BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME… NEVER TOO EARLY FOR PLANNING AN OUTDOOR FIREPLACE

Fire Pits and Fireplaces Gain Prominence on Patios and in Courtyards of Arizona Custom Homes!

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

There has always been a fascination with an outdoor fire while camping or spending time outdoors.  In Arizona, this fascination has been brought home to the backyard.  At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC many of our custom homebuyers want full fireplaces or built-in fire pits incorporated in the landscape of their custom home.

ONE STRATEGY FOR CHOOSING A CUSTOM HOME BUILDER

At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC we work with potential custom homebuyers for months, if not longer before breaking ground on a custom home.  We practice open and honest communication and believe in sharing as much information with our customers as possible regarding the homebuilding process.  Outlined below is one of the most frequently asked questions that receive.   

What is the Best Strategy for Choosing a Builder?

If you’re like most custom homebuyers you want experience, competence, service, trust, and open and honest communication.  Look for someone that you can trust.  Synonyms for trust include faith, confidence, and belief.  You want to have faith in your builder, feel confident that he can do the job on time and within budget, and believe he is the right contractor for you.  The relationship we have with our customers is long-term.  We have worked with customers for more than a year before they were ready to build their home. For another year while they worked on their plans, and then during the course of construction.

Whether you have your home site selected or not, or whether you have your house plans completed or not, the construction expert you hire to build your home is one of the most important decisions you will make during your custom home project.  Outlined below are several strategies that you may want to use.

1)      Referrals are one of the best strategies to use for finding your custom home builder, ask for referrals from your house designer if you are working with one, and/or family and friends that may have had a custom home constructed. 

2)      Visit projects that you like, if there is a construction sign on the project, call the builder.  Is the builder easy to reach?  Must you go through a handful of office staff to reach the builder or does he have a direct line?

3)      Interview builders and visit completed homes.  A finished project will reveal as much, if not more than a construction site.  Some people don’t know a good job from a bad one.  A finished home can show you the quality of finished details not just rough construction and how clean a jobsite may be.

4)      Interview builders and ask questions.  Do not ask for an estimate without a full set of house plans.  No reputable builder will give you a bid from a house plan drawn on a napkin or partial plans.  If the builder does, he is not likely the best choice.  We will explain why later in this section. 

At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC we are available for questions, feel free to contact us through our website or information outlined on our About page.

FIVE ACCENT LIGHTING TECHNIQUES FOR CUSTOM KITCHENS

Custom Kitchen Lighting… So Many Options for Accents!

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

As a custom home builder we have had the opportunity to install a wide variety of accent lighting in custom kitchens.  Depending on the desires of the customer, home design and home style there are many options for kitchen accent lighting.  The five most popular in our experience at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC has been 1) underneath upper kitchen cabinets, 2) above upper kitchen cabinets, 3) hanging light fixtures above kitchen work areas, 4) underneath lower kitchen cabinets, and 5) jam switches.

1)      Underneath the Upper Kitchen Cabinets:  Often popular in custom kitchens are accent lights hidden underneath the upper kitchen cabinets, these can be hidden by the upper cabinets so that only the light itself is seen reflecting onto the kitchen counter.  Fluorescent or halogen light fixtures are great for this area, with a different glow, tone, and warmth offered by each.  These lights are usually designed to be powered by one or two light switches in the kitchen so that all of the under cabinet lighting is lit with the power of one switch rather than turning each one on individually.

CREATING A MASTER BATH RETREAT IN ARIZONA CUSTOM HOMES

Planning and Creating A Master Bath Retreat

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

A master bath retreat is a dream come true for many homeowners.  More and more homeowners are recreating the luxurious atmosphere of a spa in their own home.  As custom home builders, at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC  large  bathtubs and Jacuzzi-type jets, large master showers with multiple sprays, large closets off the master bath area, full length three-way dressing mirrors, morning coffee bars, and sitting areas in the master bath area are just a few features incorporated into a master bath retreat.  When building a custom home, our customers benefit from advance planning.  Designing the master bath takes time, thought, and a lot of different ideas that eventually culminate into one terrific master retreat.

At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, our customers begin in many different ways when planning their master bath area. 

FIVE POPULAR FLOORING STYLES IN ARIZONA CUSTOM HOMES

Saltillo, Ceramic, and Natural Stone are Only a Few Options!

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, as custom home builders in Arizona our customers want flooring that reflects the architectural style of their home or their own unique style.   Unique to each homeowner’s taste and style, floors vary from saltillo tile, commercial grade ceramic tiles, and natural stone in various patterns. 

Photos below highlight some of the flooring styles selected in homes constructed by Woodridge Custom Builders LLC. 

1. Saltillo tile reflects the tastes of custom homebuyers staying true to their Sp

PHOENIX AREA HOUSING MARKET – AUGUST 2009

Current Housng Market Conditions in the Phoenix Area

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

As a custom home builder in Arizona, at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC we must stay abreast of the housing market in the Phoenix area.  Data available through the local multiple listing services (MLS) through August 2009 reveals interesting housing market information.  Is the news good?  It still depends on whom you ask.  Here we have detailed information on closed sales, pending sales, active listings, types of homes sold, average days on the market, average sales price, list price to sales price ratio, cancellations and expired listings, and months of inventory.  Whether the news below is good or not depends upon if you’re a buyer, seller, banker, or in our case, custom home builders.  One conclusion for us is that the market looks better each month and nowhere as bad as it did 20 months ago. 

GRANITE COUNTERTOPS… THE MOST POPULAR SELECTION IN WOODRIDGE’S CUSTOM HOMES

By Far the Most Popular Counter Surfaces… Granite!

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

As Arizona custom home builders, it’s granite, granite, granite, at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, our custom home buyers are choosing granite over any other countertop surface materials.  Granite is a natural stone, in the simplest terms, igneous rock with large crystals.  Granite ranges in color from white, gold, pink, green, blue, to gray and black.  These products are ideal for counter tops because, by nature its high durability and aesthetic qualities.

At Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, our custom home buyers begin their granite selection working with a design and fabricating professional.  The colors and varieties of granite are numerous.  We recommend our customers begin looking at a color or shade of granite to focus their search.  Once a color range has been selected, the varieties in that color range are narrowed down even further.  For example, granite called Autumn Harmony, originating from India is a combination of browns, blacks and creams, yet has no veins.  Aurora Borealis, originating from Brazil, is also a combination of brown, blacks and cream, yet is venous.  Again, the colors and varieties are endless; and without the assistance of a professional the process can quickly become overwhelming. 

Granite, in a warehouse is usually stored in large four-by-eight foot slabs ¾” or 1 ¼”.  Once a custom home buyer has made the basic selections from the showroom or design professional’s samples, the actual selection process begins. 

CUSTOM HOMES… EVER POPULAR SPLIT FLOOR PLANS

Still Strong, The Split Floor plan

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

Ever strong in Arizona custom homes is the split floor plan.  The split floor plan is not limited to high-end custom homes.  It is a very popular floor plan for homes of any size.  Simply, this floor plan places the master bedroom on one side of the house.  The secondary bedrooms are located on the opposite side of the house.  The family room, kitchen and public rooms of the house are placed between the bedrooms in the center of the house.  This sets the master bedroom apart from the rest of the house helping achieve the master retreat feel.  The floor plan may not work for everyone, but for families with teenagers it works out great.  Loud music or slumber party laughter doesn’t usually travel to the master retreat on the other side of a house.  It is sometimes referred to as the Mother-in-Law floor plan.  This floor plan works with any home style from Santa Barbara, Tuscan, Spanish Colonial to traditional ranch.

The attached floor plan is an example of a split floor plan.  The master retreat is on one side of the house and the secondary bedrooms are on the other side of the house.  The master retreat has a guest bedroom on the same side of the house.  In this plan, the guest bedroom includes two entrances, one from within the house and a private exterior door located under the covered loggia. This floor plan can be modified if the entrance within the house is not desired creating more privacy for the guest quarters as well as the master retreat.

As custom home builders in Arizona, at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, we stay abreast of changes in floor plans, home styles and various amenities.  We built our first split floor plan in 1990, yet this plan had been popular in Arizona long before that.  This is a floor plan that has staying power and offers a custom home buyer good resale value. 

Split floor plan in a Tuscan Courtyard style custom home

ARIZONA CUSTOM HOMES… WOOD BEAMS AS POPULAR ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

Tuscan, Andalusian, Spanish Colonial… Including Wood Beams Compliments Many Home Styles

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

Popular Arizona custom home styles include Tuscan, Andalusian, and Spanish Colonial.  When designing, planning and building a custom home, at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC, it is never our intent to imitate a Tuscan villa as though it were physically moved from Tuscany and relocated in Scottsdale.  It is more a reflection of the Tuscan style incorporating the best of the features into our own Arizona desert lifestyle.  One of the most beautiful architectural features found in these homes are wood beams.  Wood beams are often used inside the house, on the exterior of the house, and on patio ramadas.  Some are actual structural support systems, while others are complementary architectural details.

BUILDING THE GREEN CUSTOM HOME… SOLAR!

The Eagle Solar Roof

http://www.woodridgecustombuilders.com

As custom home builders, Eagle Roofing Products has been one of our suppliers at Woodridge Custom Builders LLC  for years.  Recently, Eagle Roofing has introduced a new roof solar panel.  The Eagle Solar Roof uses highly efficient silicon solar cells.  It is a solar system that powers the home, but also integrates seamlessly with the home’s roof tiles.  Integrating the functionality of a solar powered home with the beauty of its roof tiles is worth checking into.

There are significant benefits to including an Eagle Solar Roof into a custom home including:

• Quiet and reliable power generation
• Significant federal and state rebates and tax incentives are available
• Bank extra power with the local utility
• Substantially reduces or eliminates monthly energy bills
• Increases resale value to the property
• Reduces pollution
• Provides safe and sustainable energy to the home

During the day the solar panels create energy for the home, at night energy is drawn from the utility grid.