Do it Right or Don’t do it at ALL

Custom Luxury Homes Lessons to be Learned

“Do it right or don’t do it at all!”  Growing up, if my Dad said this to me once, he said it a thousand times. It’s no wonder that phrase consistently permeates my thoughts, even subconsciously.

We recently started doing some renovation work on a home our client acquired for $2.5M. Just a few years ago that same home appraised for approximately $5 million. “Wow, things in Austin are worse than I thought,” you might say. Well, not really. What happened is that the original builder neglected to install the proper flashing and waterproofing, so what started out as a beautiful luxury custom $5M home, soon lost half of its value when the underlying water damage began to surface (see photo of removed window sash below). The home sat vacant for several years, and during that time, it’s value steadily plummeted.  It turns out that there isn’t much demand for $5M leaky, moldy, rotting homes.

The sad part is that none of this should have ever happened. Proper construction techniques could have prevented all of it. This luxury home was originally constructed in 2001 when demand for custom luxury homes was high and supervision spread thin. What many consider to be the “small details” seemed to have gotten overlooked and in some instances completely left out. Unfortunately, we live in a time when very few plan drawings detail the proper flashing and waterproofing requirements for each specific job. Many architects and designers these days leave those details to the builder to figure out. Unfortunately, most builders leave it to the framing contractor to figure out, and most framing contractors assign the work to their least skilled crew members, the carpenter helper. Fast forward 8 years, and the “small details” ended up costing this home owner $2.5 million.

I’m frequently disappointed with the overall lack of skill within the Building Sciences as a whole, both residential and commercial construction. In the State of Texas, for example, there aren’t any licensing requirements for general contractors, so anyone can be a “builder”! Furthermore, with little capital requirements, there are few barriers to entry, so it’s easy to see how, in what should be a professional industry, there are many that are not.

Thankfully, Texas has licensed Architects and Engineers, but their services aren’t always required by municipalities, and few clients choose to pay for “flashing details”.  Certainly, clients understand the art and creativity the architect brings to the project, and they understand the structural integrity the engineer brings to the project, but who is responsible for the mechanical systems? Who is responsible for flashing and waterproofing details? My favorite engineering example is concrete design. The engineer will commonly specify concrete to a design strength of 3,000 psi at 28 days and conform to ACI 302.  This means that, at 28 days, the concrete should achieve a minimum hardness of 3,000 pounds per square inch. That’s all well and good, but what does it take to achieve 3,000 psi concrete? What if it’s 110 degrees Fahrenheit the day you are scheduled to pour concrete? Does that require a different concrete mix than if it’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit? Who makes the call to the batch plant to alter the mix design for the given weather conditions? What if 3 crew members don’t show up that day, should you change the mix design then? These are the realities that all builders face, but only the true professionals with years and years of experience know the answers to. Maybe a good interview question for a potential builder might be, “Do you know what the ACI is?” or at least, “Do you know the factors in achieving 3,000 psi concrete?”

These kinds of issues drive me crazy… If you are a builder of custom luxury homes reading this, don’t let $12,000 worth of missing or improperly-installed flashing and waterproofing ruin your client’s multi-million dollar investment.  Do it right, or don’t do it at all!

Shan Jenkins is President of Jenkins Custom Homes, Inc.  Shan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Science from the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. While Shan has been in the commercial & residential construction industry for almost 25 years, he has owned and operated Jenkins Custom Homes (which designs and builds luxury custom homes), SL Jenkins Construction (a commercial construction company), and Jenkins Waterscapes (a pool building company) since 1992 and this January celebrates 20 years in the industry.

Designing and Building in a Floodplain

Waterfront properties are among the most desirable home-sites in the world. Living on the water offers incredible views and recreational activities. However, they may also be in the floodplain. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), ranks Travis County (including Austin, Texas) in the Top 10 % of counties in the nation that are at risk for significant flood damage. Along with the beauty and allure of owning waterfront property comes the challenge of building within an established flood zone or flood plain area.

The two primary documents for designing & building in the flood plain (zone) are ASCE 24-05 (American Society of Civil Engineers) andFEMA 54 (Federal Emergency Management Agency). ASCE 24-05 & FEMA 54 engineering standards are broken into two basic categories: Step 1: Function and Step 2: Form / Aesthetic. (“It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” -Steve Jobs)

STEP 1 – FUNCTION

• All structural components must be adequately connected to prevent flotation, collapse, or permanent lateral movement. FILL DIRT MUST REMAIN STABLE UNDER FLOOD CONDITIONS!
• All service equipment must be elevated above the flood zone – including heat pumps, air conditioners, hot water heaters (tankless), circuit breakers, electrical junction boxes, outdoor appliances, etc.
• Any space designed for habitation MUST be elevated above the Flood Zone.
• Permitted in the Flood Zone: vehicular parking, limited storage and building access (stairs). Elevators are permissible subject to separate design guidelines.

REDUCING HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE

Constructing a crawlspace beneath the first floor will raise the lowest floor of the structure above the surrounding grade. Openings in the foundation walls are then required. If flooding reaches the building, the openings allow flood waters to enter the area below the lowest floor and equalize the hydrostatic pressure on the foundation walls.

WIND:

Buildings elevated above the ground can be more vulnerable to wind!

STEP 2 – AESTHETIC

Design to meet performance standards, but don’t forget:

• VIEW (We paid for lake views, we want lake views)

• SUN ORIENTATION

• WIND

• NEIGHBORHOOD / DESIGN GUIDELINES

Technique #1: Raise the lowest floor

Technique #2: Design lower level of house as non-habitable and build habitable home above floodplain

How Do I Get a Permit to Build in the Flood Zone?

IT’S COMPLICATED…

1. See City of Austin Land Development Code 25-7-92, 93, 94, 95 & 96…….

OR

2. Call Jenkins Custom Homes.

Thermador Adventures in Scottsdale

Our latest Builder20 meeting was held in Scottsdale, AZ (thus, my previous post about visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright Center).  We have been meeting with our Builder20 group twice a year for over 5 years, and it is always a great time where we work strategically “on” the business instead of just “in” the business.  This time, we held the meetings in the award-winning Thermador training center and showroom.  I must say, this place was awesome and put every meeting room we have ever used in the past to shame!

One of the nights, we had an interactive dinner, where we all cooked various dishes in the showroom on Thermador appliances.  This was really fun and allowed us to learn first-hand about the appliances.  The most amazing feature we saw, in my opinion, was the infrared sensor on the cooktops.  This bad boy senses the temperature inside the dish and KEEPS IT FROM BURNING!  Ah, hello, why haven’t we always had this awesome feature?!!!  As newlyweds, that could have saved us LOTS of money in ruined dinners.  There were many other great features, and we were duly impressed.  Here is what Thermador says about their “Sensor Dome” technology and how it is used in conjunction with their induction cooktop (also available in the electric cooktop):

“Thermador Induction can fry with the industry’s most powerful heating element, or simmer precisely for long periods of time. Thermador’s patented Sensor Dome technology brings the pan to the perfect temperature and utilizes infrared sensor technology to monitor the temperature inside the pan, cycling on and off to maintain the precise temperature. Sensor Dome allows Thermador Induction to simmer without scorching, boil without boiling over, and deep fry without burning.”  (Read more)

Incidentally, Thermador recently announced that they are closing this facility, and that is unfortunate.  We wish everyone could see it!

Inspirational Photo of the Week

Is this the Four Seasons?  No, it’s in a home we recently built!  How fun would it be to have a hotel-like spa in your home?  They are not unreasonably expensive to build, and just think of the savings on those resort hotels…

Also, don’t forget…the Luxury Home Show is this weekend, Oct. 8th & 9th.  If you would like to attend, just register at http://luxuryhomeshow.info.

Cost per Square Foot in Austin Homes

Cost per square foot is a common measurement in today’s home valuation, and Austin is no different.  It is used by Realtors, Banks, Appraisers, and others, but experienced professionals do not use that valuation alone and neither should you.  In this article, we will look into the fallacy of using cost per square foot as the only valuation of a home.  It is my opinion that cost per square foot (s.f.) is one of the least effective tools for measuring a home’s value in the custom home (and especially luxury home) market.

At Jenkins Custom Homes, our typical budget for a single home is over 300 line items.  The factors that affect each line item can be varied and numerous.

Take roofing material as an example.  Is a clay tile roof imported from Italy the same cost as a 20 year shingle roof, or even a concrete tile roof?  I can assure you that it is not.  The import cost alone is much more.  Not to mention the necessary framing changes to accommodate the weight of the tile, the numerous flashing and underlayment options, etc.  Which do you prefer, two layers of 30lb. felt or ice and water shield?  Maybe you need a combination of the two?  A lot to consider?  Yes, it is.

Do you see my point, though? Just within this one line item – roofing materials – there can be a variety of alternatives, each of which has a ripple affect on the rest of the budget.

Allow me to illustrate further.  Here is an over-simplified example.  Let’s say these are the costs for two different homes – House #1 and House #2.  Both homes are 10′ x 10′ or 100 square feet (SF).

Now, before you decide which house you are going to purchase, look carefully at the difference between these two homes.  House #2 is a whopping  67% more for the exact same 100 square foot!  What a rip-off, right?

Well, House #1 also has no windows.  Meanwhile, House #2 has windows on all sides, a nice covered porch, better appliances and an extra 1/2 bath.  Still want the first house?

My point is that if you multiply those cost differences by 300 different line items, pretty soon the two houses start to look really different even though they are the exact same size.  My suggestion?  Find out what is in the house before you decide what the true value is.  That is really the only way you will know whether the home is a good value or not.

After all, have you ever called a car dealer and asked him for the cost per seat of a car you were interested in purchasing?  Of course not!  And if you did, wouldn’t it make sense for the single cab F150 Pick-Up to cost the same as a Corvette?  They both have only two seats!

Then again, if that were the measure of value, we would all be driving minivans, wouldn’t we?!  Or… would we?!

By: Shan Jenkins, Jenkins Custom Homes

Dressing the Ceiling

Ceiling treatments are a very important contributor to the style and look of a home. Three really nice ceiling treatments we have done recently are as follows:  

In a dining room, we combined a barrel arch and coffers into one ceiling treatment for this Parade Home. What we were attempting to accomplish was a clean, contemporary look with the appealing curve of the, typically old-world, barrel vault.  To complete the look, we used a neutral tone-on-tone color palette from the newest Sherwin Williams paint deck.  This gave the the beams that make up the coffers just a bit more architectural depth.

Another ceiling treatment that we really love is the oversize stained wood beams used along with coffers, to form a very impressive, dimensional look.  We like to use these heavy ceiling treatments in spaces with additional height like this two-story Great Room in our recent Parade home shown at right. The reason it worked so well here was because we designed the room with the wall of windows and then chose a light neutral paint color so that the heavy beams would lend it some weight and contrast.

Finally, we love unique ceiling treatments. The ceiling treatment we did in the adjacent breakfast room of the same Parade Home was just such a ceiling.  It was commissioned by a local artist and really is a piece of artwork for the ceiling, combining the architecture of the ceiling with the artwork (which is 3-dimensional as well). It sits over the breakfast room table and gives it a whimsical feel and yet it gives it a feeling of association to the adjoining spaces because it uses the same col or schemes and tones as the other two rooms.  In fact, the three rooms really relate well to each other while also setting the tone for each room. In the dining room, you have a very elegant ceiling treatment.  In the living room, you have a very “gravitas” ceiling treatment (after all, this is the room your guests see first when they walk in the front door).  Then, in the breakfast room, you have a very inviting and fun ceiling treatment.  Which one is your favorite?