Steve Kendrick Interviewed For Realtor Video

Structures Owner, Steve Kendrick was recently interviewed and featured on a video with local realtor, Bob Brennaman.  Brennaman is a realtor with Charleston Property, and uses the video interviews to showcase Lowcountry custom builders and highlight events and happenings in our community.  In the video, Steve discusses Structures' commitment to excellent customer service, and he shares a bit about what makes our custom building experience unique.  Click below to watch the video:

What Do You Know About Framing?

One of the most exciting periods of new home construction is the framing stage, when two-dimensional plans take on 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 a professional builder, we are always seeking better ways to build. The framing stage provides several opportunities to construct a home faster and within the budget without sacrificing quality. The latest techniques for framing actually improve a home's structural integrity, performance, and durability. Here are just a few of the methods and materials we consider for this stage of construction:

Advanced framing. This technique removes unnecessary structural components like extra wall studs and blocking. By reducing the amount of lumber we use, we lower both costs and waste. Because it  increases quality and reduces waste, advanced framing is a tenet of sustainable green building practices around the country.

Engineered lumber. Engineered lumber is made from strands or chips of wood that are reassembled with glue, heat and pressure into large beams and I-shaped sections. Tough and stable, engineered lumber allows us to span the longer distances common in open floor plans and high ceilings. These products are frequently made from smaller and sustainably grown timber resources, instead of old-growth trees, which makes them more environmentally attractive, as well.

Panels and trusses. For decades, builders have used roof trusses (pre-made sections of the roof's frame) to build houses better and faster. The same technology is now applied to floors and walls, with similar benefits. Factory-built and quality-controlled panels and trusses allow us to create unique spaces almost impossible with traditional framing techniques. These components also reduce our waste stream, leaving a clean job site during what can be a very messy stage of construction.

While they may not look it, homes today are built quite differently than they were even a decade ago. Nowhere is this difference more evident than in the new framing products and techniques we now have at our command. These systems allow us to build more efficient, higher quality homes, delivering a final product that performs as promised and meets the needs and expectations of our owners.

Fine Homebuilding Magazine Article

From Fine Homebuilding211, pp. 16-22
April 29, 2010

"Remodeling and construction are service businesses, not commodity businesses. In a slow economy especially, homeowners and architects are well advised to remember this fact when selecting contractors. Although bidding can provide a homeowner with a low initial price to do a project, it is likely not a good way to select a contractor to get high construction quality. To do this, it is best to choose the most desirable contractor based on a perception of his competence and fairness; his track record of building well-designed projects; and insightful comments received both from customers and architects with whom he has worked. After a contractor has been selected and has carefully reviewed and commented on the information in the drawings and specifications, then it’s time for him and the homeowner to negotiate a detailed price for the work. " for the entire article http://t.co/BIb8OlP

Coastal Living Idea Cottage - Kitchen Video Tour & More. . .

Soak in the beautiful details that Lindsey Ellis Beatty, Coastal Living Market and Style Editor,will point out that went into this beautiful design. I remember when designer, Angie Hranowsky showed us the Ann Sacks designer tile for the kitchen wall - completely steals the show!



Check out other videos below that take you room by room through the Idea Cottage and a little tour of I'On Village where it's located! (videos are highlighted in red)

Enjoy the Overview of I'On Village to see the great landscape that surrounds the Jefferson Canal Courtyards where the 2009 Coastal Living Idea Cottage was the first among 10 that will
be built in the heart of I'On Village along the Jefferson Canal.

Come tour through the Exterior and Courtyard details that set this right-sized cottage apart. Many minds have been working tirelessly to figure out how we can make it a low maintenance home that will stand the test of time. From Hardi siding, AAC block, and countless other "green" features that save on energy, efficiency and the wallet! Forget a home that's just "green" but also one that lends itself to a relaxed, simplified and comfortable lifestyle too. A private courtyard for calm evenings or lively parties - yours to decide!

The Master Bedroom is a great getaway that overlooks the Jefferson Canal as well as the private courtyard!

You won't know where to look over dinner in the Dining Room. The bottle cap artwork by Molly B. Right, draws a crowd, as well as the peaceful courtyard with the soothing sound that flows from the fountain along the stucco wall.

The Guest Suite is a hidden haven above the attached garage. Angie Hranowsky did an amazing job creating a soothing environment through the comfortable furnishings and colors that makes you want to sit down and stay for awhile.

Overlooking the Jefferson Canal Courtyard is the cozy Den. Grab the book you've been meaning to finish or curl up and watch a little T.V. in a space that can be closed off with pocket doors. Designed to be a "flex space", the den can also be turned into a 3rd bedroom option as it has direct access to a full bath. If you don't just love the novel idea of a fun sleeping nook, no worries, it can be turned into a walk-in closet, small office or wet bar.

Decorating Small Spaces? This cottage is chocked full of creative ideas in architecture and decorating details that are Caribbean/Island inspired. A beautiful mix of neutral and bold colors, vintage and modern - a new little twist to our beautiful Low Country!

If you missed an opportunity to tour through the home, please call us to schedule a private tour - we'd love the privilege of showing you around! 843.856.6901

Getting the Most Square Footage for Your Money?

When considering building a custom home, it is common for clients to ask the question, "How much is it a square foot?" Seems like a great question to ask, but if they stop with just hearing that number, it also leaves the client lacking important information to help understand how great or poor of an investment they are considering. What if we purchased a car based off that question? You might just end up purchasing...

instead of. . .

You'd have room galore, but could be very unhappy with the end result. A few things that square footage doesn't measure.

1. Durability - What building methods, seen and unseen, will be used to build your home? How do the they protect your investment? Do they prevent moisture problems behind the walls? Often, client's focus on the interior trim, cabinetry and cabinets, all of which are important, but can mask issues elsewhere.
   
2. Electric and Water Bills - What will the average monthly utility bills be after you move in? Clients are often shocked to learn that proper building methods can reduce utility bills by more than $100 each month!
3. Fine Craftsmanship - Does the home reflect the design quality and timeless details that our designers can help you craft? Will you be proud to show off your new home to your friends and family?
4. Indoor Air Quality - What methods are used to improve the quality of the air you and your family breath?
5. Customer Service - When building/buying a home, you are buying a product, process and a promise. Make sure there's a great connection and chemistry with the company you choose to help you select your "haven". Also make sure their reputation reveals that their investment in their clients extends past closing.

Coastal Living Idea Cottage - Den Room Video Tour

Talented designer, Angie Hranowsky brought a bold and fun idea to the den through a beautiful and cozy plum that makes you want to curl up on the couch with one of the hundreds of books found on the floor to ceiling built-ins or watch a movie on a quiet evening. While it is a den, this flex room has the option to be used as a downstairs 3rd bedroom with access to full bathroom. The den also enjoys the views of the Jefferson Canal located in the heart of I'On Village.



structures.net

Just as much as we stay on the cutting edge of the highest standards and techniques for building an incredible custom home, we also like to stay on the cutting edge of communication and technology. Keep up to date on this Charleston, SC Green Custom Home Builder through many different avenues.

1. The News/Event feeds - Just keep coming back to our Structures Building Company Home Page!
2. Our Company Blog - Great educational, informative and even humorous glances into our company as a whole and those things/people and organizations we truly value!
3. Our Company Newsletter - An educational and informative newsletter that we send out once a month by email. The topics include building pracitices, important tips that lend a hand as you walk through the Custom/Design Build process and "Green" tips that affect the health of you and your family as well as your investment!
4. Our Facebook Account - Structures BuildingCompany - Let's Be Friends! :-)
5. Twitter - Yep! That's what I said! You can now see little updates here and there on the latest and greatest of where on earth you might find us! StructuresSC

NAHB - National Green Building Standard Approved

WASHINGTON D.C., Jan. 29 --The National Green Building Standard™ for all residential construction work including single-family homes, apartments and condos, land development and remodeling and renovation was approved today by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).


The approval signals a new era for the nation’s builders, remodelers and developers and also provides an extra measure of reassurance for home buyers, said Joe Robson, a home builder in Tulsa, Okla., and Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
“The National Green Building Standard is now the first and only green building rating system approved by ANSI, making it the benchmark for green homes,” said Ron Jones, who chaired the consensus committee charged with developing the standard.


“The standard provides home builders and remodelers with a much more expansive third-party rating system that they can use to achieve green certification under NAHBGreen and the National Green Building Certification Program,” said Mike Luzier, CEO of the NAHB Research Center.


The Research Center provides certification for NAHBGreen projects, which until now have only included single-family homes. “Consumers are looking for authentic, verifiable green building practices, and now they’ll find them with a true industry consensus standard for residential green building,” Luzier said.


The "Standard" defines what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and construction and how home owners can operate and maintain their green homes.
But the National Green Building Standard also provides for flexibility – allowing home builders and home buyers to make green choices based on climate and geography as well as style preferences and budget.


As part of the stringent process required by ANSI, NAHB and the International Code Council gathered a fully inclusive and representative consensus committee composed of a broad spectrum of builders, architects, product manufacturers, regulators and environmental experts. The work of the consensus committee was administered by the NAHB Research Center, an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer.


The consensus committee deliberated the content of the standard for more than a year, held four public hearings and evaluated over 3,000 public comments in the development of the standard.

As the owner of Structures Building Company, it was through my own research and curiosity that caused me to take the necessary steps to be one of the first purveyors of the green building movement in the Charleston area. Quite simply, the more I discover and learn about the benefits of building a green home for the health and financial investment of my clients, as well as the environmental stewardship, the more I'm committed to learning and implementing energy conservation practices for the homes we are privileged to build.

Shedding a Little Light

Sunset over the Downtown Charleston Harbor
NY Daily News ran an interesting article on January 19th which listed the 25 strongest housing markets in the United States according to Forbes. The 25 markets that are listed are those they project are closest to recovery in 2009. It was great to see that Charleston, SC was ranked 8th out of 25! To check out the complete article, click here to read more. . . So unless you're looking to move to Texas or NY, Charleston might be the best place for you!

The Company You Keep

Our NAHB Builder 20 club recently held it's bi-annual meeting at Payne & Payne Builders in Cleveland, OH. Builder 20 is a group of approximately 20 professional custom home builders from non-competing markets. We meet twice a year in one of our member's cities, to share ideas and improve our businesses. We discuss business operations in depth, share financial information, systems and construction methods.

I'm fortunate to have been accepted into this group, which is one of the founding Builder 20 groups started in 1995. Today there approximately 50 such groups around the country. Without hesitation, I can say our group is comprised of the best builders in the country, personally and professionally. Many have been named Builder of the Year in their territory, and a handful in the country. Joining this network is the single best decision I have made for our company.

We were all equally impressed with the operation of Payne & Payne, a family owned building business started by the father, Mike Payne Sr. and taken over by his three sons, Mike Jr., Dave and Eric. It was nice to see this dynamic at play, and I have to admit I couldn't help but think of positioning my company to be taken over by my children. They may have something different to say about that!

Many thanks to the Builder 20 fraternity and especially the Paynes for being such gracious hosts this fall. We look forward to hosting you all in Charleston this spring!

Charleston Green Fair

This coming Sunday, September 28th, Charleston will host their 1st Annual Green Fair. This fun and educational event will be great for all ages and a perfect outing for the family. The fair will take place in Marion Square from 12-6pm and the event is FREE.

The purpose of the event is to introduce products, services and new technologies available to us in the Lowcountry. As you wander through over 75 booths, some of the topics and resources will include, Energy/Transportation, Health/Wellness and Green Building. Along with great educational resources, you can enjoy the delicious food vendors including Home Team Barbecue, Aluette, Taco Boy, Monza, The Glass Onion and Good Food Catering. What kind of fun things will you be able to do as a family? A demonstration by the South Carolina Aquarium and Children's museum, Puppet shows and a rock climbing wall.

What a great opportunity to support and enjoy "green" education and entertainment!

Built Wrong from the Start

While recently reading Energy-Smart Homes by Fine Homebuilding, I came across an article written by Joseph Lstiburek, discussing the Top 10 Blunders that Rot Your House, Waste Your Money, and Make You Sick. I thought his explanation on vented crawlspaces would be a great resource to pass along, here's what he had to say.

"Vented crawlspaces are moist enough to grow mushrooms. In the old days, we didn't insulate crawlspace floors, and we didn't air-condition houses. Crawlspaces (especially the floor framing)were warmed by the houses themselves. Now that we insulate floors, crawlspaces are within a degree or two of ground temperature. During most of the summer, this temperature is below the dew point of the outside air, even up north.

Venting a crawlspace allows moist outside air to condense on cool crawlspace surfaces. Consequently, the ventilation air is wetting the crawlspace rather than drying it. It's like opening a basement window in July: The walls sweat. And wet walls become moldy walls quickly.

The whole point of venting a crawlspace is to remove moisture. If we could import hot, dry air from Tucson to ventilate moist crawlspaces in Tupelo, venting crawlspaces would be a great idea. But for Tupelo air to ventilate Tupelo crawlspaces, the air needs to be dry enough to pick up moisture, and it needs energy (heat) to evaporate the moisture. This isn't going to happen, and here's why: Tupelo air isn't hot and dry. Neither is Toledo air, Tallahassee air, nor Toronto air.

A crawlspace is just a mini-basement and should be treated as such. (It's like a basement for a troll.) You should condition the air in your mini-basement. Make it part of the house because, despite what you might think, it already is. Heat it in the winter and cool it in the summer with a supply duct or grille (but ask your fire inspector about this). Don't insulate the floor; insulate the perimeter, and install a continuous ground cover to keep out moisture."

To read more, pick up Energy-Smart Homes, Winter 2008 Edition or visit Fine Homebuilding. Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., is principal of Building Science Corp. in Westford, Mass.

If Walls Could Talk

We believe that each day is full of opportunities for us to leave our signature on all of our work. As individuals and a team, we keep ourselves accountable to each other but really value the feedback of each of our clients. For many years we've hired GuildQuality, a third party company to survey each of our customers. Each client is asked a series of questions ranging from very specific aspects to their overall experience with us during the building process.

Steve put it best when he said, "GuildQuality has served as a critical feedback loop for our company- feedback that frankly I don't know how we lived without. We are so impressed with the simplicity, professionalism and follow-up of their surveying process, reflected in our 100% response rate. Our staff anxiously awaits each survey, taking the results to heart and helping to drive our customer service culture. GuildQuality has helped to make us a better company."

A recent quote we received on a GuildQuality survey from an out-of-town client,

"They were the greatest team I've ever worked with! They are a bunch of unbelievably professional and excellent group of people who care. We have done a lot of construction, and it is hard to find a company that cares the way that they do. They have done an incredible job!"

To learn more about GuildQuality. . .

Green Homeowners Insurance

This is the first-ever admitted green insurance available to homeowners in the United States. Setting a new standard, Fireman's Fund (www.firemansfund.com/green) is offering this innovative product to homeowners who currently own green homes or who want to upgrade their residences with green features after a loss using environmental safety and efficiency standards. To read more. . .

July Newsletter

Check Us Out!

Some current blog entries include our Habitat for Humanity Builders Blitz, recent awards, "green" building practices and company stories highlighting one of our trade contractors. Be sure to stay tuned. . .

Of course, bricks, lumber and shingles naturally come to mind when building a home. Leave it to us to add something unconventional like a blog to the building process. Check out our blog and don't forget to add it to your list of "favorites". Check in periodically to see informative and interesting entries about building, our company, as well as other noteworthy items going on in Charleston. We hope to also use the blog to give you an inside look into our talented and fun employees, clients, trade contractors and vendors that make up our incredible extended family!

BuildingSuccess 101
Q: How difficult is it to move a wall to enlarge a room?

A: That depends. If the wall is non-structural (meaning it is not vital to the home's stability), moving it slightly can be accomplished. If moving the wall affects the size or location of a door or window opening or other feature in that room or an adjacent space, the alteration is more difficult, time-consuming, and costly. The movement of structural walls, especially once the house has been completely framed, is often prohibitive in cost.

Managing Change
When we're on the job site, we want to make the most progress possible on our clients' new home. Building is a dynamic and exciting process; one that we try to make trouble free and easy to understand. Once we get going, things can happen quickly, so we work with our clients to make decisions well ahead of time to help ensure they get the home of their dreams.
Before the first scoop of dirt is moved, we collaborate with our home owners to make most of the big decisions, but that is rarely the end of the process. Once we're underway, owners often think of a few things they'd like to change. Such changes may range from making the house larger to a change in bathroom cabinets, a different floor pattern or material in the kitchen, or just adding an extra light switch or two.

We document such requests, called "change orders," to make sure that we and the homeowners have a clear understanding of the scope and cost of the change. Although our goal is to make sure our clients are satisfied with their new home (with no unpleasant surprises when it's time to pay the bill), it's also important for the homeowner to understand how change orders affect the building process. When owner and builder communicate well, the impact of change orders on construction schedule and budget can be minimized.

A change order made after construction begins always has a cost attached. The cost may be the time (and labor) it takes to make the change or it may be the price of additional materials or products required -- and usually both.

The timing of a change order has a big impact on such costs. Typically, the later in the building process, the more expensive the change order. Some changes, of course, are simply impossible or truly cost prohibitive, such as altering the foundation or adding a basement once we've started building a home's structural frame.

We respect our clients' desires to get exactly the house they want. We know that some finishes (or even floor plans) may be hard to visualize until they're actually installed or built. Changes will happen! For that reason, we've become more sophisticated and systematic about managing change orders. Our process not only ensures good communication and provides assurances between everyone involved, but also helps us maintain the building schedule and minimize additional costs.

The change order process: The most effective change order processes follow a general pattern that creates a paper trail and provides reliable cost information up front, including:
Centralization. Your change order requests are often managed by one person to help ensure effective communication between everyone involved. This includes specialty trade contractors, suppliers, our job site managers, and, of course, our customer. We discourage owners from making special requests directly to a trade contractor, as this is a quick route to misunderstandings and disrupted schedules.

Documentation.

Customer requests are transferred to an electronic or paper-based change order form that initiates a paper trail and helps ensure greater accuracy and communication.
Terms. We anticipate many of the changes our homebuyers make. We have a good idea of the cost and time most changes require. As a result, we can often communicate the terms quickly so that owners can make an informed decision in plenty of time to make the change or decide against it.

Confirmation.

It's important to everyone involved that no change occurs without a client signature. Clients must approve the cost and terms, as well as the style, finish, or other details about the change. In addition, clients must be aware of how the change may affect their move-in date or other aspects of the construction schedule.

Inspection.

We may request a client to visit the new home's job site when the alteration is being made so they can see it happen, ask any questions and insure satisfaction.

Payment.

Costs for change orders may be billed separately, usually as soon as the change has been made and completed to a client's satisfaction. Sometimes we ask for a percentage of the cost or full payment up front before making the alteration, depending on the type of request.

By using a dedicated, document-based change order system, our clients are assured that any changes they consider -- whether minor or extreme -- are taken care of in a timely fashion without confusion, miscommunication or unnecessary costs.

Warm Regards,

Steve Kendrick
Structures Building Company
PO Box 2267
Mt Pleasant, SC 29465
843.856.6901 - phone

info@structures.net

http://www.structures.net/

c. 2008 All rights reserved.
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