A Port Angeles or Sequim custom home might be built with the highest quality materials and workmanship . . . or NOT. Here’s the challenge. The average person does not have the trained eye to be able to distinguish the two.
I wish they could. I wish we all could. Take the room in the photo to the left. Was this home built with the highest quality materials and the skilled hands of framers, finish carpenters, electricians, plumbers, sheetrockers, and painters, none of whom took short cuts or skimped on materials and labor?
I realize it’s hard to tell anything from a two dimensional photograph, but if we were walking through this room could you tell? Few could.
What a difference it will make when you live in your home for many years, or the rest of your life. I hear this testimony again and again from many people. Perhaps a real life example will make the point best.
I recently spent time in the home of a couple who were living in a home built by one of Clallam Counties finest builders. They were absolutely delighted with their home. It was and is everything they could have ever hoped. Having lived in it for about one year already, they were intimately familiar with the quality aspects of their home, the convenience and location of every feature, and the little things they became of aware of only after living and experiencing their home.
When they had their blinds installed, their blinds man told them all the windows were within 1/16th of an inch of being the exact same measurement. He explained that is quality he doesn’t see in the vast majority of homes. The doors were perfectly fitted in each doorway, all the spacing being exact. The kitchen cabinets were precisely assembled and hinged with precision. The Moen faucets will last for years, and the bathroom tub does have a styrofoam material under the tub so it doesn’t give under signficant weight and eventually need to be replaced. The hot water heater in the garage is not a cheap one that will break in 5 or 7 years. The garage concrete floor has sufficient rebar and the correct mixture of cement, so that cracks don’t start showing up in 3 years. There are three air circulation vents (not just one) in the house, and they are strategically placed with a 24/7 automatic circulation fan to keep air clean in all of the house, not just the living room. The list goes on and on.
Many of these items will not be visible to the untrained eye intially, but live in the house for a few years, and you will become an expert on what you “could of, should of, would of . . . done,” if only you had known.
It just so happens that across the street from these good folks is a house built by a so-called custom home builder, and these neighbors are good friends and spend time in each others homes. As they spend time in each others homes, the difference in quality is dramatic, and they all recognize it now that they’ve been living and breathing every room of their homes. Here’s the interest part to me. Both homes cost about the same per square foot. What does that tell you?
This is the difference between the low bid contractor you almost hired, and a “quality” custom home builder you could still hire. Last word on this subject today: Just because someone calls themself a custom home builder, that does not prove that such a contractor is in fact a custom home high quality builder. They all want to make a sale, especially in this market, so be careful of the ones who make any claims, say anything necessary to get your signature and check. They are out there. Be patient. Do your due diligence to find “The One.”
Need to talk about finding “The One?” Email or call me. I know most of the builders in the area,. I’ve been in many of the homes they built, examined them for quality, and talked to many of their clients going back 14 years.
Last Updated on August 9, 2008 by Chuck Marunde
I’m glad you are letting people know there is a difference in quality homes.
If you need a quality custom home builder in Montgomery County, Texas, contact Tyler Custom Homes.