Why is it so hard to know what you can expect to pay before you begin? What’s the difference between an hourly rate, a fixed fee and a percentage of the construction cost? And, more important, which one is best for your project and your bottom line?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions, with some basic understanding of architectural fees, you should be able to devise an apples-to-apples comparison when one architect give you a proposal based on an hourly fee and another proposes a percentage based on the cost of construction.
In a world full of “natural foods” and “safe drugs” it’s disconcerting to find that some of these terms which give us buying comfort actually have zero government regulation, and mean absolutely nothing at all. What is assuring is that the label “Made in USA” does not fall into this category. In fact, it is a highly regulated, very specific, black and white term – it either is or it isn’t, and the FTC sees to it that consumers have that assurance.
But if your budget is a concern, and the wise investment of limited home improvement dollars matters, then there are a few basic guidelines you should familiarize yourself with before planning your remodel. Today we review five remodels that typically make good financial sense, providing a nice return on the investment at the time of resale — and five that don’t.
Buying architectural products like molding, columns, railing systems etc. can potentially put a big dent in a projects budget; but it does not have to! Small little changes can add up to big savings in the long run if you stay consistent with them.
Worthington Millwork was contracted to provide the architectural fiberglass columns and balustrade systems for a renovation of the charming James Wade Bolton House in Alexandria, LA. This project was a historical renovation and of great significance to the town of Alexandria. To preserve the integrity of this turn-of-the-century home, an original baluster was perfectly replicated to create a whole new balustrade system. Similar components were also used in manufacturing the column shafts, capitals, bases and other parts of the balustrade system. The end result is a completed project, made with modern materials, while keeping the historic proportions and architecture of the 1899 construction period of the project.
The Lyric Theatre, found in Birmingham, Alabama, is a historical theatre that was built in 1914 for B.F. Keith's Vaudeville circuit. According to a history write-up by The Lyric Fine Arts Theater website on wix.com, Major stars such as the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers, and Milton Berle played the Lyric. Berle said it was as fine a theater as any in New York.
Did you know there is a big difference between restoring a house and rehabilitating one? Restoring your home involves faithfully repairing and re-creating a building's original architectural elements so that it closely resembles its appearance at a previous point in time. Rehabilitating your home is more interpretive - it involves making the structure sound and usable again and retaining whatever original features are possible to save, but not necessarily restoring things that have gone missing. For new owners of old houses, deciding which approach to use is the first logical step in helping map out repairs. These basic rules for sensitive historic rehabilitation - based on the secretary of the interior's standards used to enforce the Federal Rehabilitation Incentive Tax Program - office sound advice.
A Montana builder set out to improve the country's employment rate by sourcing American-made building materials throughout an entire home.
It must be frustrating for you at times and if you are like most other custom home builders we know youre even losing sleep over it. You are not alone and because we care about your success (and your sleep) we hired a fortune 500 research firm to examine your industry. We found some very interesting information you are going to want to check out for yourself.
This magnificent porch column and polyurethane balustrade system installation project was installed by Shaffer Building Repair, Inc. located in Boca Grande, Florida. This residential installation of the porch system is highlighted by six 14” x 10’ Plain Round Tapered Fiberglass columns (product # 11410PLTUSTUS) on the 1st floor and five 12” x 8’ Plain Round Tapered columns (product # 11208PLTUSTUS) on the 2nd floor. These columns were split for reassembly to surround a structural support which prevents uplift in the high wind areas such as Florida. The seam was well hidden by the installation crew using our fiberglass column split kit specifically designed to reassemble split fiberglass columns. Bondo was then later used to hide the seam and after drying was ready for priming and painting. As seen in these project photos, when done correctly, the split seam should not be noticeable.
This custom home is an excellent example of how using exterior architectural products can make your home stand out and create unbelievable curb appeal. The client used a combination of fiberglass and polyurethane exterior products to capitalize on a grand look.
Worthington’s exterior polyurethane millwork was used for the exterior cornices on the New Smyrna Elementary School in Smyrna, Georgia by the architectural firm Cunningham, Forehand, Matthews & Moore. The polyurethane material was selected by the architect due to the custom trim profiles that can be detailed with the flat board and radius shapes which give them a finished product that is aesthetically pleasing. Worthington provided two custom exterior brackets for the project application which were used by the architect to give the fascia more character. The crisp lines and radius details on this fascia and custom brackets are very difficult to achieve with other exterior products.
When your Balustrade System order is completed you as a homeowner or a contractor want your delivery to be on time, the installation to go right, and make sure you have all the material onsite to complete the job. Well here is an example of a project that was completed by one of our clients back in 2012 where all of the above was just that. The project location is in Illinois and the homeowner is a do-it-yourselfer and ordered all of his polymer stone balustrade from our WorthingtonStone collection in the “Limestone” color for his magnificent custom home. The homeowner did the installation himself and was very pleased with the end result.