Whatever happened to customer service? Today, simple respect and responsiveness seems to be more the exception than the rule … especially after the sale. How a homebuilder manages after-sale service, also called warranty service or call-backs, is a key indicator of the company’s overall professionalism and ability to meet (and ideally exceed) a homebuyer’s expectations.
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Green building, sustainability and high-performance homes are now part of the vocabulary of new home construction. We welcome the attention brought to these important issues. As professional builders, however, we take the subject with a grain of salt. Green building is a far more complex topic than that portrayed in the media. News spots or
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Life and work styles are evolving. Make sure the home office is up to date. It’s not news that home offices have become mainstream. According to a recent Forbes study, one in five Americans work from home, and that number continues to rise. Technology has made working from home efficient and convenient. The home office
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Voting for the 2014 Toast Of Music City Awards is underway, and Castle Homes has again been nominated for Best Home Builder! We hope you will take the time to vote again this year. Follow the link to ToastOfMusicCity.com. You may Vote every day through July 22nd.
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No one wants to think about house mold or, its underlying cause, moisture. As professional builders, however, we are conscious of the dangers created by moisture infiltration and we are in a position to prevent it. That makes it our responsibility to lead the discussion. Prevention of moisture infiltration — and the mold that can
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If you’ve ever driven past a new subdivision just getting started, you’ve likely seen a fleet of earth-moving equipment, multiple colored stakes in the ground, and the beginnings of streets, sidewalks, and foundations. These are the tell-tale signs of the building site being prepared for construction. Site preparation includes several steps. A survey comes first.
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Thoughtful planning will help homeowners get the most from this popular amenity. Home theaters were all the rage ten years ago. These rooms were designed for passively watching TV and movies, and were acoustically separated from the rest of the house. While some homeowners still want home theaters, most now opt for a media room
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Flex spaces, or flexible-use rooms, are increasingly common in modern housing to address homeowners’ needs to accommodate their changing lifestyle and allow them to “age in place”. Flexible-use rooms provide important options to homebuyers. Whether they be young couples with a growing family or retirees needing creative outlets. A den might one day serve as
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Regardless of a home’s size or style, all construction follows a consistent pattern and pace. Excavation and foundation work will be followed by the framing phase, which will be followed by rough mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. As soon as those stages are complete, insulation will be installed. These steps follow each other quickly and
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Everyone has a vision about a dream home. The dream may have a particular style, such as a Mediterranean or Colonial, or perhaps a certain room is the focus, such as an idealized kitchen or master suite. These visions are an important starting point in your search for a new house, helping to narrow your
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One of the most exciting and dynamic periods in the construction of a new home is the structural framing stage. It is the time when two-dimensional plans take on a three-dimensional shape. As floors, walls, and a roof rise from the ground, the owners can envision the finished home and walk through its spaces. As
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Here’s the secret you’ve been waiting for: To help ensure a successful and satisfying homebuilding experience, maintain regular and productive communication with your builder and his team. Lack of communication is, without a doubt, the single leading cause of headaches and hard feelings. Minimize stress and ease the building process by keeping the lines of
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As a professional builder, we keep our eyes on emerging trends in the housing industry, from new structural materials and energy-saving systems to interior finishes. One of the big trends we’re tracking — and accommodating for an increasing number of our homebuyers — is the use of cabinetry in a greater variety of rooms and
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When we hear the term “green building,” most of us think of energy efficiency and, increasingly, healthy indoor air quality. While those are certainly central components of high-performance housing — especially given our nation’s current energy prices — they are not the only factors that ensure a truly sustainable approach to home building. One of
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Healthy indoor air quality may be the most important aspect of building green. After all, what could be more important to your health than the air you breathe? Achieving healthy indoor air, however, depends on a comprehensive approach to high-performance building. There’s no way, for example, to make an indoor environment comfortable and healthy without
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In Nashville, a hundred-year-old Boy Scout troop congregates before every camping trip to gather gear and prepare for sleeping under the stars. Of the most memorable moments in scouting, camping trips inevitably top the list. Although these camping adventures offer education in self-sufficiency and leadership, the long-term benefits reach beyond learning how to tie knots
Castle Homes came away a big winner in Nashville Lifestyles’ Home Awards announced this month. The collection of awards garnered by Castle Homes included Best New Kitchen, Best New Bathroom and Runner Up for both Best New Home and Best Builder. “The Nashville home market keeps getting hotter, and the competition for Nashville Lifestyles’ Home
The trick is to choose the technologies you need, while ignoring those you don’t For some people, a new custom home is a chance to get the latest digital bells and whistles. The problem is that home automation can feel like a daunting topic and the wrong choices can lead to frustration. Which technologies will
How to Fight Escalating Lumber Prices The essential skill of value engineering Lumber continues to be THE big issue in homebuilding. As we write this in May 2021, costs for framing lumber and plywood are three times what they were a year ago. That’s right—they’ve tripled. It’s insane. They might go even higher. An April
Your home builder needs to navigate a maze of government regulations—homeowners can help make the process easier A successful new-home build is a predictable one, with no unpleasant surprises. Predictability comes from good planning, as well-planned projects tend to stay on budget and on schedule. Good planning includes making sure the home will meet all