201 arlington heights il 60005-5025 reprints adrienne miller 847/391-1036 amiller@sgcmail.com corporate chairman emeritus 1922-2003 h.s gillette chairperson k.a gillette president/ceo e.s gillette sr vice president ann o neill senior vice president cfo david shreiner senior vice president rick schwer vice president of custom media creative services and content management diane vojcanin vice president of events harry urban 8 professional builder february 2012 for advertising contacts see page 62

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introducing sprint direct connect break new ground with the next generation in push-to-talk make sure the work gets done on schedule and within budget with the next-generation network that offers an improved data experience share important job updates instantly with the push of a button and send pictures and videos to your entire crew across multiple job sites and now with an unlimited data plan you can push-to-talk text and call any mobile as much as you want all while on the sprint network with sprint direct connect you ll move mountains or build on top of them kyocera duramaxtm mil spec 810g durable per month 69.99 unlimited data text push-to-talk and calling to any mobile with a business advantagesm messaging and data plan get it all while on the sprint network requires a two-year agreement per line other monthly charges apply see below sprint.com/sprintdirectconnect 8-sprint-biz 877-746-8249 monthly charges exclude taxes sprint surcharges incl usf charge of up to 17.9 [varies quarterly administrative charge [up to $1.99/line/mo regulatory charge 0.40/line/mo and state/local fees by area [approx 5­20 sprint surcharges are not taxes or gov t required charges and are subject to change details sprint.com/taxesandfees phone requires a new-line activation or an eligible upgrade and a two-year agreement gps reliability varies by environment international services are not included sprint business advantage messaging and data offer ends 4/30/12 talk plan additional anytime min $0.25/min nights mon.­thurs 7pm­7am weekends fri 7pm­mon 7am partial min charged as full min any mobile anytime applies when directly dialing/receiving standard voice calls between domestic wireless numbers as determined when the call is placed using independent third-party and sprint databases standard roaming rates/restrictions apply only available with select sprint plans and while on the nationwide sprint or nextel national networks excludes calls to voicemail 411 and other indirect methods voice/data usage limitation sprint reserves the right without notice to deny terminate modify disconnect or suspend service if off-network usage in a month exceeds 1 voice 800 min or a majority of min or 2 data 300 megabytes or a majority of kilobytes prohibited network use rules apply see in-store materials or sprint.com/termsandconditions for specific prohibited uses messaging includes text picture and video for domestic messages sent or received international messages sent or received from the u.s are $0.20/msg and from outside the u.s are $0.50/msg sms voice messages may incur an additional data charge of $0.03/kb data premium content/downloads games ringers songs certain channels etc are an additional charge texts to third parties to participate in promotions or other may result in additional charges sprint radio includes access to select radio channels and song downloads cost varies sprint tv® includes select channels direct connect nextel and powersource devices operate on the nextel national network sprint devices operate within certain ev-do rev a coverage areas on the sprint 3g network group connect 21 max participants currently operates between parties on the same push-to-talk network platform international direct connect is not included ©2012 sprint all rights reserved other marks are the property of their respective owners circle 755

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marketupdate single-family production nahb s nations building news nationwide the median square footage of an owner-occupied home is 1,800 square feet homes in the central city are about 7 percent smaller on average at 1,678 square feet and about 6 percent larger in the rural reaches of metro areas at 1,900 however the average number of people per home increases from 2.6 in central cities to 2.7 in urban and rural metro areas for more on the study visit http bit.ly/yf7pqo pb policies that encourage conversion of existing foreclosed homes to rental properties would be an important part of addressing a persistent excess supply of homes on the market the authors write the fed also said congress should consider minimizing foreclosures by supporting a broad array of loan modifications and giving borrowers incentives to complete those modifications policies that support deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and short sales would also reduce the costs associated with foreclosures and the current downward pressure they are putting on home prices and the economy as a whole the paper said the paper also chastises governmentcontrolled fannie mae and freddie mac for showing more concern with their own short-term financial conditions than with the health of the overall housing market the fed is concerned that the collapse of mortgage lending during the financial crisis is hardening into a potentially long-term downshift in the supply of mortgage credit one reason for this the paper says is that fannie and freddie which provide the money for most mortgage loans are scaring lenders by aggressively seeking refunds on defaulted loans read the full white paper at http 1 usa.gov/yy7a3i pb housing trends study large suburban homes get bum rap u.s home size 1678 767 800 1800 800 1900 1680 800 outside msa housing recovery central city inside msa inside msa not cc not cc of msa rural urban median sf per person median sf of home while the average square footage of homes in metro areas is larger the further you move from the central city the size per occupant is relatively the same regardless of location within or outside a metro area according to a new nahb study contrary to popular belief large suburban homes are not necessarily more wasteful and excessive than their smaller urban counterparts according to a recent research study by nahb the authors of the study the geography of home size and occupancy state that while owner-occupied homes are smaller in downtown areas and inner suburbs than in the outer suburbs more people tend to live in suburban dwellings using data from the biennial american housing survey for 2009 nahb economists robert dietz and natalia siniavskaia found that nationally the median square footage per person in owner-occupied homes is exactly the same size 800 square feet for the urban and rural suburbs in metropolitan areas and areas outside metro areas median square footage per person is somewhat smaller for central cities but only by 4 percent according to the study which was summarized in federal reserve addressing foreclosures key to housing recovery the federal government needs to address foreclosures and excess inventory in order to expedite a recovery in housing and the economy as a whole according to a new white paper from the federal reserve directed at members of congress restoring the health of the housing market is a necessary part of a broader strategy for economic recovery federal reserve chairman ben bernanke told congress the fed prepared the paper to provide a framework for thinking about certain issues and tradeoffs that policymakers might consider bernanke said new markets lennar moves into pacific northwest lennar expanded its operations into the pacific northwest with the acquisition of approximately 650 finished lots in the seattle and portland markets from seattle-area builder/developer 10 professional builder february 2012

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premier communities it was lennar s first entry into a new market since atlanta in early 2010 the move is expected to add about 200 home deliveries in the second half of next year according to a wall street journal report premier s ryan mcgowan will manage the seattle operations while former d.r horton manager ryan selby will lead operations in portland pb new model flexible features include a second-level bonus room with a full bath and bonus space off the two-car garage that can be built out to offer additional parking a home office or a hobby room as part of the builder s intelligent green program the home will include a variety of energy efficiency and green systems including a radiant barrier installed in attic spaces to lower attic temperatures and reduce strain on air-conditioning equipment a 50-gallon quick-recovery hot-water heater and a programmable digital thermostat with multiple time and temperature settings each of the six plans is available with three distinctive elevations buyers can choose from homes in the architectural greenpointe breaks ground on outdoor living-inspired model at southern hills plantation the pinemore model is one of six plans offered by greenpointe homes at southern hills plantation a 41-foot covered lanai with a summer kitchen and a spacious balcony overlooking a pete dye-designed golf course highlight the design of greenpointe homes first model in the brooksville master-planned residential community of southern hills plantation in brooksville fla the pinemore model one of six plans offered by the builder in the community is a four-bedroom three-bathroom scheme spanning more than 3,000 square feet and priced from $240,520 designed in collaboration with deryl patterson aia of bsb design the model is a versatile floor plan with options to help suit the needs of any home buyer said greenpointe president david smith circle 756

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marketupdate styles of georgian low country colonial revival craftsman and folk victorian plans range from 1,750 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet in one and two-story designs pb www.crawlspacedepot.com small-volume production closed crawl spaces save up to 18 on heating/cooling costs we have the products to do the job right green homes valle group builds passive house-certified home in january the valle group completed construction on the nation s 24th certified passive house located in east falmouth mass the house was built virtually airtight and is heated through passeventeen-inch-think exterior walls sive solar gain accordand triple-glazed windows are ing to standards set among the passive heating features by the passive house of this passive house-certified institute in urbana ill home in east falmouth mass the house was constructed for an individual who wanted a home that was both energy efficient and largely sustainable a nearby salt marsh provided part of the motivation he did some initial research on building tight energy-efficient homes and determined that the passive house standard was one that he wanted to try and meet says christian valle project manager for the valle group certification is determined before construction even begins with the design plans subjected to analysis through various computer models the programs look for any areas where heat could escape with the goal of plugging those holes and increasing the home s energy efficiency hot water and electricity in the east falmouth home are courtesy of a full photovoltaic solar array complemented by 17-inch-thick exterior walls other passive-heating implements include blown-in cellulose and fiberglass insulation and triple-glazed windows for valle the process itself was the biggest challenge simply because it was so different from a traditional build project for example contractors had to be reminded to minimize if not eliminate the number of penetrations through the exterior the custom-built windows presented obstacles as well since each required more attention to detail than normal bora-foam ® termite-resistant r-11 eps foam board rd oa b 99 2.5 x 8 4 x 29 floor liner sealing tape 4 x180 3 rolls 49 50 8 mil 20 x100 roll according to research done by advanced energy and funded by the u.s department of energy 24999 bora-foam is a trademark of nisus corporation ®2011 crawlspace depot llc #csd-pb1211 www.crawlspacedepot.com set up an account online then call to receive the installer pricing shown 1-888-331-9991 circle 757

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to network to discover pella has a passion for helping our industry shine that s why we ve partnered with leading companies to present the premier invitation-only event for building professionals in local markets across the united states and canada the pro expo presented by pellasm delivers valuable networking and educational opportunities tailored to builders remodelers contractors architects and students so we can all keep up to the minute and stay second to none institute of remodeling tit fr el the pro expo presented by pella is brought to you in partnership with the professionals team to learn more visit theproexpo.com © 2012 pella corporation 888-644-expo circle 758

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marketupdate valle summarized the process by saying the idea of building a home that is almost completely airtight using traditional and readily available materials becomes an educational process for all those trades that are involved in the construction the builders also included various sustainable products like reclaimed hardwood floors zero-voc paint and recycled insulation among other things pb market data realtors revise five years of home sales data the national association of realtors issued its long-awaited downward revisions of existing-home sales numbers from 2007 to this year adjusting them down about 14 percent nar has said that starting in 2007 the group s estimates were too high due to a faulty method of tracking sales most notably the for sale by owner portion of the market dropped dramatically during the housing crash a development for which nar had not accounted that resulted in lower annual sales numbers for 200710 as well as decreased numbers for most of 2011 in essence realtors began to capture a greater market share in addition to a decline in fsbo transactions more builders began marketing new properties through real estate brokers that weren t completely filtered from the existing-home data said nar s chief economist lawrence yun some property listings on more than one mls and issues related to house flipping also contributed to the downward revisions the new estimates didn t affect median home prices or month-to-month or year-to-year percentage changes in circle 759

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everything you need to go from rough opening to bragging rights whether it s remodeling or replacement marvin has the broadest range of products and energy efficiency solutions for any job all backed by four generations of craftsmanship innovation and local retailer support and now it s your opportunity to showcase a job well done submit before and after photos of your proudest projects and be featured in the new mymarvin remodelers gallery only at pros.mymarvin.com/gallery ©2012 marvin windows and doors all rights reserved ®registered trademark of marvin windows and doors 1-800-268-7644 circle 760

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