Florida isn’t a place I ever expected to live. But once my children put roots down there, you could say … my perspective changed. Over the last 10 years, I’ve watched the building of thousands of new homes around Orlando. Visits to model homes and open houses were made out of curiosity and/or photo taking for … Read More
Rebar, Short for Reinforcing Bar
You probably know where there’s concrete in your house. Your foundation might be poured concrete or you house might sit on a concrete slab like my house being built in Florida (pictured above). What you’re probably not as familiar with are the somewhat strange, thin metal bars that are buried in the concrete to make … Read More
What are Lintels & How They Hold Your House Up
The exterior walls of a house and some interior walls are known as load bearing walls. That’s because they support the ceiling, the floors above and everything up to the roof of your home. Where there are doors and windows in these walls, lintels are the structural support beams that span the opening in a … Read More
Building vs Buying a Home: Can You Do Both?
Buying a home is a huge decision and the biggest investment you’ll ever make. Building a house is a much BIGGER decision because you’ve got to understand a lot more about home construction. Fortunately most people who decide to build a home don’t realize how many decisions they’ll have to make. So I invite you … Read More
Building a House & Picking Your Building Lot
Most people dreaming about building a house start by looking at house plans. The question many don’t realize is how important it is to pick a house style that fits the neighborhood and/or building lot where the house will be built. As with many decisions, you’ve got to prioritize and make trade-offs.
Building Costs, Carpentry and Corners?
Building costs are closely tied to the number of square feet in a house. As the size of a house increases, the cost per square foot goes down as you’re now able to spread the costs. Things like excavation, the foundation and exterior envelope, heating and cooling systems are more cost effective when shared across more … Read More
Custom Home Builders: Who They Are & What They Do
For many, the American dream includes owning your own house. For some homeowners, this dream involves building a custom house they design with the features they want. It’s an amazing experience to watch your dreams move from a set of blueprints to your new home’s framing. Building a custom home is also scary when you’re … Read More
New Concept for Family Vacation Resorts
Once the kids finish college and the mortgage is paid off, many couples decide to invest in a second home. There was an open house fund raiser benefiting the Ronald McDonald House in Orlando, and Landmark Custom Builders was gracious enough to give me a personal tour a week later when my trip to Florida got delayed. What … Read More
3 House Building Mistakes to Avoid
There are many house building mistakes you can make, especially when you design your own house. Design mistakes are common which is why blueprints are so important when building a house. It’s your opportunity to see how all the pieces fit together. These plans enable you to identify and fix problems more cheaply than moving walls after the … Read More
Building a Business Can Be Harder than Building a House
The stories and articles on this website are the result of a journey that began in 2003. My first dream was to be a teacher but there were too many rules. A Masters in Computer Science led to a career in technology, and a 29 year career working for IBM across multiple disciplines and around the … Read More
