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Follyn Builders | Chicago and Northshore Custom Home Builders

Chicago and Northshore Custom Homes and Renovations | Luxury made simple.

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March 29, 2018 By Admin

Cost Per Square Foot

How much will my new home cost per square foot? I want to add an addition on to my home, how much will it cost per square foot? I want to gut this whole place and rebuild it from the inside out, how much will it cost per square foot?

We get multiple phone calls per week asking how much a new home costs per square foot. Or how much renovations cost, per square foot. And you will find some websites that will tell you the cost of construction by the square foot, by market. I am here to tell you they are are full of baloney.

There is no accurate, fair or reliable way to give a cost per square foot. So much of building new custom homes “depends”. Finish selections (tile, appliances, cabinetry, etc) will swing a price hundreds of thousands of dollars. And every single person we have every talked to over 20 years of building homes wants middle of the road, nothing fancy. And then they spend $5,000 of their budget of the kitchen sink alone. If you want that kitchen sink, by all means get it! But your cost per square foot goes right out the window. So does that mean the homeowner should forego those items to keep that almighty cost per sq ft in order? Heck no.

If we could figure costs that easily we’d have every home estimated in 10 minutes. It just does not work that way. I do not care what you saw on HGTV – the cost for a home cannot or maybe more accurately SHOULD NOT be calculated on a per square foot basis.

When you truly price a custom project, each line item from lumber to doorknobs should be looked at, evaluated and assigned a value. Before beginning your project, have an idea if you want a high end $20,000 oven or a standard $3,000 model. Can you change your mind? Of course! When you are looking at a true cost model and not an arbitrary cost assigned to the whole project without any detail, you actually have more freedom to make choices and then change them.

Moral of the story? Cost per square foot is not an accurate reflection of the cost to build YOUR house. Find a general contractor that prices your project based on your project, not an imaginary number that may or not be correct! You’ll be happy you did when you want that $5,000 sink!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: chicago custom homes, Chicago new home builder, chicagocustomhomes, chicagonewhomes, chicagorealestate, construction, custom, custombuilder, customhome, customhomes, design, finehomebuilding, generalcontractor, homedesign, luxury homes, new construction homes, new home builder, Newhomes

February 24, 2018 By Admin

Which is “BETTER”?

When building custom homes you get a lot of questions from homeowners. We love questions! Lets get it right and make it fantastic! But the dreaded question? The question that makes us cringe?

Which is better?

Do you like this tile or that tile? Dark stained floors or natural? Granite of quartz? Which one is better?

Some homeowners make themselves crazy constantly comparing each and every item to every other possible choice in the universe. All this does is make them crazy. There is not right or wrong, there is only what YOU like!

No matter what you choose, the 14 other contenders for your bathroom tile will not be lined up in the room for comparison. Once you make your choice, that is the only tile that will be in the room. Another choice is not better or worse, just different. Your choice will be fabulous. If you love it, go for it. In 99% of cases, there is no right or wrong, there is no better…there is only different. There is just what YOU like. Don’t be afraid, pick what you like and keep moving forward.

24One helpful hint when making choices about finishes in your home: make a list of “gotta have ’ems” and make a list of “want ’ems” and maybe a list of “absolutely don’t want ’ems”!. If you have 4 dogs and you absolutely have to have hardwood floors, that goes on the gotta have ’em list. If you have those same 4 dogs, maybe light color carpeting is an absolutely NOT on your list. Want to take up cooking? Maybe a commercial stove is a want (not a need, but a definite want). Helps in prioritizing where to spend your dollars and where to focus your time and energy.

We get it, there a lot of decisions to make and there are a lot of choices. This picture is just the whites in the Benjamin Moore paint samples book. Just the whites!

Please don’t paralyze yourself with too many choices! The majority of the time, homeowners end up going with their first choice and it rarely leads them astray. We have been building new homes for almost 20 years, and have watched the scenario play out over an over. you will be OK! Your choice will be fantastic! It will all come together in the end! So, go with your gut, choose what you love and get the new house you deserve!

And note to those of you that have been checking in and letting me know I dropped the ball — I hear ya! More posts coming in 2018!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: #craftsmanship, #decor, #interiordesign, #interiorinspo, chicagocustomhomes, chicagonewhomes, chicagorealestate, custom, custombuilder, customhome, design, finehomebuilding, generalcontractor, home builder, luxury homes, new construction chicago, new home building, Newhomes

June 14, 2017 By Admin

Cratfsmanship – it matters

Did you ever put a lot of time and effort and energy into a presentation, leave thinking you did a fantastic job, knowing the job was yours? Only you don’t get the job. And you are really surprised because you thought it went really well. Makes you think a little.

We have friends that bought a lot. And he was going to build a house for the family on that lot because “how hard can it be?” In theory, not that hard. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, oh and materials and roofers, and well you get the idea. In reality, every day is a new set of challenges. That lot sat vacant for more than 3 years and then they sold it, never planted a shovel in the dirt. They couldn’t even get past the planning and permitting stage. Maybe its not so easy.

We price more jobs than we get. That’s a fact of this business. While we are willing to work with homeowners to get the budget where they want or need it to be – we also draw a line in the sand. That line involves the ability to deliver a QUALITY product within an agreed upon price. If we cannot delivery quality, we will not take the job. We will work with you and make suggestions and help you find ways to trim that budget – but we absolutely will not cut corners. We will thank you very much and wish you luck but we will not compromise on the quality of our product. Sometimes it is not that a job cannot be done for less – maybe WE just cannot do it for less. Maybe someone else has a better vendor in some area and can get better pricing and pass that on to a homeowner. We always wish folks well and move on.

In the last 6 months 2 separate people have come back to us. Jobs we priced last year, we did not get and moved on. One never started their project at all, the other got about 30% through and knew it was not going the way that it should. Those folks paid that GC up to date and then called us back. The other couple offered us the opportunity to meet the other contractors bid – we knew we couldn’t get the project done right in that budget, we declined.

They both reached out to see what we thought about their job now. That one that was already started we took over about 6 weeks ago and had to re-do and un-do some aspects but it is back on track, the other is still up in the air as the homeowners make some decisions, maybe revise their scope. Because we still will not cross that line. We will delivery quality, that is a non-negotiable. We all want a bargain. A bargain does not always mean the lowest price but it always means the best quality product for the lowest possible price.

Craftsmanship matters. Doing the job right matters. The budget matters. But that budget does not matter at the expense of quality.

Building the best possible project for the lowest possible price – that is the bottom line.

Because it really is that easy.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: #buildingdreams, #craftsmanship, #keepcraftalive, chicagocustomhomes, chicagorealestate, custom, custombuilder, customhome, customhomes, design, finehomebuilding, homedesign

May 25, 2017 By Admin

Insta DETAILS

I like instagram because I can post little snippets of a tiny piece of a small detail on very big job. We are building high end luxury homes – they are a massive undertaking and take months to complete. Or we are orchestrating massive complete guts of old historic building and making them ready for 21st century living. It is big, messy, labor-intensive work.

But along the way, there are tiny little details that will probably never be noticed by the homeowners. But we notice. Because details matter. Doing it right takes a little longer but it looks a little better. Doing it right is not fast or easy, but it is always worth it.

So, when you salvage a 100+ year old beam from the basement of an old greystone and then use it for a fireplace mantle, you also salvage some old square nails to finish it. Because lets face it, this is super cool.

Chicago Luxury Historic Home Renovations
Attention to small details leads to an elegant finished product. When finding a Chicago new home builder or experienced home renovation expert in Chicago or the North Shore suburbs, research the details!

Oh and then you leave in all the bumps and scrapes and gouges because that is all part of the story. And oh what a story this one will tell. Stay tuned!

Follow us on instagram (it makes me happy):  https://www.instagram.com/follynbuilders/?hl=en

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: chicago builder, chicago home builder, historic home renovations, home renovations, luxury construciton, luxury home renovations, new home builder, new homes chicago, north shore homes, north shore renovations

May 10, 2017 By Admin

Instagram…I like it!

So, I recently discovered Instagram. Well, I knew its been out there in social media land but I never looked into it much. Well, I recently started an Instgram page for Follyn Builders (https://www.instagram.com/follynbuilders/?hl=en ) and I really like it!

Great way to look at ideas from all over of things that interested you. obviously – I spend a lot of time looking at houses, and interior design and paint and faucets and architects and interior designers and other fun stuff.

Come and follow me, I try to find slightly different pictures of our projects. I find them interesting, maybe you will too.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: builders of instagram, chicago, chicago builder, chicago instagram, design ideas, home builder, home design, instagram, renovations on instagram

March 7, 2017 By Admin

A custom home – what will it cost me?

It happens more than you think. We get an email or a phone call or a text – I am thinking of building a new home.  Can you give me a ballpark price? The short answer? No, we really don’t have a ballpark price. Because sometimes we are talking about 2 very different ballparks, hell sometimes we are playing 2 completely different sports! There is such a huge variety of options and finishes and designs in building a truly custom home you have a few hurdles to clear before you are ready to build your new dream home.

First of all throw away every preconceived notion you have about new construction pricing. $80 a square foot does not happen in the Chicago market (yes, we have gotten inquiries with that number in mind!). I don’t care what Google tells you or what report you read – it does not happen. Yippee for the lady that built a whole house with YouTube tutorials, $25 and some duct tape, in the real world, that’s not happening. For the most part – $100 or $150 per square foot for a custom home does not happen in the Chicago market.

A quick Google search yielded a national average of about $125 per square foot for new construction.  Like all things, location matters and those numbers are not realistic in a hot Chicago real estate market. If you ever want a hope of selling your house you have to provide finishes commiserate with your neighborhood. You cannot build a basic Chevy house and expect to sell it in 5 years for Maserati prices just because your neighbors are getting top dollar for their houses. If they put the money in, they may get the money out. If you put in less expensive finishes, you will not get top dollar. In today’s market where everyone can look at every property available for a 100 mile radius and see 75 pictures of each, a house with less expensive finishes will not stack up. It just doesn’t work that way.

Price per square foot is a favorite in the industry but does not translate well to new construction custom homes. While it may be a great tool to look at overall national trends in construction pricing, it is a poor tool to measure costs in a custom home. For instance, a house that may be 3,000 square foot in Roscoe Village versus a 3,000 square foot home in Portage Park. Both are in Chicago, theoretically, both should have the same cost per square foot to build. The old adage of location, location, location is true in custom homes too. The finishes in that $1M+ Roscoe Village home are going to be more expensive than that $500K home in Portage Park – and that is ok. You just need to know your neighborhood.

The really big problem is all of the averages used to compute “price per square foot” for construction are just that — averages. And with averages come lots of situations that do not apply to our market.

For instance, those averages take into account big old housing tracts that build 1,450 identical homes on acres of land somewhere. They call them Shady Acres or Rolling Glens and you can “customize” by picking out window color or upgrading to blue siding. That is not custom. In those instances when the same house is built over and over with only a change in siding color, the price to build is much lower. That is great for someone looking for a ready-built neighborhood pretty far out of the urban core, it is a completely unrealistic, almost comical comparison to a true custom home in a sought after location.

Tract homes are not all that possible in Chicago. There are still a few areas that open up when old factories close down in a neighborhood and larger parcels of land become available, but in the really “popular” neighborhoods, we see more individual older homes going on the market (or being sold before they ever hit the open market). The majority of these old homes a tear-downs and are sold for their land value alone. With this, the custom home process in Chicago begins.

Finding an available “lot” (a.k.a. tear-down) in a hot neighborhood in Chicago is a competitive business. If it is a great neighborhood, on a great block it is going to sell and sell fast. If it an oversize lot – get ready for a bidding war! A standard lot in Chicago is 25’ wide x 125’ deep, anything wider or deeper in a great neighborhood is going to be in demand and sell for a premium. If that is something you want, have your checkbook ready and your loan pre-approved!

So the moral of the story? Your location matters. Your location will affect your price per square foot in construction AND in resale. Your home is your biggest investment; build something that reflects that investment. Don’t under build for your neighborhood (but don’t bother over-building either). Do your homework, be ready and then the process has a lot fewer surprises.

Next up, financing and architects and designers (oh my).

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: chicago custom homes, Chicago new home builder, Chicago new homes, chicaog custom home builder, custom home building, design build, general contractor, home builder, luxury homes, new construction, new construction chicago, new construction homes, new home builder, new home building, roscoe village new home builder

March 2, 2017 By Admin

All the BITS AND PIECES

The biggest pieces of a custom built home or a large scale renovation is often the littlest stuff. Door hardware and faucets and baseboards (Oh my!). A truly high-end luxury home caters to every detail, and every detail is yours. You are limited only by your pocketbook – some things ain’t cheap but boy they are pretty!

Not a big fan of oak treads and painted risers? Dream a little bigger and design a stainless steel staircase with open risers that spans 3 floors. A spectacular centerpiece (literally and figuratively) in this custom single family luxury home in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood (GO CUBS!)

High end plumbing fixtures can turn an ordinary master bedroom into your own personal spa.  This large scale tile and super modern plumbing fixtures combination keep this Wrigleyville custom home practical and elegant.
Custom millwork is a true indicator of a luxury custom home. This custom paneling was designed built and installed onsite by John at Follyn Builders and one of our talented team of finish carpenters.
Sometimes a finish is chosen not so much because a homeowner loves the item – but because it fits the overall feel of the house. Exterior light fixtures fit into the category of easy way to dress up the outside of your luxury custom home.
Every little detail counts. This custom home in the Lincoln Square neighborhood is solid masonry on a corer lot. It only needed a little piece of railing to fill this spot – but again it had to fit the feel of the rest of the house. As there were a lt of clean lines in this house – no curly wrought iron here.
Completely opposite to the simple wrought iron above – this house needed a little oomph on the exterior. And Follyn Builders delivered with a detailed, intricate and curly whirly wrought iron fence worthy of  New Orleans. Would this work everywhere? No it would not. Does it work here. Oh yes, it does!
Unlike the elaborate stainless steel dramatic staircase above, this house was more about clean lines and simple design. But simple does not have to mean boring! THis newel post tied in with the updated arts and crats feel in the Lincoln Square new home.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: 2-flat to single family, chicago custom homes, new construction, new construction chicago, new construction homes, new home builder, new homes, new homes lincoln square, roscoe village new home builder

January 25, 2017 By Admin

The TRUTH about new home building

The truth about building a new home? It is not quick, it is not neat and it is not easy. It cannot be done in 48 hours or even 6 weeks. It s not a reality TV show, it is reality.

Throughout a well run home building or large scale renovation project there may be 5 or 6 different contractors all working at the same time. I was at one of our projects in Bronzeville last week and counted the following contractors at work: the interior doors were being delivered, the tiler setter was laying tile, the painters were stripping old wood work and the carpenters were working on the 3rd floor. And I was there to deliver about 20 ponds of grout in various colors. And the GC, he was walking around consulting with every one of them.

My Point? A lot happens all day, every day and that means it sometimes it looks like chaos. But a good general contractor is what keeps it all moving. A good custom home builder makes sure every job is getting done well and getting done completely.

And here is the true secret — timing maters. If you delay your final decision on your tile by a week? You set back the plumber and the trim carpenter and could add up to 3 weeks to the job as a whole. Deadlines matter.

It is a ton of decisions – from doorknobs to tile borders to cabinet doors, it is a lot of decision making. But the end product? Worth every sleepless night about hinges and anxiety attack about paint colors.

Building a new home (or renovating your exiting home) takes more time than you thought and costs more than you thought and you will love it so much more than you imagined.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: Bronzeville new home, Chicago new homes, custom home building, Hyde Park new home, new home, new home builder, new home building, new homes

January 6, 2017 By Admin

New Year, New PROJECTS

Ok, ok I know, I fell down on the job. I owe you all the finished product pictures from the 2016 project in Andersonville. I will post as soon as I get some loaded up.

You will be amazed. I know I was, and I was there for the whole transformation. But the finished product? WOW!

Everyone is setting new years resolutions – so I am going to put one out there too. More posts, more blogging, more pictures. No guarantee on the quality of pictures, but I will post what I got.

Building custom homes is fun. Really. It is supposed to be fun. It is a lot of pressure, constant demands for decisions and choices and then almost instant regret about those choices, but it is fun. A great custom home builder will be your best friend and you will really not like them some days, but keep the faith friends. Because getting to that end result? The “OH WOW?” That is what makes it all worthwhile.

So here to a new year, new projects and lots of new OH WOW’s.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: chicago custom homes, custom home builder, home additions, home builder, large scale home improvement, luxury homes, new homes

March 11, 2016 By Admin

Doing it right.

Ok, I am now going to unabashedly and shamelessly plug our business. Because you see, this is what you get when you hire a quality general contractor. Someone who goes around to every vent and return in your house and covers it with a furnace filter.

Why?

So dust and debris from the ongoing construction is not sucked into your vents and eventually mechanical systems. Necessary? Nope. A sign of a little something extra? You betcha.

So this is what that little something extra looks like folks. It looks a lot like all the stuff that will never be seen – not like your fabulous cabinets, amazing tile or funky wallpaper. No pictures of this stuff is posted on Houzz or Pinterest. It is not corners cut. It looks like that little bit extra during construction. Stuff nobody else will ever see, talk about or quite frankly even notice.

But you do it anyway.

When you do it right, you do it all the way.

Quality Construction
Construction is messy, insuring the cleanest, healthiest possible jobsite should be a priority for your home renovation team.
Quality Contractors
Ensuring a quality finished product means ensuring quality construction throughout the lengthy home renovation process. Quality renovation work throughout means a quality new home for you and your family.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: 2-flat conversions, chicago builder, chicago homes, chicago north shore builder, luxury builder, luxury construction, new home builder, new homes, quality builder, quality construction, remodel, renovations

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