Such Great Heights!

Such Great Heights

One of the biggest concerns for our clients when they are selecting a floor plan or deciding to build a custom home with Carbon Custom Homes is ceiling height.

So many of us grew up in a home with 8 foot ceilings, but what is today’s standard?  

According to a survey by the National Association of Homebuilders, nearly 92% of consumers want nine-foot or higher ceilings on the first floor and almost 40% want similar ceiling heights on the second floor.

Sometime between 1995 and 2004, nine-foot ceilings replaced eight-foot ceilings as 

the most common ceiling height in single family homes. 

In today’s world, an eight foot ceiling gives the sense that each room is much tighter & cramped with less light. For tall folks like me (6’4”), the 9 foot ceiling just "feels" a lot better, less claustrophobic.  Unlike the houses with 8 foot ceiling, the extra foot is more scaled to for today’s full-size human. 

Open up that floor plan!

Carbon Custom Homes recommends the 9 foot ceilings for the main floor and we have built homes with cathedral ceilings at 18 foot high. Not only does it make the house appear larger but it also gives you the ability to install can lights or install solid core 8 foot doors which is a bigger bang for the buck. Just be prepared for higher heating and cooling cost if you decide to build a home with ceilings that are 10 feet or above.   

A nine foot ceiling is a good investment for you as a homeowner wanting the space to feel open yet cozy, for increasing light through the windows, deeper porches and customized ceilings.  

This will give the house a much larger scale and raising the ceiling height from eight to nine feet creates an additional 12% more space per room, allowing the builder to customize ceilings. They can drop a ceiling; install a tray ceiling or coffered ceiling for a specific room.

Plus, the higher ceilings allow a much better view and better sun light into a room, introducing more natural light, saving on energy that was used for artificial lighting. Even tall windows can't compensate. 

Aside from the positive psychological factors, the 9 foot ceilings sell faster and for more money giving you a better return in your investment and the incremental cost to heat or cool this space is not significant.

www.carbonhomesllc.com

Hidden Cost in Home Construction

HIDDEN COSTS IN HOME CONSTRUCTION
Oops there goes another one!

Have you ever gotten a quote from a professional that seems affordable so, in good faith, you move forward with the project only to learn (that the estimate quoted) is merely a fraction of the final bill?

So, you dispute the bill with your contractor who justifies the addition expense due to 12% increase for materials and the project will take 6 days instead of 4 days to complete.

Shut the front door!

Not only do you get caught off guard, you never saw a change order, much less signed any contract that you agree to additional or incremental cost.

What is a change order? A change order is work that is added to or deleted from the original scope of work of a contract, which alters the original contract amount and/or completion date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_order

A change order may fork a new project to handle significant changes to the current project.

Occasionally, the client will want to add can lights to the foyer or request cedar columns for porch, or switch out a ceiling fan, maybe decide on higher end appliances.

Or, a change order may become an entirely new project to handle significant changes to the current project.
Whatever the case, it must be signed and dated by both parties.

If not, then your contractor missed something on his original estimate and did not quote the entire project with a detail for scope of work.
Or greed drives him to justify the addition cost by convincing you, ‘it is more work than we realized.’

Really?

A trusted builder or contractor will incur additional expenses for specific projects in home construction, but it is their job to be fully aware of material pricing and his trade’s labor cost. If the project is slightly more (costly) than quoted, an honest contractor will take the hit and not pass it on to their clients.

Reliable contractors do exist and Carbon Custom Homes survives with this mantra, “Open communication with each client is paramount. Keep each client heavily involved with the building process. Bring your best trades and over deliver.”

A learning lesson for all.

www.carbonhomesllc.com