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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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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.

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Paint picking (better than other kinds of picking)

So things are moving along pretty quickly and now the fun stuff starts. THE FINISHES!!! You know, trim and tile and light fixtures and door knobs. But first comes… the paint.

The thing everyone loves to hate. Picking out the perfect paint color.

Walk into a paint store and hyperventilate from all the color choices. So, first step? Take a breath.

Next step, narrow it down.

Eliminate all those oranges and yellows and baby blues that are just not going to work for you. If you know you love a neutral gray – head for the grays. Now think about undertones. Blueish gray? Or beigeish gray? Or whiteish gray? That will help you narrow down the possibilities in a big hurry.

Now take your 2 or 3 contenders and bring the samples home.

Do not paint a 2 inch x 2 inch square on the wall and run with it. Wrong!

Paint multiple big patches – like 2 FOOT x 3 FOOT swatches. Now label that patch (you think you will remember, but you won’t). Now do the same thing in 2 other places in that room. How the color looks will change even in the same room depending on proximity to windows and lights and other furnishings.

Now, pick the color you love best in EVERY location and get painting.

See? Easy. Now do that in all the other rooms and we can move on! It is your custom home – make it your custom colorsa (or wallpaper, I am loving wallpaper).

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Whole Lotta Fixin Going On!

Well folks, things have moved into hyper-drive on this custom home in Andersonville. I visited this “old home to new home” project this past week and could not believe the amount of activity and the number of contractors all working at the same time. If I saw it on TV I would think it was staged! How they don’t all bump into each other I do not know, but they were all there working hard and listening to 80’s rock. I kid you not.

Honestly — so much was going on I think I will have to break it into 2 posts. Hey, if it worked for the Harry Potter movies it can work for me.

By my quick count this is the list of contractors in the house on Friday, some on Saturday and one on SUNDAY last week:

  • the fearless general contractor (aka the hubby)
  • the hardwood floor installers
  • the HVAC contractor
  • the painters
  • the electrician
  • the tilers
  • That my friend is a whole lot of action! So let’s take a look at the hardwood floors.

As previously mentioned this is an old grey stone 2-flat in Andersonville that is in the process of becoming a new single family home. So for a lot of years it was 2 separate units, with 2 kitchens, 2 baths, 2 bedroom upstairs, 2 bedrooms downstairs, etc. And throughout both units were hardwoods floors.

The plan was to keep those old hardwood floors. As with many things in life – it was a great idea but not so good for implementing. Once we got in there and started removing walls and rearranging fixtures, it became apparent; those old floors were not something we could salvage. They were too damaged and too thin. New hardwood floors throughout were ordered. Install is almost complete and they look stunning!

Next up is the HVAC systems. Who knows what that is? Anyone? Anyone? The heating air conditioning and cooling systems. Again when this was 2 separate units, it had 2 separate (and really old) heating and cooling systems. Not only do you need newer, more efficient heating and cooling units, with all new walls and floors – you need all new duct work.

One of the most important piece of any HVAC system is making sure it is properly balanced. Having units that are too big or too small for your home is going to cost you every month in heating and cooling bills. Make sure everything is sized accurately for maximum efficiency. Not glamorous, but every month when you pay that gas bill you will thank me for your spray foam insulation, good quality windows and efficient, properly sized HVAC units. And you are welcome.

I think that is enough custom home information for this post (I know most of you are saying TMI), next up we have electricians and painters and tilers…oh my!

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DRYWALL – ok, still not too exciting, but we are getting there.

To date on our quest for a spectacular new custom home in Andersonville: we have ripped everything out, added new walls and sub-floors, installed all new mechanicals in the walls, and sprayed in insulation. Along with about 100 other little projects along the way…and now we have…DRYWALL!

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Now those of you with no vision, you know who you are, can see where all these new rooms are going to be. Start imagining all your interior designs, you need kitchen designs and bathroom designs and overall home designs. So now there are walls, all the designs should be well under way. At this pint our homeowners have picked out every piece of tile, all the appliances, every plumbing fixture and piece of trim.

When building (or remodeling) a custom home, there are about 10,000 decisions that need to be made, fairly quickly. Before you start, have a good idea of what you like (or what you hate). I have found a list of “must haves” and a list of “it would be nice to haves” helps when making decisions. Know the items you are willing to go over budget on and those that are just not that big a deal to you. When you prioritize you make decisions a little easier – and there are lots of decisions in building a new custom home!

If you are not doing a complete gut re-hab to create your new dream custom home – what is the one area of your house you would re-do to get closer to your custom dream home? Most would say a kitchen remodel. Or maybe remodeling the master bath. For lots of folks with kids, a basement remodel tops the list. What’s on your dream home list?

 

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Amazing Roscoe Village Home

An amazing, modern custom home in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood.  Effective collaboration between the homeowners and Follyn Builders results in a beautiful custom home.  A true testament to the difference a talented Chicago new home builder can make to every project.

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Call us at: 773-457-0291

Email us at: info@follynbuilders.com