Archive for November, 2011
It’s Time Again to Light the Zilker Tree
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With Christmas season beginning the day after Thanksgiving, your Austin luxury home builder would like to remind you not to miss out on the lighting of the Zilker Tree. The event will take place on December 4th at 6:00pm. Don’t miss out on this Austin tradition! If you cannot make it out on the 4th, don’t worry because the tree will be lit every night from 6:00pm to midnight through December 31st.
The tree is constructed upon a replica of a moonlight tower in Zilker Park. Since Mrs. Alden Davis started the tradition in 1965, the Zilker Tree has stood 155 feet above the park every holiday season. Atop the tree sits a 10ft double star. The tree’s boughs consist of 39 strings of lights that run from the top of the tree down to its base. The base of the tree measures 380 feet around, 120 feet in diameter, and is perched 14 feet above the ground, supported by 19 poles. Its 3,309 lights illuminate the tree and make it very visible to passersby on Barton Springs Rd. and Mopac.
Different custom home builders in Austin fall into one of three categories: Accounting driven, Marketing driven, or Construction driven. It is very important to know which kind of custom home builder you are consulting with in order to know what to expect from them and their building processes.
Accounting oriented builders are always fixed on their bottom line. They constantly think, “How can we reduce our cost so we can maximize profit?” Here’s an example. A project requires six 2’ long 2×4’s. This kind of builder would see that the price of lumber for a 12’ long 2×4 is cheaper than six pieces that are 2’ long. After ordering 12’ long 2×4’s, the construction workers will be responsible to cut the 12’ piece into 6 pieces. Yes, this will save the builder some money and you some money, too. That sounds great…in theory. This approach becomes problematic when the cutter, as pobody’s nerfect, makes a mistake in cutting the 12’ piece of lumber, leaving no room for no margin of error. The money saved by not getting the pre-cut 2’ pieces does not outweigh the time lost or additional cost of new lumber.
The next type of builder is Marketing focused. These are the builders you notice through traditional advertising like magazines, newspapers, and billboards. They strive for top-of-mind awareness so you go to them first. Innately you will think that since they are advertising heavily, they must be building lots of homes, have great revenues and produce great results. These marketers sell you an idea that they are the best builder. They will also sell you the idea a home you love, but often your dreams won’t be met through implementation. That doesn’t really sound like the best builder. Always be weary of and wary of strong marketers.
Start Your Holiday Season with a Boom!
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Your Austin luxury home builder, Sterling Custom Homes believes just as the song goes “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” With Thanksgiving approaching faster than ever, you know in the back of your mind that Christmas is just around the corner. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If not, an opportunity to jump start you into the Yuletide spirit is about to present itself. If you have already started down your gift list, this event will provide you with a chance to complete your list.
On Friday, November 18th from 5pm to 9pm the 5th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting will take place at Hill Country Galleria. Located at 12700 Hill Country Blvd. Bee Cave, TX 78738, this event will showcase a performance from PAIYH Dance Studio, live music by Vintage 15, and Christmas Carolers. Be sure to bring the kids because the big guy in the red suit will be parking his sled at 7pm. Maybe you can overhear them tell Santa what they would like for Christmas. The event will be completed by the lighting of the Christmas tree and the illumination of the Hill Country Night Sky by a fireworks show.
While you are out, be sure to pick up some decorations for your Austin custom homes. Part of getting in the Holiday mood is decorating your home and maybe you can influence your neighbors to get in the mood too. After all, even a scrooge can admit that Christmas Cheer is contagious.
Austin Luxury Home Builder is Heating Up
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Heating element installed in outdoor living area
As the premier Austin luxury home builder, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our clients’ experience and satisfaction. Sometimes during the building process, our clients come to us with new ideas and concepts to include in their homes. We are able to incorporate these items through various allowances we provide in the budget of the home.
We are currently finishing up a home in which we have designed an elaborate outdoor living space, complete with pool and spa, disappearing glass wall, summer kitchen, fireplace, and lounge area. Our clients are moving in soon and they want to use their outdoor living space right away. With the cooler weather coming a little earlier this year, that space will need to be heated. We installed four space heaters in the tongue-and-grove ceiling to provide the outdoor lounge area with radiant heat.
Radiant heating focuses on heating people or objects in a certain area, where as convection heating warms only the air in that same area. Outdoor air constantly moves causing convection heating to be very ineffective. The heating elements we install, as seen in the above image, run on electricity instead of gas which is not only more energy efficient, but much cleaner for the environment, too. Another benefit of the elements being electric is that the panel which controls the heating of the area allows you to set the temperature of the space to a specific degree, giving the home owner the luxury of “controlling the weather.”
Custom Homes Austin TX
When considering different custom home builders in Austin to construct the home of your dreams, you must do your due diligence to make sure all your questions are answered before you choose. The following are some important questions to ask each builder. These questions will help you understand who, and what kind, each builder is.
How long have you been building custom homes?
How did you get into the business?
What’s an “investor-spec” system and have you ever been part of one?
What’s the difference between “fixed-price” and “cost-plus” pricing, and which method do you use?
At Sterling Custom Homes, we will be happy to answer any and all these questions in addition to any other questions you may have for us. We build the best custom homes Austin TX has to offer because we are upfront and honest with our clients. It’s our integrity as a builder that sets us apart.