Watching a house being built... (apartments, home builders, buy) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - Florida (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

Randy Forbes · 06-06-2011, 12:48 PM

This link is to Johnson Homes' (Parrish, FL) Facebook page, where they promise to show us step by step the building of a custom home: https://www.facebook.com/#!/johnsonhomesinc

I'm not sure of where this homesite is, but I *think* it's in Parrish (Twin Rivers?). This isn't our home, but this is the builder that Sue & I have been the most impressed with so far.

I have no affiliation with them, other than the hope of being a future customer. If this post seems to be a conflict of interest, then the moderator(s) can delete it without protest from me. Just let me know, so I don't waste a bunch of time looking for where it went

I'm looking forward to getting more insight into the Florida home building process, and the unique (hurricane & energy driven) code requirements by following progress on their FB page. I think anyone monitoring the build, estimated at 4 to 4-1/2 mos., will be a better informed consumer, whether looking to build a new home or buy an existing one.

And Dennis Johnson is just one helluva nice guy!

mr&mrssunshine · 06-06-2011, 02:48 PM

we have a new home being built just up the street from us. Being a builder back in the UK i am watching with interest.

my one comment so far ....sloooooow.

Big House · 06-06-2011, 03:51 PM

We used to put internet controlled cameras that we would let our owners view, and controll. We would give the owner, architect, investment firm (Black Rock, Sun America, and others) the website, and a sign in user name and password, and they could control the camera and zoom into any aspect of the work they chose. We would typically build 100 apartments and hand the Owner the keys upon final inspection and Use and Occupancy permits 11 months after ground breaking. I know many home builders that can't build one house in that time frame.

Karen and Jim · 06-07-2011, 05:00 AM

Good pictures...thanks! I know a stem wall is important, and it's interesting to see "how" it's built. Looking forward to more pix in the future.

Karen and Jim · 06-07-2011, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big House

We used to put internet controlled cameras that we would let our owners view, and controll. We would give the owner, architect, investment firm (Black Rock, Sun America, and others) the website, and a sign in user name and password, and they could control the camera and zoom into any aspect of the work they chose. We would typically build 100 apartments and hand the Owner the keys upon final inspection and Use and Occupancy permits 11 months after ground breaking. I know many home builders that can't build one house in that time frame.

What a FANTASTIC idea!!!!

Big House · 06-07-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karen and Jim

What a FANTASTIC idea!!!!

Yeah, it cost a couple grand to install the internet connection and buy the camera, etc... but when you are building a big project it is worth it. Our clients and their representatives were scattered all over the country, so providing this service was greatly appreciated. The cameras really paid for themselves. They provided security on the jobsite which is always important. I could log in at night and see if the crew turned off the lights they were supposed to, which means they also turned off/down the heat and AC at night (which could add up to tens of thousands of $$, if not done). Once I called the super and made him go back out at 10 at night to do it because he hadn't made them do it, and that never happened again.

You can also do time lapse photography with them, but you need a fair amount of storage on your computer system to do that.

I would always zoom in and watch them to make sure the flashing, and felting work was done properly, and if I saw something I didn't like - I would head out to the jobsite and call out the work to be fixed and done correctly. I would also make sure everyone was wearing their safety equipment. OSHA would target big projects, and this was an extra step to make sure things were done right. Our company, I am glad to say, never had one violation, citation, or fine for lack of safety. Railings had to be installed on all balconies, and window openings, and anyone on the roof (and other places) were required to wear proper fall protection equipment.

Randy Forbes · 06-07-2011, 08:54 AM

BH: That's doing it like a true professional, very impressive indeed (and I didn't even consider the things that you were personally monitoring!).

Consumers love to see pictures of what they're getting for their money! I work on sportscars at home for a living, and I document everything I do with (still) pictures. My customers can see what I have apart and how I put it back together. Since most of the cars are shipped to me from all over the country, the owner doesn't have the luxury of being able to drop in to monitor progress. I feel that the pictures give them more insight than if their car was being serviced by a local garage. They actually get "hooked" on the pictures, and often start watching the work I do on other cars when theirs is finished.

There are more than 23,000 (!) pictures on www.spcarsplus.com website (Sports Cars Plus, LLC). It would be a good link to "save" if you suffer from insomnia...

Big House · 06-07-2011, 09:57 AM

Everyone can see the day to day progress, and know that the work is being done, even when they are not there. They know we are attentive to their requests, and since we all act like partners, there decision making and input are valuable, and providing this to them helps to strengthen the partnership. I learned "partnering" on some projects that I did with the Navy. And, although we all have our own interests, by putting the project first helps us all accomplish a win / win.