custom home
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.
Custom Home in Asheville Video Slideshow
This is a custom home we built in the mountains of Asheville. Keep an eye out for the barrel vault ceiling in the large bar room that the homeowners use for entertaining. It’s one of my favorite details in this home. The building site was particularly challenging; you can see some photos of the foundation work in the portfolio area of our site. The outcome was fantastic, the homeowners are very happy, and we’re glad they chose Brock Builders to be their general contractor.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Designing a Custom Wine Cellar
Custom home wine cellar
Whether you’re a serious collector of fine wines – or simply an enthusiast - there are several do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when designing a custom wine cellar:
Location. Wine caves, or cellars, are no longer strictly confined to the underground. Most cellars today are converted from existing spaces as varied as sun rooms, closets and garages. However, when building a custom wine cellar, it is important to consider location early on. The ideal time to call in the experts is when the space has been framed, but nothing has been roughed in.
Environment. Wine is a living organism and like all living things it needs the proper environment in order to thrive, and to age well. As a result, the storage conditions of the wine are crucial. There are four main environmental factors to consider when planning your cellar: temperature, humidity, darkness, and stability.
Temperature: The temperature should remain constant and experts recommend staying within the 55-60°F range. The cooler the temperature, the slower the aging process.
Humidity: Refrigeration is necessary to maintain both temperature, and proper humidity level (50-70%). The corks rely on the dampness in order to stay wet, and to keep the wine properly sealed. Normal air conditioning causes the corks to dry, liquid to escape from the bottle, and air to enter. Conversely, too much moisture will cause the labels to rot, and to peel off the bottles.
Darkness: Wine should always be kept from direct sunlight because ultraviolet rays will destroy its color, and taste. Instead, the cellar should be softly lit, and only when occupied.
Stability: Stability is key when planning your cellar. Not only is it imperative that the temperature, and humidity, of the cellar remain stable but also that there is as little vibration as possible. Even the subtlest movement caused by traffic or the running of the refrigeration, can have an impact. Vibrations can rob many wines of flavor, and bouquet.
Experts. Finally, remember that both the wine – and the cellar itself – are investments. Not only do some bottles come with formidable price tags, but the wine cellar is a premium amenity too; often adding resale value to a home. As a result, it’s important to solicit a wine cellar designer early in the process. Beyond the environmental logistics, they will also help you incorporate the necessary variables like buying style, racking, and appearances. Buying style encapsulates everything from what kind of wines you buy, to how your collection has grown in the last decade, to where you see it headed. Racking is important in relation to aging; bottles should be stored horizontally so the cork is in constant contact with the wine. Usually racking is made of wood, but can also be made of metal and can go around corners, and even curved walls. And when it comes to cellar appearances, they can be as varied as the homeowners themselves. Some people opt for a simple wall to maximize storage space, and others want presentation walls and different depth racks to showcase the labels. Others can be even more extravagant; opting for woodcarvings, stonework, murals, etc.
Follow Me
Recent Posts
Categories
Links
Photos of Our Work
