This project is wrapping up as we speak. We’ll be sure to post a video once everything is complete. The homeowner, Mike Menkhaus, is actually a repeat customer. We built a custom home for Mike a few years ago and are happy to be working with him again.

If you’re thinking about building a custom home in Louisville, contact me and check out my blog for more information about my business and the custom homes we’ve built in the past.

As a custom home builder in Louisville, I know a lot of great areas and neighborhoods to live in. I’ve been building in these areas for more than 30 years and can recommend some great family-friendly places to build a home and raise a family in.

If you’re currently searching for your dream home in a neighborhood in Louisville, let me suggest one that I actually have quite a bit of experience in: Fox Run. There are still eight lots left in Fox Run. We know the neighborhood well and have built six custom homes there already. Like this one. If you’re looking to build a home in the east end area of Louisville, contact me and we can talk more about Fox Run.

Another up-and-coming neighborhood in Louisville is Shakes Run.  We’re in the middle of a contract house here and will be posting pictures and updates soon. This is an upscale, custom community that includes a clubhouse with a junior olympic-size swimming pool, preservation of the natural beauty of the area, and 70 acres of open space with creeks, a fishing lake, and walking trails.

It was also the site of the 2009 and 2010 Homearama. There are plenty of lots for sale here as well.  If you want to learn more about building and living in Shakes Run, let’s talk.

Here’s how the Home and Garden Show fared in our eyes.

On Friday and Saturday there were a steady flow of people just out looking for education and information. Of course, just like at any trade show, there were the usual “stuff grabbers.” You know the ones, equipped with two bags and looking for any widgets they can score. Most seemed to stop at our booth and take a DVD or a brochure. Some asked questions. Most of the interest we saw on Friday and Saturday was around remodeling or home improvements.

The show was not quite as large as years past which makes sense given the state of the economy. There were plenty of TVs to watch the NCAA games, and the same good fairgrounds food. The show is always a great opportunity to connect with friends in our industry, see our subcontractors in a more informal way, and get a pulse on the market.

Sunday after about 3:00 the traffic at our booth really picked up. Sunday from 3:00-5:00 was the best time (after the ball games but before the selection show). During that window alone we had four quality leads.

First were a couple of good remodel leads, then a custom home lead, plus four appointments.

We also had a handful of people sign up to receive our monthly email newsletter.

Overall, I would consider it a successful show! By the way, check out the Home and Garden Show’s website to search for information you may have missed.

February is over and March is ushering in waves of spring. This time of year usually raises some questions about issues that have popped up around your new or recently remodeled house. I usually comment that these issues not only happen around new or newly remodeled houses, but can occur in most any house, regardless of age. Here are a few I have already addressed this season:

1. “I turned my water hose on today and it sprayed water into my crawl space. It didn’t do that before you remodeled my bathroom. What do you think is wrong?”

What usually happens in most cases is a water hose was left hooked up to an outside spigot when freezing occurred. It only has to be hooked up a very short time before the water freezes and a pipe to bursts. Why? The water in the hose has a tendency to siphon back into the spigot itself and hold there. When freezing occurs, the pipe can burst. Although the temperature the day before and after might be warm, but the damage has been done. This can happen early in the winter season, as most people don’t use the outside spigots until the weather begins to warm up. We suggest you NEVER leave a hose hooked up to a spigot in the spring, fall, or winter.

2. “It looks like water is leaking behind our gutters through our outside soffits. There is a water stain that has not been there before.”

This year was an unusually cold and snowy year. What can commonly happen when snow builds up in gutters and starts melting, it will also freeze after temperatures begin to drop. This allows for the gutter to start filling with ice, back-up behind the gutter, and drip off edge of the roof, which allows for the next melting to drip between the gutter and the gutter board. The water will then run back to the edge of the soffit and create a water stain. It usually causes no real damage.

We recommend that all soffits and gutters be cleaned every year. This helps prevent permanent staining and discoloration of the soffit and gutter systems.
(That is why we do not use the term “MAINTENANCE FREE EXTERIORS.” Everything requires some form of maintenance.)

3. “We have been in our house three years and this is the first time we have had any drywall nail pops. This occurred in our master bath tray ceiling. Did we do something to cause this?”

We try to explain drywall imperfections to our customers before we start any project. There are several reasons for nail pops and other imperfections. This probably occurred because we had a cold winter and there may have been moisture in this area that had never been removed as much this year. When there is no humidifier in a house, the heat tends to dry the moisture content more quickly. This will allow wood to move inside the house and in framing members. It is best to wait until spring before trying to touch these spots up, as they may become less or not noticeable at all.

Below are our notes added to our specifications:

NOTE: Drywall imperfections and finish variations are noticeable in the ceilings and walls and may become more noticeable after the paint is applied. This occurs for several reasons, some of which are:

The drywall material consists of two or more materials when applied and finished. The seams and nail spots are a different material than the board, and when the “mud” is applied to the wall board, the finished texture of the materials are different. Thus allowing the paint to amplify or make noticeable these different textures.

When butt seams are taped and mudded, the seam will be built up beyond the wallboard surface, thus amplifying the’ bump’ or hump in the wall.

The drywall is applied to wood, which has a natural tendency to move when temperature and weather conditions change. This can result in movement behind the drywall board, seams, nailed areas, taped areas, and other areas such as headers, corners, point load areas, and corner bead areas.

P. L. Lyons, Inc. strives for high quality finishes, however it is hereby understood that the finished look of the walls and ceilings may vary somewhat due to the above , and will be deemed acceptable with the painting as specified. Again these imperfections can occur because the drywall material consists of two or more materials when applied and finished. The seams and nail spots are a different material than the board, and when the “mud” is applied to the wall board, the finished texture of the materials are different. Thus allowing any paint to amplify or make noticeable these different textures, however it is much more noticeable with gloss, semi gloss, and or darker color paints. If more paint is required than what is specified, there will be an additional charge. If gloss and or semi gloss paints are used, the painting of the areas affected will cost considerably more.

4. “I have been in my house for six years and my driveway and sidewalk got a crack in it this year. Why did that happen?”

Having been in the building business for over 37 years, we guarantee that concrete will crack. It may be in the first seven days, or it may take seven years. The cracking can occur for several reasons, but the most common reason for sidewalk and driveway cracking is movement in the sub surface.

Last fall was unusually wet and that occurred after a serious summer drought. The ground had dried severely, allowing cracks and voids to occur in the soil. Then the rains occurred, allowing the shrunken soil to absorb moisture quickly and expand. Then we had sever freezing this winter, allowing the subsurface to expand even more. This allowed the concrete to heave, causing cracks where they had not occurred before.

There really isn’t much you can do to avoid this. Installing footers and drainage systems under drives and walks would be cost prohibitive. However, it does help the situation when we are in a dry season to water around these areas so the vegetation does not suck the soil completely dry and cause the cracks we see. This will help minimize the contraction and expansion of the soils.

5. A friend called this week about a foundation leak that occurred in his 40-year-old house. He said it had never leaked in the 37 years he has lived there. He asked what might have caused it to start leaking.

This is very much like the item above, where we went through a very dry summer. When the soil dries out around a foundation, especially one that has a large amount of plants and trees in the lawn, the vegetation can quickly deplete the soil of any moisture it usually retains. Then the plant roots go toward any moisture they can find, even if it is moisture against the foundation. The soil then dries up around the foundation, allowing the shrinkage and the cracking of the soil. This allows much more water than usual flowing around the foundation. If there was an unnoticeable crack in the concrete, it will become noticeable now. The drying and shifting of the soil outside the foundation may allow for new cracks to occur. Even plant and tree roots can cause the foundation to crack when growing toward that water and nutrient supply.

We recommend you always water around your foundation frequently when in a dry season. Also water trees and plants, which will help to avoid root systems from growing right up against a foundation and causing heaving of the concrete.

Comments

Some of you are just surviving (we understand there is no business that’s been hit harder than builders these last few years) and the thought of buying a new home, building a home or even doing a remodel are far from your mind. We understand. Who would want to push anyone to do something to stretch themselves in this economy? If you’re being pushed— run!

Some of you are not even surviving. You need help. You’ve lost homes to foreclosure, had to sell short or take a huge loss by selling in this down market. Some of you are just trying to find housing, to rent and to get back on your feet. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hopefully, you’re finding some assistance from those close to you (charity starts at home) or from your local church, ministry or non profit.

Some of you are reserved. You are not in either of the situations above, but you aren’t exactly gung ho to spend money or take risk. We understand. That’s wise. We can’t fault wisdom, or sell against it without losing our moral compass— and we don’t plan on doing that.

Some of you are sitting on the sidelines though and we wonder why. You have saved your money. You have made wise decisions. You’ve paid the price. You are ready to sell your existing home and build a new one or you’re ready to do a major remodel. We are speaking to you today. The time to act is now. Need a lot? Take your pick. Want to get a good price on materials and labor? Tell me how they will get better than today. Want to make sure you get the best price from a builder? I can promise you are getting tremendous value for your money from us right now. Want to get a good interest rate? Are they going anywhere but up? The risk here may be in doing nothing.

We’re not advocating unwise risk for those in the first 3 situations. We are saying that there is no reward without some risk for those in the last situation. Of course you already knew that.

Perry Lyons has been a Louisville builder for over 35 years. Don’t go with a fly-by-night company in this economy. You’ll get our best price and won’t have to worry about all that can go way wrong.

If you’re in the market and want a quality custom home or remodel— we’d love to start a conversation. That’s all. Just a conversation.

We would love for you to bring in your cocktail napkin sketch, sit in our chairs and watch your dream home come together before your eyes. It doesn’t cost a thing for us to give you a ball park estimate. Of course we never leave it that. We do a full and thorough takeoff and estimate before we begin your custom home building or remodeling project. Contact us today at 502-244-0114, email us at perry [at] pllyons [dot] com or contact us online at any time to set an free initial consultation.

Last year was a tough year for most of the building industry. The wavering economy and financial markets put a stop to the new home buyer market. The buyers were not only concerned that their net worth had diminished with the fall of the stock market in 07 and 08, but they were also concerned about their employment situations. Concerns and debates over nationalized health care and the unwillingness of banks to lend were two other headlines that led to uneasiness.

These are still concerns for everyone in 2010. However, tough times have always made the leaders in our industry stronger. Many of us weathered the “recession/depression “ of the late 70’s and early 80’s, when interest rates for builders and developers exceeded 20% and home mortgage rates were at 14%. We survived the slow down in the 90’s, then came out strong through the early 2000’s when builder and developer rates dropped to 5 and 6% and 30 year fixed rates dropped to 4.75 and 5%..

All that said, we just experienced the worst downturn in the building industry most of us have ever known. Those who are still surviving will come out of this downturn much “leaner”, “meaner” and “greener”. We will be savvy to current trends and the newest building practices. We will be better managers. We will again appreciate every project no matter how small. It’s part of the economic cycle. This cycle has just been a bit deeper and longer than most. However, this too shall pass.

So what does this mean to you the consumer. It means this is one of the best times in history to build, buy or remodel. Product and material prices are low and labor rates in the construction field have dropped. They won’t stay low forever. Thirty year fixed rates are still very low, and they will rise as well. So if you are contemplating making a move, now is the time to “press go”.

Our firm is looking at the future and embracing change. We’re looking into new products, practices and aligning with future mandates.

We are looking forward to good year! After all, we have our health, our faith, and our God who promises to take care of us as long as we BELIEVE. And we do BELIEVE!

Contact us today about your custom project. We’re still here.