What You Should Know Before You Build

..........................Before You Build!!!!

1. What are you really buying? Why is the price so low?

2. What about lumberyard house kits?

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY BUYING? WHY IS THE PRICE SO LOW?

Why are there such large price fluctuations between some custom home builders, as well as, between custom versus manufactured homes? MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING!!! Marketing techniques play a huge part in the advertised and perceived price of homes in the market place. Basically, housing quotes that are very low are extremely attractive to potential customers, but what are you really getting? As a potential buyer, it is not always easy to compare "apples to apples" and sort through your bid to figure out what the bottom line, final cost will be. We will help you break down your bid so that you are assured of getting the quality home you desire at a competitive and reasonable cost.

We, at Blume Construction, do not practice the low price quote just to "get you in the door" technique. In fact, most contractors in this area do not, but you should be aware of how it works and make sure that you are getting the quality home you are paying for. Most quotes are based on what we call the "Basic Contract". In Blume Construction's case, our "Basic Contract" includes the majority of the items that today's homeowner looks for and desires in a custom built home. For example, all of our homes include full basements, 40 feet of sewer and water hookups, permits, plastered walls, a fireplace with a brick or ceramic surround and mantle allowance, a 16' x 40' concrete driveway, Douglas fir floor joists, ceiling joists and rafters, double hung Low E argon Pella or Windsor windows, type "L" copper piping, 90 plus Lennox furnace, R40 flat ceiling and R25 sidewall insulation, 2 x 6 wall construction, quality grade plumbing fixtures, quality grade siding, insulation and sheetrock all garage walls and ceilings, concrete WITH FOOTINGS front porch, pre-built stairs with risers and finish treads, heavy weight steel beams, quality grade garage doors, CILCO gas line allowance, basement stool-lavatory rough-in, 2 x 8 ceiling joists-rafters, insulated energy corner posts and 2 x 12 headers, generous flooring, lighting, cabinet, painting and shelving allowances, porch railings on 1 1/2 story designs, 5/8" roof sheating, 3/4" thick insulated sidewall sheating R4, walk from front porch to drive, 2nd outside faucet and metal furnace/air conditioning ductwork in basement, plus more.

HERE ARE SOME ITEMS TO LOOK FOR TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE INCLUDED, AND IF THEY ARE NOT, ESTIMATED PRICING TO ADD:

FEATURE IN CONTRACT:	UPGRADE TO INCLUDE:	PRICE TO ADD TO CONTRACT:
NO BASEMENT	FULL BASEMENT	$10,000.00
NO SEWER & WATER HOOKUPS	40' OF SEWER & WATER HOOKUPS	$ 650.00
NO BUILDING-SEWER-WATER PERMITS	AVG. BUILDING-SEWER-WATER PERMITS	$ 650.00
DRYWALL	PLASTER (ROCK + 2 COATS PLASTER)	$ 2,000.00
NO FIREPLACE	METAL FIREPLACE W/FACE/MANTEL	$ 2,000.00
NO FULL DRIVEWAY, CURB CUTOUT, CULVERT	CONCRETE DRIVEWAY 16' X 40', CURB CUTOUT, CULVERT	$ 1,000.00
YELLOW PINE FLOOR JOISTS, CEILING JOISTS AND RAFTERS	DOUGLAS FIR FLOOR JOISTS, CEILING JOISTS AND RAFTERS	$ 400.00
SINGLE HUNG WINDOWS (TOPS DO NOT OPERATE) NO LOW E/ARGON	DOUBLE HUNG, LOW E, ARGON PELLA OR WINDSOR WINDOWS	$ 400.00
TYPE "M" COPPER PIPING	TYPE "L" COPPER PIPING	$ 200.00
MOBILE HOME PLUMBING FIXTURES, FAUCETS, BASE, CASING, "PHOTO PRINT" DOORS, ETC.	QUALITY BRAND PLUMBING FIXTURES, FAUCETS, BASE , CASINGS, DOORS, ETC.	$ 1,200.00
80+ NO NAME FURNACE, NO STAINLESS STEEL HEAT EXCHANGER, NO OUTSIDE AIR INTAKE	90+ CARRIER FURNACE WITH STAINLESS STEEL HEAT EXCHANGER AND OUTSIDE AIR INTAKE	$ 400.00
R30 CEILING INSULATION WITH LESS SIDEWALL INSULATION	R25 SIDEWALLS, R40 FLAT CEILINGS	$ 500.00
LOW THICKNESS VINYL SIDING	QUALITY BRAND THICK VINYL SIDING	$ 500.00
NO INSULATION/SHEETROCK IN GARAGE WALLS/CEILINGS	INSULATE & SHEETROCK ALL GARAGE WALLS & CEILINGS	$ 900.00
LESS THAN BASIC WIRING	BASIC WIRING	$ 300.00
NO CONCRETE FRONT PORCH	CONCRETE FRONT PORCH W/HIGH QUALITY FILL SAND NOT DIRT FILL	$ 900.00
2 X 12 PLANK STAIRS	PRE-BUILT STAIRS W/RISERS & FINISHED TREADS	$ 300.00
LOW WEIGHT STEEL BEAMS OR NONE AT ALL W/REQUIRES MANY POSTS/WALLS IN BASEMENT	HEAVY WEIGHT STEEL BEAMS	$ 600.00
GARAGE DOORS	QUALITY BRAND NAME GARAGE DOORS	$ 100.00
NO GAS LINE ALLOWANCE	CILCO GAS LINE ALLOWANCE	$ 300.00
NO BASEMENT STOOL/LAVATORY ROUGH-IN	BASEMENT STOOL/LAVATORY ROUGH-IN	$ 200.00
TRUSS ROOFS WITH 2 X 4 RAFTERS/CEILING JOISTS	2 X 8 CEILING JOISTS-RAFTERS	$ 500.00
NO INSULATED ENERGY CORNER POSTS OR 2 X 12 HEADERS	INSULATED ENERGY CORNER POSTS AND 2 X 12 HEADERS	$ 350.00
REALLY CHEAP KITCHEN AND BATHROOM CABINETS	GENEROUS ALLOWANCE FOR KITCHEN AND BATHROOM CABINETS	$ 2,000.00
MINIMAL FLOORING, LIGHTING, MIRROR, PAINTING, SHELVING ALLOWANCES	GENEROUS ALLOWANCES FOR FLOORING, LIGHTING, MIRROR, PAINTING, SHELVING	$ 4,000.00
NO PORCH RAILINGS	PORCH RAILINGS INCLUDING MATERIAL & LABOR	$ 1,200.00
LESS THAN 5/8" ROOF SHEATING	5/8" ROOF SHEATING	$ 400.00
LESS THAN 3/4" THICK INSULATED SIDEWALL SHEATING	3/4" THICK INSULATED SIDEWALL SHEATING (R4)	$ 300.00
NO WALK FROM FRONT PORCH TO DRIVE	WALK FROM FRONT PORCH TO DRIVE	$ 290.00
2 X 4 EXTERIOR WALLS	2 X 6 EXTERIOR WALLS	$ 1,200.00
1 OUTSIDE FAUCET	2ND OUTSIDE FAUCET	$ 75.00
"PAPER" DUCT RUNS	METAL FURNACE/AC DUCTWORK	$ 400.00

Above prices are estimates only and do fluctuate with the market.

Feel free to call us to further explain the energy saving techniques and other quality construction techniques we use on all of our Blume homes. 309-694-2912.

WHAT ABOUT LUMBERYARD HOUSE KITS?

These lumberyard house kit packages are offered to the "do it yourself buyer" and appears to offer an unbelievably low price. These packages, as well as manufactured homes, are offering the fastest and easiest part of building a new home, which is the rough frame. Most of these packages can be "stick-built" by a 2 or 3 man crew in one week, which is less time than it would be if you ordered these items from a factory, which is one of their top selling points! To help you determine how good of a deal these packages really are, consider the items below in "red" that represent the parts of a home that are not possible to build in a factory or from a kit. The items in "blue" represent items that may or may not be included in a "package". Also, you need to consider the grade and the quality of the product that is included.

Building, sewer, water, utility permits	Loan company, mortgage, title costs.
Sewer and water lines & connections.	Sand & gravel fill & necessary grading.
Brickwork material and labor.	Expensive crane & shipping costs.
One piece aluminum gutter & spouts.	Carpenter rough-in labor or assembly.
Plumber rough-in labor or assembly.	Heating rough-in labor or assembly.
Electric rough-in labor or assembly.	Plastered walls.
Foundation excavation, machine backfill & grading.	Footings & foundation for house, garage & porches.
Concrete basement, garage, porch, walks, drives, patios.	Plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electric hookups.
Landscaping.	Hauling dirt into or out of jobsite.
Carpenter trim labor or assembly.	Plumbing trim labor or hookup.
Heating trim labor or hookup.	Electric trim labor or hookup.
Drywall or drywall touchup-finish.	Windows & exterior doors.
Siding, soffitt, fascia material & labor.	Kitchen cabinets, vanities, counter tops.
Materials for plumbing, heating, electrical, light fixtures, mirrors, chimes, doorbell.	Interior trim (casing, base, doors, jambs, stair material, panel mold, chair rail, crown molding).
Closet shelving.	Insulation material and labor.
Carpet, ceramic tile, linoleum, hardwood floors material & labor.

As you can see, you can really get caught up in the low price and elaborate marketing used to sell these products, however, bottom line is...know what you are paying for and what is the quality of the product you will receive. At Blume Construction, we take pride in the energy efficiency and quality of our homes. That is why we insist on 2 x 6 wall construction, plastered walls and quality grade building materials.

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