What It Takes to Be a Green Home Builder
Today’s new homes reflect changing market preferences and integrate elaborate designs and consumer desires into the floor plans and construction of the homes. And successful home builders have the knowledge, organizational skills and drive to build them.
But what does it really take to build a house?
Like a CEO, a home builder relies on a number of workers to get the job done right. A home builder guides dozens of skilled artisans and professionals, including carpenters, architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, painters and landscapers. The builder must understand all of the home’s complex systems and know enough about each contractor’s trade in order to coordinate this skilled team to build and sell a quality product.
Some home builders develop the land on which the homes are built. In this capacity, they act as the land surveyor. They look at a piece of land to determine whether it complies with zoning regulations, local planning laws and environmental restrictions, and whether it is suitable for development. The home builder studies the lot’s topography, searching for rock outcroppings, shallow depth bedrock, shallow groundwater, natural drainage sources and dense vegetation. Landscaping options and erosion control also have to be considered. Once a builder determines that a site is suitable for construction, they must navigate the permitting process.
Living Stone Featured in Carolina Home & Garden Magazine
Challenge of the Century : How to update a 100-year-old house without disturbing an inch of antique charm
Winter 2011 Issue
Visually residing somewhere between a village cottage and a mountain farmhouse, the sharp-gabled Montreat residence owned by Rick and Meredith Harbaugh was built in 1909. Used for many years as a summer home, it features only one add-on, a cluster of rooms accrued in the ’40s. Interestingly, that area is in worse shape than the century-old bulk of the house, according to architect Maury Hurt.
Read MoreThe Virtuous Circle of Home Building and Employment
The Virtuous Circle of Home Building and Employment Home building creates jobs. In fact, for every 100 single-family homes built, enough work is generated to create 305 full-time jobs. With about half of those jobs created in the construction sector alone, home building has the potential to help transform a sluggish economic recovery into a more robust expansion. It's also true that a faster pace of job creation will in turn support demand for both rental and owner-occupied housing. But an anemic labor market has held back housing demand. As a result of this chicken-and-egg problem, the Great Recession and its aftermath have suffered from a vicious circle in which declines in home building resulted in lost jobs and a weak labor market held back demand for home building. However, recent housing and economic data suggest that a virtuous cycle is beginning to take hold. Growing optimism among home builders is leading to higher levels of residential construction, which suggests better times ahead for job creation and housing demand. In particular, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for October increased one point to 41, the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Two of the index's three components remained the same: current and expected sales, while the traffic index rose five points to 35, the highest in more than six years. The index, however, remains below the tipping point of 50 where an equal number of builders see better conditions as see poorer conditions. Nonetheless, consistent with the positive October reading of the HMI, September housing starts and permits registered large gains. Overall starts increased 15% to an annualized rate of 872,000, the highest since July 2008. Single-family starts increased 11% to 603,000.The Village of Cheshire, Black Mountain
Located in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Village of Cheshire combines all the good things in life: fine architectural craftsmanship, the beauty of nature, a thriving community, and a healthy, active lifestyle.
Neighbors find it easy to become a part of Cheshire’s vibrant community. Homes are all within walking distance of the Village Center, where shops, offices, a post office, restaurants and cafes offer a wide range of amenities and activities. Apartment living spaces above the street-level retail suites give the Village Center a European feel with a modern flair.
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