Building A New Home

Five Bathroom Flooring Options

When it comes to your bathroom flooring, there are many options from which to choose from.  As you consider what type of flooring you want in your bathroom always consider specific questions.  How durable is the flooring?  How does it feel on your bare feet?  Does it meet your design standards?  Below are five options when it comes to your bathroom flooring.

Carpet
This made our list only because of how important it is to not have carpet in your bathroom.  Moisture and carpeting are not two things that go hand in hand.  Try to avoid carpet in your bathroom at all costs.

Solid Hardwood
Although this choice is better than carpet, it is still not the ideal solution.  Hardwood flooring looks great and it even feels good under bare feet, but moisture kills solid hardwood.  If you must have hardwoods in your bathroom, hire a professional to do the job.

Laminate
Laminate flooring is a good choice when you want to protect your floors from moisture damage.  The design of a laminate floor is actually a picture of what you would like it to be.  You do have choices as to how you want your laminate to look such as oak, slate or even travertine. 

Stone
Although an expensive option, stone flooring looks exceptional and it can handle any moisture problems.  The downside with stone is it is cold and can be slippery when wet.  Oh yeah, did we mention it can be expensive too.

Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tile is an excellent choice for bathroom flooring.  Because there are many types of ceramic tile, there is something for every design taste.   

Hire a professional when you're looking to remodel your bathroom.  Their expertise and ability to offer a plan of attack for your remodeling project can be extremely valuable. Related Blogs

• Building on a Budget
• 5 Tips Before Building a New Home

2011 Is the Year to Build

It's a new year, and the time to build has never been more perfect. With the economy in a downturn, supplies, labor and other costs have been significantly reduced and the idea of your ideal home could easily become reality.  The following are some other key reasons why 2011 is the year to build.

Take Advantage of the Economy
Finding a contractor can be costly and expensive, especially during the "booming" season. However, since the economy is taking a beating, so too is the contracting business. Lucky for you, however, it leaves contractors desperate and more willing to do your project for less money. In addition to having more leverage over your contractor, you will have more choices as well. With so many contractors out of work, you can afford to be picky and take your time choosing the best team of professionals to carry out your project. Regardless, you should still do your research, because hiring an unscrupulous contractor could ruin your project and cost your even more money in the end.

Buying Land
Other aspects of real estate are also affected by the economic climate such as land. While prices are plummeting, you should start investing in long term good value property so you can emerge with acres of land after the recession. Once the market kicks back up again, you will have high quality property that you will be able to sell for double what you paid for it. This doesn't happen overnight, though, you have to be patient with the recovering economy and be willing to wait it out.

Buying Supplies
Because of the economy, less people are building houses; therefore, less people are demanding building materials and supplies. If you think about the law of supply and demand, then it comes as no surprise why building material costs are way down during these rough economic times. Companies that were marking up tile, counter tops, or other home building supplies before are now lacking the necessary business to stay afloat. So, instead of going out of business, they are simply offering their materials at the lowest possible costs so they can at least make it through the recession without having to close down. Lucky for you, anything that you would need for your home building project is going to be offered at the lowest possible prices.

What was supposed to be a little hiccup in the real estate market quickly turned into a full blown tragedy. Although the real estate collapse caused many people to lose their jobs or deal with having a huge salary decrease, it was a bittersweet blessing for those individuals looking to build a home. If you have enough money during these economic times, then building a home now will be quite a steal! Not only will your dream home be realized for cheaper, but also when the economy starts to improve, you will have high quality property that will be worth even more than what you paid for it.

Can I Build a Custom Home on a Budget?

Many people assume that they can't build a custom home on a budget, because it would cost too much. However, despite popular belief, you can actually build a custom home for the same price (or even less) than purchasing one- and with a custom built home, you can personalize it to meet your exact needs.

Create a budget: When you finally decide to build your own home, the most important step is to put together your budget. Without a budget, you risk spending more than you actually have and could end up ruining your building project all together. To get a good idea of what your budget should be, you can:

• Look at other houses in the price range for what you are wanting and use that as a starting point.

• You can also estimate costs by using a cost per square foot formula. Be careful, though, because price can vary depending on quality, materials, and other factors.

• Get as detailed as you can. The more details, the closer your budget will be to the actual price you end up paying. This preparedness is key to staying within your ideal spending plan.
   

Choose a builder: Selecting a builder in the beginning and having them involved in every aspect of the design/development process will help you keep your construction costs in line.

• While an architect may have a firm grasp on the design aspects, they may not be knowledgeable about construction costs. This can result in a design that will cost you more than expected, which will force you to scale back and potentially cause construction delays.  

• Choose a builder that you feel comfortable with, and that has good reviews from previous clients. A builder can make or break your construction project, so it's vital that you do your research to ensure the best.

Do your homework: Knowing exactly what you want can make the custom home building process simpler and cheaper. By being able to communicate your needs with your builder, it will be easier for them to find the least expensive items to match your criteria.

• Go online, look at magazines, visit other houses- this can help you come up with a list of things you can and can't live without.

• Remember, you are on a budget now, but in the future you may have more funds available for expansion or upgrades.

With such a huge undertaking underway, it's important to manage your time appropriately and keep everything organized. Nothing is more worthwhile than watching your dream home being constructed and seeing your hard work paying off!

Top 3 Home Design Trends

With so many home builders from which to choose from, it is important that you go with the one that can effectively turn your design concepts into a reality.  Sullivan & Forbes is a custom home builder in Gainesville, Georgia that has helped many people achieve their home building dreams. 

Building on a budget doesn't necessarily mean you have to give up certain design elements.  We take our knowledge of home design and buiding and blend it with your budget to come up with some of the most beautiful homes on Lake Lanier and throughout North Georgia.  Below are some of the latest design trends that we can help you with as you look to us to build your next custom home.

Flooring
The right flooring can not only make a home more beautiful, but it can help with the resale value of a home later down the road.  From ceramic tile and hardwoods to marble and bamboo flooring, we can provide you with the right solution for your specific design tastes. 

Outdoor living
Bringing the outdoors in, is something many people have dreamed of.  Enjoying cool fall temperatures while taking advantage of indoor conveniences can be achieved with our design process.  This trend has been accomplished by many of our home building customers.  View one of our videos that shows the type of work we perform when our customers are looking to bring the outdoors in. 

Storage
Having enough storage in your home is something many homeowners overlook.  This convenience is often times not thought about during the design phase for many homeowners, but can be avoided by working with a professional custom home builder.  Don't design yourself into a corner.  Make certain you have enough storage space to handle not only your family for today, but for what your family could look like years down the road. 

These are just three design trends people should consider when looking to build a new home.  Sullivan & Forbes has been designing and building homes since 1997.  We have experienced just about every possible design taste, but there are some consistencies to consider when building such as the ones listed above.  Give us a call today if you are thinking about building a home on Lake Lanier, Gainesville or other areas in North Georgia.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.