A popular option for folks looking to live in (or vacation in) Fredericksburg Texas is to select an in-town lot or a tract of real estate acreage on which to build their dream home. The next steps, locating, researching and selecting an architect and builder for your new home in Fredericksburg TX can be a tricky and confusing exercise.
As you will discover, every discipline has its own language – a distinctive colloquial vocabulary that binds their respective communities together. Architects and builders are prime examples of this phenomenon.
Architects will refer to windows as "glazing" or "fenestration" and a beam or lintel as "trabeation". A covered driveway is a "porte-cochere" and noting is "flat" it is "planar" instead. Builders toss around terms like "SEER", "3-0, 7-0", "low-e" and "R-30" like you are expected to know exactly what they mean. Learning any new language takes time and mistakes in translation can be costly and time-consuming.
Architects and builders (like doctors) are often "specialists". Some builders are experienced in, staffed for and cater to certain styles or price points of new home construction. Some specialize in the re-modeling of existing homes.
In Fredericksburg Texas, we have builders that are known for their
work in "production home-building" (oft defined as homes built from a standardized set of plans with a pre-determined set of finishes) and "custom builders" (oft defined as those working closely with architects designing a home with specific tastes and/or site criteria in mind).
Within each category of of the desired end-product lie builders that that focus on various price points and are capable or things that others in the same category simply may not be.
Builders and architects (like realtors) rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising (referrals) as a means of securing new business. While referrals are meaningful when provided by friends, neighbors or loved ones they risk losing the elements of objectivity, multiple experiences and industry knowledge often gained from referrals by professionals who work closely a wide variety of builders and architects across all price ranges and building vernaculars.
Having worked directly with, or referred clients to many architects and builders (from inside and outside of Fredericksburg Texas) I can assist you in navigating the pitfalls, language barriers and confusion inherent in selecting the right architect and builder for one of the most important investment you may ever make.
Call me for site selection assistance and to visit about the many fine options you have when the need for an architect or builder arises.
