Homewrights’s Blog

We’ve got perhaps a dozen homes in the “planning” phase right now.  That’s great of course.  It may mean a landslide of business this fall and winter.

Interestingly, many of those folks in the planning phase are deliberately taking their time.  Some are waiting for the  real estate market to get better, so that their appraisals will be stronger.  Some are waiting for better economic news so they’ll have more confidence about their jobs or the economy. 

Its a funny and interesting gamble.  At the macro level, housing starts are beginning to jump.  Up 17.2 percent in May.  Of course, that means lumber soon will follow, as well as other commodity based materials.  OSB and 2 by 4s are  climbing already.  

For those who were waiting for the “best time” to build, the window of opportunity may have already passed.   The very best pricing on lumber, labor, concrete, steel, and construction money, may have occurred in late April or early May. 

That’s not to say that there arent still some very good deals out there.  And, there will be some very good deals for many months to come.   But I can say with certainty that new construction will be more expensive in six months than it is right now.

The best advice at the moment is probably -  get your planning done fast.  Get everything ready to go to the bank, to the lumber yard, to the city or county for permit, to the tradespeople for bidding, and be on your toes.   Being ready in times like these can mean a difference of thousands of dollars. 

We can see it coming – its a recovery  headed our way.

Theres a local radio and television celebrity who charges big bucks to be a member of his network.  There are thousands of companies who subscribe, not just in Denver but nationwide.  Apparently its worth several thousand dollars a year to be endorsed by a celebrity.  

There are also some services around, most of them web based, hands-off type organizations, that claim to have screened contractors and chosen just the good ones to be part of their list.   These are also “pay-to-play” systems.

Somehow, it just does not seem right to pay for a good recommendation. 

We decided when we started HomeWrights that the sub-contractors and suppliers that we recommend would never have to pay us for our referral.  That way, we’re beholdin’ to no one.   It’s easier to be honest that way.   

When we put our endorsement on a sub contractor or supplier, its because we firmly beleive that he or she will do the best job possible for our client.   We refer them because we’ve come to respect who they are, and the work they do. 

We emphasize to them that all they owe us is a good job for our client at a fair price.  It just works better that way.

I’ve been saying for months that this Denver market is one of the best in the country for real estate strength and future turnaround.  I’m hearing more and more agreement from the media and the general public out there. 

It’s nice to be right, even if it does take a long time to prove it. 

Here’s a link to a recent MSNBC interveiw with Barbara Corcoran, a real estate expert and contributor to the Today Show.  Barbara and I are reading from the same playbook.  I think she’s a genius!!!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30825142#30825142

Take a look and enjoy.  We’re number 1!

Seven years ago, we started calling ourselves a “Building Partner”.  It was an easy way to explain to folks how the relationsihp worked between the owner-builder, and us. 

Home owners run the project, we’re there to back them up, with state of the art systems and support, excellent administrative tools, great technical expertise, and superb sub contractors and suppliers.  It truly is a parntership. 

The description is not 100 percent accurate though, because we do so much more.  Coach, advise, council, evaluate, coax, cajole, and occaisionally – push, pull or drag. 

A couple of competitors have popped up in the last few years.  Their service is similar.  Lets face it, there are only so many ways to build a home, and only so many ways to coach folks along. 

We’ve watched these competitors, and listened, and when appropriate, snooped just a little. 

Oddly – when we call ourselves “building partners” they call themselves building partners.  When we call ourselves “coaches” they call themselves coaches.  You get the idea. 

I guess imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.  Thanks.

What we pay for a custom home is directly related to the parts that go into it, the hands that build it, and the minds and hearts of the people involved.   Its a complicated equation with some of the variables very tangible, and some almost intangible. 

Our building model is different in that we prefer to see our clients put their money where it really produces the best product, namely: the minds and hearts of the people whose hands are putting together the parts.   This is not to say that quality parts are not important, we simply mean to elevate the importance of the workmanship. 

Since our clients manage their own construction projects, there’s never a doubt about the hearts and minds of the people in charge.  Owner Builders are always 100 percent committed.   Their hearts and minds are always there. 

If you compare two custom homes, both built with the same parts, but one built by committed craftsmen who have a true working relationship with the home owner, and one built by workers who are putting together the parts for a faceless future inhabitant (and a payday on Friday), your intuition should tell you which home will be better built. 

The point is; it will always be very easy to find someone who’ll do a job real cheap, and its tempting to try to negotiate  the “fluff” out of the higher bids.  The trick is to find the balance…and to truly know the point at which the heart and mind have left the job, and all you’re paying for is parts and hands. 

Really…is there any doubt about which house you’d rather live in?

At last weeks Garden and Home Show, an architect friend stopped by our display booth to chat about his recent home project.  We’ve known Rafael and his wife for about four years.  He’s a great architect and a general all around good guy.   We’ve chatted with him and his wife at every garden and home show for years. 

This knowledgeable couple just finished building a custom home in Denver’s Highland neighborhood.  When they drew the plans four years ago, they talked to us about being their “coach” but at the time they just figured it would be more fun to work on it alone.   Besides, they both had lots of contacts in the industry. 

At the show, he said with a big grin that he wished he would have used our service.  He said “I could have saved myself about $70,000 if I would have used HomeWrights.  I now know I could have done it with your help.”

It turns out he ended up with a less-than-scrupulous general contractor.  After quarreling with the GC for months, over numerous issues and mistakes, he fired him.  He spent the next several months correcting mistakes that the contractor had made – at his own expense of course. 

Rafael’s “bottom line” was this.  HomeWrights experience and connections could have saved him the trouble of mistakes, bad bids, bad  or inexperienced subs, poorly written contracts, and (even though he is an architect) errors on house plans. 

We reviewed a house plan last week for a family that had plans drawn by an inexperienced draftsman.  The draftsman told them that the house could be built for about $100 per square foot.  Based on the draftsman’s input, they had the plans drawn up for a 14,000 square foot home.  They also spent the money on engineering, a well permit, a septic design, and the building permits.  They’ve invested over $40,000 already. 

The house had over 40,000 pounds of steel in the engineering.  Right now, with steel at about 80 cents per pound, its easy to see how the materials alone for such a home will easily exceed $100 per foot.  Appliances on a home like this will cost nearly $35,000. 

It broke my heart and theirs to look at the realistic budget that I prepared for them.  They’re undaunted, but they have decided to put the project on hold for a while.   I’ve suggested to them that they contact the county immediately to see what can be done about the permit fees.  They may get an extension.  It would be a shame to lose the money already spent on permits. 

The point of these two stories is simple – a good builder saves you money long before you put  a shovel in the ground, and for that matter, long before the plans are complete.  There is no substitute for experience.  An experienced builder can look at plans, look at concept drawings, look at a job site, or look at your list of chosen finishes, and tell you up front where you have opportunities for savings, or where you will experience extraordinary costs. 

The rascals in our industry have made it difficult for the good guys.  People are reluctant to committ to hiring a builder until they are sure they will receive value for their commitment, and in some cases, reluctant to committ unitl AFTER they’ve already recieved the benefit of the builder’s work. 

So…check references.  Interview carefully.  Do your homework, and ask good questions.  Check your builder thoroughly, but…make a commitment EARLY.  The savings will start immediately. 

Wow…long sermon huh???

Sometimes I’m surprised by the mountain of dirt created by the excavation for a new home.   If we’re digging a hole for a 1500 square foot basement, 10 feet deep, we’re moving nearly 820 cubic yards of dirt.   We usually have to dig at least 4 extra feet in every direction, in order to make the hole large enough for the foundation workers. 

That’s a pile the same size as about 500 refrigerators, or about the same size as 1440 television sets (not the flat screen type), or about the same size as 22,000 toasters.  Its a bunch of dirt.

A tandem dump truck (thats one of the “small” dump trucks with two back axles) holds maybe 9 yards.   That works out to 91 dump truck loads. 

Its a LOT of dirt. 

Beleive it or not, getting rid of dirt is a problem.  Especially now, when construction is slow, there’s no place to dump it.  With urban infill construction, you have to haul most of it away in order to make room for the foundation workers.  When the foundation is done, you have to haul some of it back to fill in around the foundation. 

Dirt out.   Dirt in.   It seems silly.  But its the only method we’ve got right at the moment. 

The problem is – it costs money to move it around.  Its one of the larger and more unpleasant surprises we encounter when we build here in town.  Getting rid of the dirt, and then getting it back. 

So, who came up with the expression Dirt Cheap?    No such thing.

I’m hoping that others saw the article in last Thursday’s Rocky Mountain news titled “Metro Housing Holding It’s Value”. 

The  article quotes  a report by a group called PMI, a Mortgage Insurer, and states that “Home prices in the Denver – Aurora metropolitan area have a less than 1 percent chance of declining in value during the next two years. ”

It goes on to say that Denver is considered by Mortgage Insurers and Hedge Fund managers as a LOW RISK area for real estate. 

In my book, 99 percent is pretty good.  We’re in a great market, at a great time to build.

HomeWrights has passed the prestigious mark of completing 100 custom homes along the Front Range in Colorado.  With the completion of a Ranch Home in Arvada and a Two Story Custom Home in Denver’s Bonnie Brae Neighborhood, HomeWrights can lay claim to completion of 100 custom homes in our short six year history.   Based on a quick calculation of homes built and average square footages, that amounts to about 320,000 square feet of living space, 55,000 square feet of garage space, and roughly 120,000 square feet of basements, some finished, and some not. 

In dollar terms, the retail values of these 100 homes easily tops the $60,000,000 mark.  Yup, thats sixty with six zeroes.  

We’re pretty proud of that accomplishment.  We’re especially proud that we’ve done it with HomeMakers, Mothers of three, Computer Programmers, Furniture Salesmen, Ironworkers, Military Personnel, Real Estate Brokers and Professional Appraisers acting as the project managers.   It proves that with the right system, just about anyone can build a custom home.

Here’s a quick post that illustrates how great homebuilding can make you feel.  This is from one of our clients who turned into an absolute project pro during her home building stint. 

“I can’t believe how amazing I am!    Well… I can’t take all the credit. Bob and Mary (at HomeWrights) were my support, advisors, providers, baby sitters, hand holders, and more.

For me it all started when my husband and I stumbled across this perfect lot. We got it for a significant discount.  Our intentions were just to sit on it and sell it later for a profit. We knew darn well we could not afford this neighborhood. $$$$$

Then I met Bob at the Home and Garden Show they have every year in Denver. I went to his office discussed my plans and what his company can do for me. He worked up a preliminary budget gave me two or three hours of his time working on my project and all this for free. He is a smart man because he realizes if you have the necessary information you learn “I can do this” but not without him”.   I realized at that moment this can be a reality. Finally, I was given the go ahead by my husband to get my design, which I had drawn on a napkin, to the drafters and engineers,

Today I designed and built (with Bob and Mary’s help) a 5200 sq. ft., two story home,  appraised over $1,5 million. I completed the build with in 9 months time and under budget ($586,000). Our 30 year fixed mortgage is less than the 2800 sq ft tract home we left. It showcases a view of the entire rocky mountain region over looking Daniels Park in a prominent gated community in Castle Pines City. It is perfectly feng shui, environmentally friendly (green), easy and cost effective to maintain and has everything I could want in a home for the future, Some upgrades include a three story elevator, radiant floor heat through out, four car garage with a dog wash, zoned air conditioning, four fireplaces including one indoor/out door, stone and stucco exterior, four out door living spaces, custom iron railing, future electronic components, custom cast stone fire place and stove surrounds and imported granite slabs, Nothing is builder grade. Today we sit comfortable with over $1 million in equity in the home of our dreams, THANK YOU Bob and Mary we are forever grateful.”

I’ve spent the last week working with an excavator, home owner, foundation contractor, soils engineer, and structural engineer, trying to figure out the smartest and most economical way to build a foundation on some “icky” soils in the Denver area.    “Icky” is not a word that I’ve used since I was a kid.  But its the only way to describe this.  The soils engineer actually used ”Icky” the other day, because he couldnt think of any other word descriptive enough to capture the expansive nature of the stuff.   He also used “Scary”. 

For those of you who dont know, Colorado has some pretty unique engineering challenges when it comes to residential home construction.  Thank goodness we dont have 40 inches of rain per year, because if we did, we’d have the “perfect storm” of conditions to make building nearly impossible. 

In Colorado, we can have some pretty extreme wind conditions, so we have to design for that.  We actually have to design for seismic activity.  Of course we have to design for snow loads.  And, we have to design houses and especially foundations for “icky” soils. 

The particular project that has been the subject of so much work in the last week, has some of the most expansive soils I’ve seen.  This stuff will expand about 7 or 8 percent when water is added.  I’ve seen samples that tested out at 3 percent, or four percent, but never this much.  Of course, the soils engineer poo-poo’ed my observation that 7 percent was pretty high.  He’s seen it as bad as 12 percent. 

Here’s what 7 percent really means.  That soil is dangerous! 

Imagine we built a house with conventional foundation components, and backfilled all around it with some of this icky soil.  Now in a perfect world, if we cautioned the home owner about that soil and said “Do NOT get this stuff wet”, he or she would keep all of the gutters and downspouts working perfectly, and would NEVER remove the downspout extenders.  He or she would never plant trees or shrubs within 5 feet of the house if they required heavy watering.  And he or she would keep a careful eye on the grading to make sure that the dirt around the house never settled to allow puddles around the foundatoin.  That’s a perfect world. 

In a real world, two years, or five or ten years from now, we’ll have puddles around that house.  And the soils will expand.  If they expand 7 percent, that foundation does not stand a chance.  If the soils get wet UNDER the foundation, the house is going for a roller coaster ride.   That’s why this house gets a very special foundation. 

The foundation design for these icky soils will be the mother of all foundations.  Our caissons will go down 26 feet below the foundation.  There’s enough steel in the caissons alone to build a small ship.  But…it wont move!  And it wont crack or fail.  This house will be built to withstand the worst possible assault from soils.  Basically, we win because of good engineering. 

The point of all this is simple.  You could read a million books on homebuilding, and you might guess right when it comes to a difficult situation like this one.  But when it comes to making the right judgement on this foundation, you need the experience of a good soils engineer, the experience of a good structural engineer, and, oh yeah, you need someone on your side with enough experience to put all the pieces together.

We’ve been really lucky in our business because we work with people who absolutely embrace the challenge of life without fear.  They come from all walks of life and they want to apply their particular genius and their skills to building their own home. 

Three examples; John, Garnett and Tom were all bona fide rocket scientists.  Really smart fellas.  Garnet once described his work to me like this:  “I write the programs to make a missile hit a missile – kind of like making a bullet hit a bullet.”  I had never met a rocket scientist before.  John was one of the guys who fired a missile at an asteroid, and hit it!!!  It made my head spin. 

Other clients have credentials like doctor, veterinarian, genetic scientist, developer, real estate professional, designer, artist, software developer, and oh yeah…mother of three.    Any arguments here on who had the hardest job???

All of our clients have shared one characteristic – they’re over-achievers.  They’ve pretty much learned in their lives that they can do anything with a little help.  They’re simply not afraid to tackle a problem.  That makes our work a blessed thing, because home building is really a wonderful series of problems to solve.  Put another way, it provides a million opportunities to create, invent, analyze, review, and overcome. 

Most of them have read extensively about home construction.  Most of them come to us with a pretty good vocabulary of home building already.  But they all recognize they need just a little extra to get the job done right.   The fact that they choose us makes us feel so lucky. 

One client who had built a small group of restaurants and made them successful put it this way.  “You can read a thousand books about sailing, it wont make you a sailor.  I’m smart enough to know what I dont know”

We can attack energy efficiency in several different ways.  While its very important these days to choose highly efficient furnaces or boilers, and efficient air conditioners, and efficient water heaters, if you dont take steps to conserve the heating or cooling you’ve paid for, you’ve only fought half the battle. 

Its very important to take a moment to think about where energy is lost in the shell of the home.  Most of us can pretty readily think of the big stuff – insulation in the wall cavity, good windows, attic insulation, etc.  But many home owners and builders overlook simple things that can make a huge difference. 

Most insulators offer what they call a “caulk and seal” package these days.  This is basically an option to add a  sealer around every window and door frame and caulk the seams between adjacent wall studs.  These two items can play a huge role in stopping air infiltration, which truly is half the battle. 

Every house has several dozen wall studs that are built up, or side by side as a result of door or window openings, or corners.   These side by side studs are an excellent opportunity for energy transfer.  The tiny gap between them represents a breach of your insulation barrier.  When your insulator does the caulk and seal package, this breach is sealed.    The large gap around window and door frames also allows energy transfer, so it only makes sense to seal this as well.   

Another vulnerable point in modern constructon is the place where walls and floors come together.  The irregular shapes and complex conditions that occur at these junctions make it difficult to “stuff” them full of insulation.   Using expanding foam insulation in these vulnerable area makes for much tighter construction and can have a really substantial influence on energy use.  

And, dont overlook the energy lost to heated water which is never used.  When you turn on a tap and let water run for 20 seconds to get hot, you have to recognize that you heated that water once before.  It has been allowed to cool as it sat in the pipes for several hours.  Anything you can do to conserve that heat will definitely make a difference.  

Think of it this way, if the pipe between your water heater and your master shower holds 2 gallons of water, and you have to “re heat” that 2 gallons once per day, 365 days per year, you’ve just emptied your 50 gallon water heater 15 times!  In today’s energy dollars, that can be quite a bit of money.  In tomorrow’s energy dollars – its anybody’s guess.   Now offset that with the $30  to $50 it will cost to insulate those pipes.   That’s painfully simple arithmetic. 

We’ve come up with a list of 15 things you can do to “Keep What You Pay For”.    Send us an e-mail request with your name and zip code and and we’ll be happy to forward it to you.  If you think energy will be cheaper in the years to come, you’re not paying attention.    Our e-mail is bhinz@homewrights.com.