How to Have Your Home Custom Built

By eHow Personal Finance Editor

Having your own custom-designed home built is not an insurmountable task, and the rewards of having a house constructed to meet your family’s exact needs are numerous.

Things You’ll Need:
• Calculators
• Personal Organizers

Step 1 Design or locate a house plan you like, either working with an architect or through a service providing existing plans.

Step 2 Locate a building site you like.

Step 3 Check out the site thoroughly to ensure that you can build without difficulty.

Step 4 Find an experienced builder.

Step 5 Execute a contract with the builder to construct the house (after you’ve agreed on the price for the services).

Step 6 Arrange construction financing with your bank if required.

Step 7 Obtain a building permit from the municipality, usually by submitting several copies of the house plan with an application and fee.

Step 8 Have your builder begin construction.

Step 9 Make all your selections (tile, flooring, cabinets and so on) in a timely manner and far enough in advance to allow for items that need to be ordered.

Step 10 Review the house carefully with the builder upon completion, making a list of any items needing repair or further work.

Step 11 Move in after a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued by the building department.

Step 12 Update the repair and completion list (“punch list”) after 30 days in the house, removing work completed and adding new problems you’ve discovered.

 For a New Year – Why Not A New Montgomery Home?

This New Year why not think about building a New Home for your family, and let the trusted firm of Montgomery Homes of Yukon help sail you through the sometimes tricky seas of construction? They are a second-generation, family-owned and operated home building operation.

Ask around in Yukon, or go by some of the new additions and you’re sure to get positive feedback when inquiring about the Montgomery custom home building experience. Their homes are simply gorgeous and they’re reputation is sterling. And, they have a rock-solid list of satisfied customers and custom-built homes in Yukon, Mustang and the surrounding areas, which dates back to the 1970’s. They’re passion, pleasure and promise is to give you the best work they have within themselves, to create something of beauty that will last you a lifetime.

Randy Montgomery has been a trim carpenter, working for his dad, since the 1970s, so he really knows the business from the inside out. He took over the business from Buddy Montgomery about 18 years ago. Randy’s wife Diana does the business end of the work and some design work. But she’s been known to hang wallpaper, and do some special wall painting techniques.

Buddy continues to work with the company because he chooses to continue working with his hands in his retirement years. Bryan Montgomery, Randy’s brother is a strong partner in this family business. Bryan also does the cabinet building for Montgomery Homes. Together they form the nucleus of a mighty workforce that can do superior work with great craftsmanship and integrity. Diana said that it is extremely rare to see a family that works so well together. They are a very close family.

Randy said they don’t necessarily want to be the biggest home builder in the area, but he and the rest of his crew, want to be the best. They build about 12 to 15 homes a year. This allows them the time and ability to keep a watchful eye on your house, whatever price range of home you choose. They build houses starting in the $180,000 price range, and go up from there. They put the same quality in care in each home they build.

They have assembled a highly-skilled team of sub-contractors who have been with them 15-plus years. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing, and this translates into speed of completion and attention to detail. The house plans are designed in-house using a professional drafting and design software, which allows them to customize the plan to fit your needs and lifestyle. Say you want an oversized office so you can work from home, or you don’t need a formal study, but do need an extra bedroom; well, they can design and build that for you. You input your desires and they will fulfill them.

“If you appreciate quality and true craftsmanship, as we do, you will appreciate the time and dedication we spend on every Montgomery Home,” said Randy Montgomery. “Nothing is more satisfying to us than knowing we built the best home for you and your family that we could, and it meets all the criteria you wanted from your new home. You just won’t find the level of craftsmanship in a lot of homes that you will find in ours. You’ll see it in the glazes we use, the furniture finishes, and the woodwork.

“Ninety percent of our home building is custom homes – homes buyers want them built to their needs. My wife Diana does a lot of in-house decorating and designing to help the customer coordinate their colors, carpets and hardware after the house is framed up.

“We’ve built several geothermal homes and we can make your home as environmentally-friendly as possible. You tell us what kind of home you want to live in, and we can build it,” said Randy.

“We know building a new home is a big investment, and we do our homework to keep you on budget. We value your input and can translate your daydreams into reality. We assure you that we will personally be there every step of the way, from the design through handing you the keys to your beautiful new Montgomery Home.”

From the Yukon National Bank Community Newsletter January 2008 http://www.ynbok.com/Community/PDFs/Community_Jan_2008.pdf

Improve Your Kitchen With Better Lighting

When we think about home improvement projects we often think of changing or adding to a room but one of the most important improvements you can make in the kitchen is to make sure you have the proper lighting. You need to make sure that the room is not only illuminated, but that you have enough light to work, no matter which area of the kitchen you are in. Here are some tips on how to plan for perfect kitchen lighting.

Overhead Lighting

Many kitchens, and especially older ones, only have one type of lighting or even worse, perhaps only one light! You may be thinking that a big light centered in the middle of the ceiling will serve your need effectively, but it is rarely enough. If you do go with one overhead light, make sure that you plan to incorporate enough reflection to let the light bounce into every part of the room so that it is lit properly..

One thing to consider if you only have room or resources for lighting on the ceiling is track lighting. This type of lighting will allow you to direct the light to specific areas of the kitchen. You can install a light or point a light to each work area as well as your stove and kitchen table. Or, try using track kitchen lighting for the work area and then install additional lighting over the table or island areas.

Counters And Work Areas

Typically, one big light in the middle of the room will be inadequate for proper task lighting. It is problematic since when you are standing at the counter with your back to the light you will be casting a shadow right on the area you want to illuminate. Task lighting is important for proper food prep and will make your kitchen chores much easier.

For great task lighting consider kitchen lights that are installed on the bottoms of the cabinets that overhang your kitchen countertops. You’ll be able to easily see while you are chopping vegetables and preparing meals. This lighting is soft enough to provide the right amount of light and can be easily turned off as needed or leave just one light on at night as a “night light” of sorts.

Island And Table Lighting

You’ll also want to consider how you light the island and table areas. Here is where you will want to insure that lighting is adequate, and looks great with the style of your kitchen.

For eat in islands, the most popular type of lighting is lights that hang down from the ceiling. The length of your islands dictates how many lights you will need. The table lighting should be chic and is most practical if you can get lighting on a dimmer. Typically, you would want some sort of chandelier for right above the table but be sure to match the style to your kitchen decor.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com

About the Author

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.dailynewz.info where you can find out more about home improvement and renovation.

We have decided to start a new blog on articles pertaining to homebuilding and home improvement.  There are all kinds of stories about different items to go into your house and maybe this blog site will help you with your decisions.  Read on.  We hope you enjoy!