Building a Custom Home Budget and Schedule
Building Success 101 Q: Can I buy my own fixtures? A: In most cases, Steve and Bart feel it is not in our homeowners’ best interest for a number [...]
Custom Home Budget: Even in Vegas Building is Not a Game of Poker
Building Success 101 Q: Who ensures a quality job? A: Merlin Custom Home Builders built our reputation on the quality of our homes. So for Merlin Custom Home Builders, [...]
How Do You Create a Healthy Indoor Living Environment?
Building Success 101 Q: Where do radiant floors make sense? A: A radiant floor heats a room by circulating hot water through flexible tubing embedded in a concrete slab [...]
Why Custom Home Technology Is a Wise Investment
Seattle, WA An amazing group of builders from across the nation attended the semi-annual fall Builder 20 meeting high above Seattle Washington last month. Thank you to Owen Roberts and [...]
The Problem with Competitive Bidding
Some big obstacles stand in the way of the three-bid advice. Folk wisdom, online articles, and basic instincts advise homeowners to solicit bids from several qualified contractors. But three major obstacles get in the way of making those bids realistic and useful: the need for detailed plans and job specifications, the need for comparable bidders, and the need to structure the bids for easy comparisons. Getting all three right is rare.
Controlling Custom Home Allowances
Strict allowance policies benefit homeowners as much as builders. Why does the Merlin Custom Home Builders team and other builders prefer that the homeowners choose every single item that will go into the house before they break ground? It’s not just for the builder’s convenience. A choice postponed may end up being made at a time when the homeowners are feeling a lot of construction stress. Decisions made under stress raise the chance of buyer’s remorse.
Custom Homes Built for Las Vegas Climate
Creating a durable and efficient Las Vegas home is no job for amateurs. In 1985 Las Vegas was home to 562,280 Southern Nevadans. In that ancient time—30 years ago—someone with basic construction knowledge could build a serviceable home. No more. Today, the combination of contemporary building materials and code-mandated construction practices have made homes more complex with less margin for error.
Why Custom Home Builders Must Be Learners
Continuing education is no longer optional. What do today’s best builders have in common? Although the answer includes many items, there’s a common thread running through each of them: a commitment to ongoing learning. The know-how needed to build high-performance, durable homes is evolving faster than ever. That’s why top builders commit to continuing education in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, engineering, law, materials science, and management.
The Value of Trusted Custom Home Builder Associations
You can tell a lot about someone by his or her associates, and that’s as true for businesses as it is for individuals. Every successful business understands the value of ongoing trust-based relationships with other industry professionals.