When we’re on the job site, we want to make the most progress possible on our clients’ new home. Building is a dynamic and exciting process; one that we try to make trouble free and easy to understand. Once we get going, things can happen quickly, so we work with our clients to make decisions well ahead of time to help ensure they get the home of their dreams.

Before the first scoop of dirt is moved, we collaborate with our home owners to make most of the big decisions, but that is rarely the end of the process. Once we’re underway, owners often think of a few things they’d like to change. Such changes may range from making the house larger to a change in bathroom cabinets, a different floor pattern or material in the kitchen, or just adding an extra light switch or two.

We document such requests, called “change orders,” to make sure that we and the homeowners have a clear understanding of the scope and cost of the change. Although our goal is to make sure our clients are satisfied with their new home (with no unpleasant surprises when it’s time to pay the bill), it’s also important for the homeowner to understand how change orders affect the building process. When owner and builder communicate well, the impact of change orders on construction schedule and budget can be minimized.

A change order made after construction begins usually has a cost attached. The cost may be the time (and labor) it takes to make the change or it may be the price of additional materials or products required — and usually both.

The timing of a change order has a big impact on such costs. Typically, the later in the building process, the more expensive the change order. Some changes, of course, are simply impossible or truly cost prohibitive, such as altering the foundation or adding a basement once we’ve started building a home’s structural frame.

We respect our clients’ desires to get exactly the house they want. We know that some finishes (or even floor plans) may be hard to visualize until they’re actually installed or built. Changes will happen! For that reason, we’ve become more sophisticated and systematic about managing change orders. Our process not only ensures good communication and provides assurances between everyone involved, but also helps us maintain the building schedule and minimize additional costs.

The change order process: The most effective change order processes follow a general pattern that creates a paper trail and provides reliable cost information up front, including:

Centralization. Your change order requests are often managed by one person to help ensure effective communication between everyone involved. This includes specialty trade contractors, suppliers, our job site managers, and, of course, our customer. We discourage owners from making special requests directly to a trade contractor, as this is a quick route to misunderstandings and disrupted schedules.

Documentation. Customer requests are transferred to an electronic or paper-based change order form that initiates a paper trail and helps ensure greater accuracy and communication.

Terms. We anticipate many of the changes our homebuyers make. We have a good idea of the cost and time most changes require. As a result, we can often communicate the terms quickly so that owners can make an informed decision in plenty of time to make the change or decide against it.

Confirmation. It’s important to everyone involved that no change occurs without a client signature. Clients must approve the cost and terms, as well as the style, finish, or other details about the change. In addition, clients must be aware of how the change may affect their move-in date or other aspects of the construction schedule.

Inspection. We may request a client to visit the new home’s job site when the alteration is being made so they can see it happen, ask any questions and insure satisfaction.

Payment. Costs for change orders may be billed separately, usually as soon as the change has been made and completed to a client’s satisfaction. Sometimes we ask for a percentage of the cost or full payment up front before making the alteration, depending on the type of request.
By using a dedicated, document-based change order system, our clients are assured that any changes they consider — whether minor or extreme — are taken care of in a timely fashion without confusion, miscommunication or unnecessary costs.

Warm regards,

Dan Steurer, MBA
Sunwest Development, LLC
dan@sunwestdev.com
New Homes in Saint George Utah by Sunwest Development

Without a doubt, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in any new home. Sometimes called “the heart of the home,” the kitchen is also the heart of a home’s energy use. Because of cooking fumes and perhaps the use of natural gas or propane, the kitchen may also be the heart of poor indoor air quality.

As a professional builder, we are committed to the creation of kitchens that are functional, convenient, beautiful, and energy efficient. Every major appliance, both in the kitchen and beyond, must have high quality features and proven energy efficiency. After all, major appliances are now found throughout the home, from kitchen to laundry room, to morning and outdoor kitchens. All have an impact on the use of energy in the home and on the quality of indoor air.

Most of today’s major appliances, including laundry equipment, are qualified by the federal Energy Star program (www.energystar.gov), which sets minimum standards for energy use and estimated costs and savings over a year’s worth of use. The leading manufacturers are all represented on the list of qualified appliances. Products at nearly every price, energy source (gas or electric), and range of features are listed. Regardless of the owner’s budget or the price of the home, there is a suitable Energy Star appliance package.

Major appliances have come a long ways in a short time towards energy and cost efficiency. For instance, refrigerators have quieter, more efficient motors and are better insulated to maintain a constant temperature. Wear and tear on the system is reduced together with energy requirements. Not long ago, refrigerators used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as coolants, which were widely held to destroy the ozone layer. Refrigerators now use non-CFC or HCFC agents for the cooling process so that their carbon footprint is reduced along with their potential for contamination of the environment.

Better technology has also improved convection and microwave ovens. Desired temperatures are reached faster and food is cooked more thoroughly in less time. The addition of more cooking settings also helps to avoid overworking the appliance. Energy use is reduced and the life of the appliance is extended.

Dishwashers and clothes washers are engineered to use precise amounts of water and energy to suit the size and type of the load. Clothes dryers have also been redesigned to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing performance.

Indoor air quality is a critical component in a healthy, high performance home. To a builder, that means taking care to provide adequate ventilation in structures where the use of vapor barriers and insulated windows has become standard. Kitchens and laundry rooms, especially, create moisture that must be exhausted. A fan of appropriate size and power can help to maintain good quality indoor air and to reduce moisture damage to wood and metal components in the house. High tech fans feature moisture sensors that engage and disengage their operation automatically, thus saving energy by operating the fan for exactly the right length of time and not a minute more.

Major appliances on the market today offer a bewildering array of styles and features, making it difficult to choose the most energy efficient machines that are suited to your plans and budget. Fortunately, our commitment to building high performance — or “green built” — homes has made us familiar with the energy-saving features of most major appliances. We can help you find what you want in products that suit your budget and personal taste.

Warm regards,

Dan Steurer, MBA
Sunwest Development, LLC
dan@sunwestdev.com
New Homes in Saint George Utah by Sunwest Development

If you spend any time on a construction site, you’re likely to hear words that sound like a foreign language. Worse yet, you may hear words that you thought you knew but which have some specialized meaning to the people around you.

Don’t worry! You aren’t really on another planet. Like any profession, the home building community has a language all its own. Because we believe effective communication is a critical element in meeting our clients’ expectations, we make it a priority to help clients understand the building process. This includes some familiarity with the language of building. Here are several common building terms that, when understood, can help us communicate effectively.

Cycle time is the number of days between the first day on the job site and a home’s completion. We work with our materials suppliers and subcontractors to determine a reliable cycle time so that our clients can move into their new home on time, as promised. Controlling cycle time also enables us to provide accurate estimates and helps us stay within budget.

“Rough-in”: The “rough” stage of construction is the behind-the-wall structural and mechanical work, the parts you don’t see when the building is complete. That includes work such as framing the walls, pulling the wiring through the studs, and installing pipes and heating ducts. During this point of the construction process, we can “rough-in” a system or product that provides an upgraded or extra service, such as wiring for a high-speed Internet or digital cable network. Installing a system’s “backbone” during the rough-in stage of construction costs significantly less than installing it once the house is finished.

Staging: To help reduce costs, we stage or organize and schedule the delivery of materials as we need them, rather than receiving a huge load all at once. Staging may also refer to the way we place loads of materials on the job site to make them more accessible to various workers. Both practices help us reduce waste and theft, save time, and keep better track of costs — all of which keeps budget and cycle time on track.

Lien Waivers are issued to us by each of our materials suppliers and subcontractors for the work they perform on a house. Lien Waivers (also called lien releases) prove that we have paid the agreed or negotiated costs of labor and materials in full. Lien releases also protect our clients from any liability if suppliers or subcontractors claim that additional payment is due. This type of claim can prevent the closing of the homeowners’ loan, so we have a formal process to collect and verify lien releases before the close of escrow on a property.

Tape and texture: To create a finished wall, our drywall contractor applies tape and texture to hide nail or screw heads and conceal the joints between panels of drywall or gypsum wallboard. The contractor uses a mud-like compound to fill and cover the nail heads and secure a fibrous tape that bridges the joints between adjacent drywall panels. The mud is allowed to dry and is then sanded smooth before applying paint, wallpaper, or other finishes. A quality tape and texture job ensures that cracks or nail heads won’t show through finished surfaces.

And this is just a sampling of common terminology used on a building site! We’ll be back with more vocabulary in a future edition.

Warm regards,

Dan Steurer, MBA
Sunwest Development, LLC
dan@sunwestdev.com
New Homes in Saint George Utah by Sunwest Development

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Last week I was in Las Vegas, and had a chance to check out some very unique homes in my spare time.  If I remember correctly these are both off of Buffalo.  The first is a house that resembles an airport,  I am not sure of the story behind it.  If you know anything about it, please comment.  The second is a dome house I found interesting.  The third house is Penn’s house of Penn and Teller.  It is exactly what I would expect.  I would love to personally see the inside of this home,  Penn email me if you ever run across this post.  Click on the picture for a larger view.  Enjoy.  

View other Strange Homes of the Unique and Famous

Energy efficiency plays a central role in building any new home. Building a “green” home, however, requires energy efficiency and much more. “Green building” means taking a comprehensive approach to energy and resource efficiencies from design through construction and operation of the house. Certain components of a home’s construction contribute greatly to the success of such an approach.

Windows, doors, and skylights, in particular, have a critical impact on a home’s ability to conserve energy, reduce moisture intrusion, and keep utility costs low. Like the vent pipes in a roof, they are penetrations in the home’s structural envelope, only much larger and more widely distributed.

The average new house, in fact, has more than 20 windows and doors, each a potential avenue for outside air and water. In the past, windows and doors were not much better than open holes in the wall. They were designed to bring useable daylight into the home, provide views to the outside, and allow passive (or non-mechanical) ventilation in warm and humid climates. In order to keep their homes reasonably comfortable in cold seasons, our ancestors kept windows and doors to a minimum.

Fortunately, today’s windows and doors are designed to enhance a home’s energy performance. Though still relied upon for passive ventilation and views, windows and glass doors are now insulated in both their frame and glass design. High tech window construction and specially treated glass can reduce glare, unwanted solar heat gain and damaging ultraviolet radiation, which can fade rugs and upholstery. Windowsand skylights can also be designed to increase passive (free!) solar heating, reducing the amount of costly energy needed by the furnace.

Energy-conscious home owners can now choose among a variety of options in order to precisely matchwindows and doors to the seasonal climate conditions of their home’s location. To optimize the overall thermal performance of the house, windows and doors can also be selected according to which side of the house they will be installed. For example, south and west-facing windows can let in more solar energy than north and east-facing windows.

In addition to enhanced glazing options, new wood-based window and door frame materials are engineered to resist warping, thus minimizing the small gaps between the window or door and the wall that may develop over time. In better quality vinyl window and glass door frames, the hollow cavities are increasingly insulated to boost their effectiveness.

As professional builders concerned about the performance of your new home, we take care to select the best windows and doors for your new home. We also take care to find knowledgeable suppliers and trained subcontractors to ensure not only high quality products but also proper installation that will maintain the design performance values of the window and door products used.

Windows, doors, and skylights play an important role in any home’s appearance and overall performance. In a green-built home, they are critical elements in a range of integrated design and construction approaches that help reduce a home’s energy use and operating costs while increasing indoor comfort and air quality.

As you engage in the home buying process, gain a sense of how comfortable you are with each builder’s communication style during the sales process. These early communications often reflect how your builder will communicate to you during construction and after closing. In addition to imparting the sales message, builders who are effective communicators will encourage your input and provide satisfactory answers to questions you pose. Effective follow-up efforts that provide real information also help to establish a solid foundation for communication through the process.

As you reach a purchasing decision, make sure you are comfortable with how you and your builder will discuss the project and its progress. Many builders encourage periodic walk-throughs of the house at critical stages, such as during structural framing, electrical and plumbing rough-in, and once the interior walls have been drywalled. Find out about opportunities to conduct informal meetings or use other communication efforts (such as phone calls or e-mails), and ask how quickly you can expect a response from your builder when you have a concern.

You should also expect and talk through a detailed scope of work with your home builder, which outlines the construction process along a timeline or schedule. Use the scope of work as a guide that elicits questions about the construction of your new home to gain a better understanding of the process. The scope and schedule will also establish deadlines for key decisions you must make on time, such as selecting paint colors, lighting and plumbing fixtures and flooring materials.

An essential part of the owner-builder communication process is the “change order,” which is the procedure established by a builder for making changes after construction begins. Few projects are completed without some changes. You should be familiar with this process before the first dirt is moved. You should learn, too, the details of your builder’s warranty and service program.

Savvy and successful builders have a plan in place for communicating effectively with their homebuyers throughout the sales, construction, and warranty service process. Respect that process, while taking appropriate opportunities to express your needs and suggest slight changes within it to better suit your situation, preferences, and comfort level. Once you’ve settled on a communication plan, stick with it! It is a key to a ’safe and sane’ building process and providing you the home of your dreams.

Warm regards,

Dan Steurer, MBA
Sunwest Development, LLC
dan@sunwestdev.com
www.sunwestdev.com

Are you ready for HDTV beginning February 17, 2009?  By law, television stations nationwide must switch from the old TV analog signals being transmitted to the new digital television on February 17, 2009. Digital television is an innovative new broadcasting technology that provides movie-quality pictures and sound, more channels, and even high definition television (HDTV) to consumers with HD television sets. The benefits of Digital Television are amazing and many households in Utah are at risk of losing television reception if they don’t take a few steps. How do I know if I will be affected by this change? Anyone that receives over-the-air television signals through antennas on television sets that are equipped with analog tuners-and who do not subscribe to cable, satellite or a telephone company television service provider.If you are one of the many that receive free, over-the-air broadcasting on analog sets you have three options for continued service. Purchase a DTV converter box that will convert the digital signal into analog for an existing television set; Purchase a new television set from www.rockymountainsound.com with a built-in digital tuner; orSubscribe to cable, satellite or a telephone company television service provider if all desired local broadcast stations are carried by that service. Learn more HDTV at www.rockymountainsound.com  

At last, after 40 plus years of hard work it is time to retire, relax and travel the country.  Now you can do it in comfort and style.    There is also no need to leave behind the mid-life sports car you bought a few years ago,  just store it in the cargo bay of your new motor home for ultimate mobility and freedom.   Traveling to see the grandkids has now become a whole new adventure.

The Volkner offers two different body length to accommodate different sizes cars. The 10.5 meter home will have enough room for a Mini Cooper or SLK. Moving up to the 12.3 meter home will allow you to fit a Porsche 911, Jaguar XK8 Cabriolets, Ferrari F430, Corvette Z06 or other similarly dimensioned cars. Visit Vokner Mobil for more information and to schedule a test drive. Bring your car with you to make sure it fits.

 Want Something Bigger?

Ron Anderson of Anderson Mobile Estates has the answer for you.  These mobile estates trump the competition. While most mobile trailers provide up to 400 square feet of living space, the Anderson Mobile Estates trailers offers 2 levels boasting an up to 1,100 square feet of spacious living. The estates don’t come cheap and are custom built to the owners specifications.

 The Anderson Estate isn’t designed for the owner to drive. In fact these things are so large, a semi is required to move these estates. However, it is the ultimate way to live when there are no 5-star hotels near by.

Work progresses on home for a hero!

These are difficult times for anyone in America’s real estate industry, and they’re especially tough for home builders and developers involved in new home construction. But that hasn’t stopped Alta Vista Homes from stepping up to the plate, putting profit aside, and building a home…for free…for a true American Hero!

Let’s put this into perspective. America’s sub-prime melt-down in the mortgage market has flooded the United States with foreclosure properties.  Supply exceeds demand. Model home traffic has slowed. And the media continues telling a self fulfilling story of gloom and doom in the housing industry. With inventory to sell, builders are offering steep discounts and generous incentives, foregoing profit in the interest of cash flow. Rare is the home building company that has not had to lay off valued employees.

Not exactly the best of times for Alta Vista Homes in Utah County to be building a home for a hero…and doing it pro bono! With no profit in this deal for the builder, Gordon Ewell and his wife terra would certainly have understood if Alta Vista Homes had come to them and said the company just wouldn’t be able to finish this amazing project.

It wouldn’t have been the first time Gordon Ewell would have suffered a serious blow. A Sargeant First Class in the United States Army, Gordon’s job in iraq was a dangerous one. Every day, Gordon led his team of the army’s finest in search of the road side bombs that are killing American soldiers in Baghdad, Fallujah and other far off hot spots.

Gordon did his job well. Too well…finding and detonating at least 6 ied’s (improvised explosive devices) over several months. With each successive blast, Gordon began feeling the cumulative effects of these powerful explosions. And finally, after the sixth blast, gordon was sent home with a multitude of debilitating injuries, including tbs (a traumatic brain injury).

Gordon’s injuries will impact him for the rest of his life. They’ll also impact his saintly wife Terra and his 6 children… Whom he can no longer work to support.

This is where Alta Vista Homes, and Mike’s Guardian Eagle foundation have stepped forward to make sure the Ewell’s would have a home that accommodates Gordon’s injuries…a home
that frees this hero and his family from the financial burden of making a mortgage payment.

Work is progessing quickly on Alta Vista’s home out in Eagle Mountain, Utah in a community called the ranches and the Ewells hope to move in by may. When they do it will be a dream come true for the family…and all of those people who donated time, material and talent to the project.

I know that we’re living in a time when many people are leary about buying a home. But if you are thinking about building, it would be nice if you’d let Alta Vista bid on your project.
Seems to me they’ve earned it…and the same goes for all of the other home builders throughout the United States who are building homes for other american war heros.

At great personal cost, Alta Vista is doing the right thing…supporting a hero who fought for this country. Now it’s time to support companies like Alta Vista…here in Utah…and all throughout the nation. Everybody wins.

Make a Donation to Help Gordon Ewell. 

If there’s one thing you can do to help ensure a successful and satisfying homebuilding experience, it is to maintain regular and productive communication with your builder and his staff. Effective communication is key to reducing concerns and stress during the building process. Keep the lines of communication open at all times.

As you engage in the home buying process, gain a sense of how comfortable you are with each builder’s communication style during the sales process. These early communications often reflect how your builder will communicate to you during construction and after closing. In addition to imparting the sales message, builders who are effective communicators will encourage your input and provide satisfactory answers to questions you pose. Effective follow-up efforts that provide real information also help to establish a solid foundation for communication through the process.

As you reach a purchasing decision, make sure you are comfortable with how you and your builder will discuss the project and its progress. Many builders encourage periodic walk-throughs of the house at critical stages, such as during structural framing, electrical and plumbing rough-in, and once the interior walls have been drywalled. Find out about opportunities to conduct informal meetings or use other communication efforts (such as phone calls or e-mails), and ask how quickly you can expect a response from your builder when you have a concern.

You should also expect and talk through a detailed scope of work with your builder, which outlines the construction process along a timeline or schedule. Use the scope of work as a guide that elicits questions about the construction of your new home to gain a better understanding of the process. The scope and schedule will also establish deadlines for key decisions you must make on time, such as selecting paint colors, lighting and plumbing fixtures and flooring materials.

An essential part of the owner-builder communication process is the “change order,” which is the procedure established by a builder for making changes after construction begins. Few projects are completed without some changes. You should be familiar with this process before the first dirt is moved. You should learn, too, the details of your builder’s warranty and service program.

Savvy and successful builders have a plan in place for communicating effectively with their homebuyers throughout the sales, construction, and warranty service process. Respect that process, while taking appropriate opportunities to express your needs and suggest slight changes within it to better suit your situation, preferences, and comfort level. Once you’ve settled on a communication plan, stick with it! It is a key to a ’safe and sane’ building process and providing you the home of your dreams.

Warm regards,

Dan Steurer, MBA
Sunwest Development, LLC
dan@sunwestdev.com
www.sunwestdev.com