Custom Home Construction
Brock Builders Chosen for The Cliffs Signature Services
The Cliffs communities are some of the finest and most beautiful in all of the Carolinas. So it is with great pride that we are announcing that Brock Builders has been selected as one of the highly qualified custom home builders chosen for recommendation by The Cliffs Signature Services.
The Cliffs Signature Services was created to aid property owners in the navigation of their Cliffs home building process by rec0mmending highly qualified builders, architectural designers and interior design firms.
Choosing the right home builder is essential to creating your dream Cliffs home. Brock Builders is well-renowned in Western North Carolina for their experience and expertise in custom home builds.
For more information about building your dream home in one of The Cliffs exclusive communities, please visit CliffsSignatureServices.com.
Wood Flooring Options for Custom Homes
Wood flooring is a long running favorite among home owners. But with choices ranging in price, look and eco-friendliness, it helps to understand the basics. The first step you should take is consulting your custom home builder who will already have a strong understanding of what fits your home and budget.
Cost
While lower priced wood flooring materials have gained popularity in these economic times, it’s important to understand not only what you’re paying up front, but how a material will handle the test of time.
Some homeowners may want a flooring choice that has a low up-front cost and are not concerned with how it will wear in 10 years, like a low grade number one or two oak. However, most homeowners prefer to invest a little more up front for a product that’s going last, such as a Brazilian cherry.
Green Factor
Green wood flooring like bamboo is appealing, but for it to truly be eco-friendly, this renewable wood source must be local, not shipped across an ocean from Thailand. If you want a green wood flooring option, talk to your certified green builder who can help you find out what’s available locally.
Use
In newer homes, the floor plans are typically more open, making wood throughout a great choice. But wood flooring in kitchens and bathrooms will likely be damaged by water and wear over time, making cork and engineered wood products may be a better choice.
Again, this is where your home builder may be able to help, as he will have a greater understanding of a room’s use matched with an aesthetically appealing floor.
Wood Frame Homes Win
Brock Wood Frame Home
The surge of innovative new materials to the home building market may have you wondering whether a wood frame is the best choice for your new custom built home. The experts agree, wood frames win.
Natural and engineered wood products provide unmatched structural strength and safety. Even after its long reign at the top, wood is still considered the primary choice for residential and even commercial building structures.
Here are some of the top benefits to using a wood frame for your new home build:
Wood is Affordable
Wood is one of the most affordable and available choices for your home’s frame. While lower-priced prefabricated wood products are growing in popularity, framing wood is available in a wide range of types and price points.
Wood is Available
Wood and wood based products are in great supply and easy to find.
Wood is Adjustable
Wood products can also be easily cut down to meet a job’s specifications, while other materials may be more difficult to alter.
Wood is Strong
Innovations in wood products and in the way that wood is used in framing a structure mean greater strength than ever. Wood framed houses have even been shown to survive hurricane winds and earthquakes.
The facts are in; wood materials make great home frames, but be sure to consult an experienced home builder to help select the best products for your new home.
We at Brock Builders have the experience and expertise to help you select the best products for your home build.
10 Must-Have Features for Your Home
Attractive Stone Flooring, A Design Favorite
The global economy has greatly influenced home design, giving life to some unexpected trends. Consumers are building and buying homes that are smaller, smarter and greener; quite a contrast to the bigger-is-better, lavish-excess of recent years.
Whether you are planning to build a new home, buy or remodel, you should familiarize yourself with these emerging trends, which appear to be here to stay:
Energy Efficiency is Key, Smarter is Better
- ENERGY STAR Appliances—Stylish, up-to-date kitchen appliances can make a great impact on your home’s visual appeal. But even more importantly these days—they can also save you money. With energy tax credits and the money you’ll save over time on utility bills, adding energy efficient appliances to your new home has never been so important.
- Water Catchment Systems—Incorporating native, drought-resistant plants into your landscaping is great-looking and good for the planet. But did you know that you can make your yard even greener by installing a rainwater catchment system. Gutters deliver rainwater into insect and bacteria resistant barrels, which can later be used for watering gardens and several other non-drinking purposes.
- Energy Saving Building Includes—With utility costs on the rise, homeowners are looking for houses that are well insulated and sealed from the beginning. Drafty, leaky houses are costing too much to maintain, and using up too much energy to heat and cool.
- Tankless and Solar Water Heaters—Another way to quickly run up your monthly bills is by paying to much for those winter-defrosting hot baths. Solar heating systems make great, natural use of existing sunshine to heat your hot water, leaving you paying for just those not-so-sunny days.
- Natural Flooring—Bamboo, cork, wood and stone have long been favorite flooring choices of interior designers, but did you know that they also help create a healthier, chemical-free environment in your home.
- Outdoor Rooms—With rarely used, formal living rooms becoming a thing of the past, outdoor living and dining spaces are quickly taking over. Some popular features include large, space-heating stone ovens, built-in seating made of natural materials and huge, welcoming dining tables.
- Smaller, Smarter Spaces—Bigger-is-better is a mindset of the past. Huge homes with extra rooms mean higher monthly bills, and lower spacial efficiency. Homeowners are instead choosing open and accommodating floorplans.
- Smarter Storage—Built-in kitchen islands, perfectly organized garages and tons of closets can help make better use of your square footage. Too little storage means clutter and large furniture pieces to accommodate closet overflow. But adding extra storage into your build means seamlessly making room for all of your belongings.
- Smart Home Systems—If you knew how much energy it was actually using, you may be more likely to turn that light off when you leave the room. Smart Home Systems not only allow you to heat and cool based on the times of day that someone is home, but they can also tell you just how much power is being used at a given time.
- Front and Side Porches—Outdoor spaces add square footage and traditional attractiveness to your home. Whether you’re enjoying a summer evening out front under a ceiling fan or rocking in a chair watching the sunrise, front and side porches enhance your home’s welcoming curbside appeal.
Outdoor Rooms Add Usable Square Footage
Working with your custom home builder in a part of your home you may not have imagined, you can add useful square footage in the form of an outdoor room. Backyards are too often laid with grass and beyond that, left virtually empty, save a swing set, rusty old grill, or tract of space for your dog to run.
Outdoor Kitchen
Modern outdoor rooms have expanded upon the old backyard favorites in ways that provide function in a luxurious package. Simple grills have been replaced with built-in outdoor kitchens with massive stone and pizza ovens, perfect for entertaining year round. Warm summer nights can be enjoyed outdoors with friends over a fresh baked pizza. Cold winter nights are made warm by gathering around massive stone ovens, while piping hot soups boil up atop an outdoor stove.
Outdoor Living Space
Tattered patio furniture has been become a thing of the past. Replacement options include built-in seating units with removable cushions, tall stools seated before an outdoor bar and rustic wooden dining tables and chairs. Built-in furniture, like benches and sofas can add a natural appeal to your outdoor space at a minimal carbon footprint by using indigenous materials.
Indigenous Landscaping
No room is complete without the right decor. And for outdoor rooms, that means landscaping. Working with your HealthyBuilt Certified Home Builder, you can incorporate native plants into your outdoor space, which will require little to no maintenance. Eradicating plants that are exotic to Western North Carolina in favor of native species will create harmony in the ecosystem of your outdoor space to ensure the health and well being of forces who also appreciate your outdoor space, such as migrating birds.
Since recent studies suspect perfectly manicured lawns as one of a home’s largest carbon producers, transforming your dull, grassy space to a luxurious outdoor room can even be beneficial for the planet.
Whether you’re looking to add life to your existing home in the form of an outdoor room, or you want to create a special entertaining space in your new custom build, speak with your home builder to make use of this valuable space.
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