Best and Worst Home Builders (Youngsville: neighborhoods, inspector, tax)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Steel beams are most common when one wants a header beam unnoticed in the ceiling in a large open area. Steel can be engineered to carry a span in less depth than most wood can be.
Sometimes, wood with steel flitch plates.
Laminated beams, LVL, what have you, have quite legitimate uses but often need to be deeper than the floor joists to carry long spans, so may extend below the ceiling and becoming a dropped header.
Nothing "wrong" whatsoever with either approach. It is all about qualified and proper engineering for the application and execution by the builder.
Full disclosure: my own house has a steel main bearing beam.
.
Commercial construction codes require that structural steel elements be protected to a minimum of a 2-hour rating (in many cases, much more) and there are several methods of achieving this (spray coatings, boxing etc.). Do residential building codes not require this ?
My home has a steel beam supporting the bonus room above the garage, and I certainly hope that it was treated. On the other hand, a fire hot enough to affect steel beams will likely quickly destroy a typical wood stud home. One-half inch gypsum wallboard has only a nominal fire rating.
Commercial construction codes require that structural steel elements be protected to a minimum of a 2-hour rating (in many cases, much more) and there are several methods of achieving this (spray coatings, boxing etc.). Do residential building codes not require this ?
My home has a steel beam supporting the bonus room above the garage, and I certainly hope that it was treated. On the other hand, a fire hot enough to affect steel beams will likely quickly destroy a typical wood stud home. One-half inch gypsum wallboard has only a nominal fire rating.
It does bring up the other question that if the fire does get that hot (to where it chars structural members), do you really still want the house without those pieces being replaced.
In a Lennar home. After doing some window treatments and casing I can tell you none of my windows are square. They didn't grout the top of our shower tile because they figured no one would ever see it. They are cookie cutter assembly line homes with subcontractor crews more concerned about quotas than quality. I always get a chuckle out of half-million dollar homes and beyond that have the cheapo contractor dome lights in the bedrooms and hallways.
I'm in a Lennar home as well and think that way too much comes down to who the site construction manager is and the subs they have access to. We moved in as part of Phase II of a multi-phase plan, which means I've had a chance to witness quite a bit of building as they are now onto Phase IV. Who shows up on a day, who's paying attention, are incredibly variable. We were fortunate with our home because our construction manager was brought in after the previous person had received multiple, and very serious complaints; he started in our neighborhood the month before our build. Plus, we established a very good relationship with him early on making it clear we weren't going to pester him with endless questions or demands (though he reminded us that would be fine, if we did). He was always very responsive and thorough when we reached out to him.
The thing that really jumped out at me while watching subsequent building in the community is that if one crew has one person having a bad day, that could adversely impact multiple houses. Maybe it's picked up via the inspection process, or maybe only one of the many affected homes from that bad day get noticed. My point is, with that much movement and things moving so quickly, it's easy to see how mass builders can wind up with problems.
I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that an important element is whether or not you're working with a good buyers agent. Ours made sure to stop by every few weeks to walk the site and call out things she thought might need some attention or clarification. And she also advocated loudly about our having a thorough pre-close inspection, which revealed a number of issues that would potentially had lead to water damage in a few areas.
Conversely, a good friend of mine went with a custom builder where they pretty much were building one house at a time in his community and it was a total disaster. It's a year since he moved in and they're still dealing with materially significant issues (serious leaks in their roof, plumbing issues resulting in water damage, HVAC problems, and, and, and....).
So no matter who's building your house, vigilance and good counsel are key to a successful outcome.
"This builder wants $120/SF for his homes. I can get the same SF for $117/SF. Why would I pay $120?"
If one wants a fine home, the "Best" builders in the area are all custom builders, without question. That fact should not be construed as a blanket recommendation for ALL who call themselves "custom" builders. There are bums under all categories.
The "Worst" builders are those who don't deliver on promises or standards, at any price range.
And, anecdotally, any builder can have a bad day or perform better than they typically do on another day.
Like automobiles and expectations:
If you buy a Kia Soul at $22,000 or a Lexus at $70,000, it is reasonable to expect the car will not arrive with leaks, doors that don't function, parts falling off...
Likewise: Basic expectations for shelter should not be compromised by price. It should not leak. Doors should work, and parts shouldn't fall off.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 12-26-2021 at 09:27 AM..
Opinions on Garman homes? The vast majority of their reviews are positive.
A friend of mine bought a Garman home brand new around ten years ago and couldn't be happier with it. Hasn't had any issues, and it's adorable too.
I've looked at lots of new homes over the past several years, and I think Garman homes are far and away better quality than ones built by the national builders in the area. I'm not really a new home kind of person, but they're designed and built so well that I'd be happy to buy one. Saussy Burbank is another good builder, but I'm still a bit partial to Garman.
A friend of mine bought a Garman home brand new around ten years ago and couldn't be happier with it. Hasn't had any issues, and it's adorable too.
I've looked at lots of new homes over the past several years, and I think Garman homes are far and away better quality than ones built by the national builders in the area. I'm not really a new home kind of person, but they're designed and built so well that I'd be happy to buy one. Saussy Burbank is another good builder, but I'm still a bit partial to Garman.
Conversely, a good friend of mine went with a custom builder where they pretty much were building one house at a time in his community and it was a total disaster. It's a year since he moved in and they're still dealing with materially significant issues (serious leaks in their roof, plumbing issues resulting in water damage, HVAC problems, and, and, and....).
So no matter who's building your house, vigilance and good counsel are key to a successful outcome.
Five years ago today a 5 year old boy was killed in an accident with a negligent custom home builder contractor. To me, custom means the builder has one crew that they use, know and can deal with without negative fallout for pointing out errors in workmanship. It is NOT picking up guys at the local Home Depot on the way to the job site each morning. I think a lot of people think "custom builder" means something around here that it really doesn't. My BIL built custom homes in NY. He had one plumber, one tile guy, one electrician and so on and so forth. And when something didn't get done to his liking, it was not accepted by him as the GC on the project. THAT is a custom builder.
I would also see this when I handled insurance claims. I handled an accident once where a cement company knowingly let an unlicensed - NO KIND OF LICENSE, let along a CDL (the driver never had a license, not even in his home country - had never driven before) - person drive the cement truck one morning because "no one else could do it". He overturned the truck on an entrance ramp. Luckily no one was hurt. These companies are more than willing to take a gamble every day for the almighty dollar.
Five years ago today a 5 year old boy was killed in an accident with a negligent custom home builder contractor. To me, custom means the builder has one crew that they use, know and can deal with without negative fallout for pointing out errors in workmanship. It is NOT picking up guys at the local Home Depot on the way to the job site each morning. I think a lot of people think "custom builder" means something around here that it really doesn't. My BIL built custom homes in NY. He had one plumber, one tile guy, one electrician and so on and so forth. And when something didn't get done to his liking, it was not accepted by him as the GC on the project. THAT is a custom builder.
I would also see this when I handled insurance claims. I handled an accident once where a cement company knowingly let an unlicensed - NO KIND OF LICENSE - person drive the cement truck one morning because "no one else could do it". He overturned the truck on an entrance ramp. Luckily no one was hurt. These companies are more than willing to take a gamble every day for the almighty dollar.
If his plumber, electrician, or tile guy quit, retired, was abducted by aliens, did BIL quit?
Yes, good custom builders retain their crew(s), but they make them toe the line. Any good builder builds subcontractor relationships by clearly setting the standards and paying the subs quickly when they deliver.
Just worked with a builder who has had the same flooring guy for 18 years, same plumber, etc.
Turn in your bills by 5:00 on Wednesday, and pick up your check on Friday. Smart business.
Even a good custom builder can require more than one sub in the various trades, if building a range of quality or a surge or general volume of construction that one guy cannot handle.
A "custom builder" is the guy who can provide a plan and tweak it, or can take a plan you provide and tweak it, or can work with you and your architect, but in any of those operational models can provide quality in a unique product.
If not working with an architect, he may have his own CAD program to work on building diagrams to send to his engineers.
A "semi-custom builder" will work the same plans as much as possible, and can still offer significant tweaks to the structure to serve your needs.
The tract/production builders are much more limited in that regard, with too many layers of management, and too much churning of crews, and superintendents who come and go and are overwhelmed with the number of houses they are responsible to close.
So, they are nearly totally cookie-cutter, duplicating the same product time and again to keep it simple, to minimize further engineering or design use.
"Dollhouse, Elevation A, B, C, D, or E? Oh, you cannot have B, D, or E because your neighbors do, and your driveway HAS to be on the right side on that street."
They will run multiple subcontractor crews and the sub will rotate employees through as needed, so the same guys don't necessarily work the same site regularly. They will continually bid out trades to keep their pricing in a vise, and may dump qualified people because the guy who will work for $0.25/SF less immediately is more desirable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
