News on Builder News
Fall Home To Do List
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With the commencement of school arrives the proverbial four month to do list. It is just the way it is. We must get our calendar in order and our life organized at least through December! Whether your schedule includes school activities and sporting events for one or more (grand) children or includes work commitments, vacations or volunteer schedules or ALL of the above; as responsible homeowners we must include Austin custom home maintenance on our fall calendar!
There happen to be many tips and preventative maintenance ideas available on the internet. Whether you are a do it yourself-er or hire the maintenance work done or a little of both, we have compiled a list of the top most important items “to do” this fall.
1. Chimney and Fireplaces – although Austin is a temperate weather city, fireplaces indoors and out add to the ambiance of a quiet evening or an evening of entertainment. Call a professional to inspect and clean your chimney(s) in order to prevent hazardous chimney fires. Also, check your flue for a tight seal when closed in order to prevent a breeze.
2. Gutters and downspouts. Clean and keep these free from a buildup of leaves and debris. Neglected gutters can cause roof and wood trim damage, and pest invasion. Verify that water is not coming down behind gutters and Read More→
The current banking climate has made it difficult for high-end Austin custom home builders to provide fresh inventory to the marketplace. Buyers interested in available homes that approach or exceed $1 million have had to settle for picked-over spec inventory or resale homes.
As a successful custom homebuilder for over 21 years, Sterling Custom Homes has stepped up to the challenge, providing an alternative for the homebuyer in search of a fresh “quick-delivery” luxury home in the Austin, Texas area. One such home is the fabulous one-story plan currently available at 111 Escavera Cove in the prestigious enclave called Escavera at Flintrock Falls.
This Hill Country Contemporary plan is smartly designed with 4 bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, Gameroom and 3 Car Garage. One of the bedrooms is an exterior Casita that provides a beautiful private retreat for guests. The open layout and deep Outdoor Covered Living Space highlight the views, through a gorgeous grove Oak Trees, to the Read More→
Designer Wood Flooring Adds a Timeless Look
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If you are building a new home, chances are you will be interested in wood flooring in at least one of your rooms. Wood flooring has a timeless look, and gives the house a warm feel. The decision between solid hardwood vs engineered wood flooring can be confusing. Many luxury home builders include hardwoods in the homes they build and you will need to make a decision on what they should include. To help your decision, here are a few features and benefits of both types of wood flooring.
Solid hardwood floors have been around forever. This type of wood flooring is solid all the way through. Due to this, it can be sanded and refinished 3 to 5 times. It can come either unfinished (no stain or sealant) or prefinished (prestained and sealed). Solid hardwood typically comes unfinished.
Solid hardwood floors must be nailed or glued to a wooden sub-floor, but it should not be installed straight on concrete. Solid hardwood is not recommended in high moisture rooms, like the kitchen or bathroom. The high moisture content in the air can cause the wood to ripple or buckle over time.
After installation of an unfinished wood a light sanding, custom staining and sealing is done. After sealing you will need to wait at least 48 hours for the sealant to dry before walking on it. This process can hold up other subcontractors on the job site.
Solid hardwood is great for the homeowner looking for a unique custom look. It can be custom handscraped, distressed and stained, giving you a one of a kind look.
Engineered wood flooring is an common alternative to solid wood for the Austin market. It is less expensive than solid and can be glued direct to the slab and glued or nailed to a sub-floor. You will be able to get up to two resurfacings from most engineered hardwood floors. Engineered wood is suitable for areas with light moisture like Read More→
Casita: A Resort Like Retreat
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The Wiktionary defines a Casita as “A small, attached but self-contained house or apartment.” We first learned of this charming space on a design idea trip to Palm Springs, California in 2002. We immediately fell in love with the concept and incorporated the innovative feature into a Showcase Home concept we were developing for the 2004 Flintrock Falls Showcase of Homes.
Obviously the concept was extremely well received as we have included this feature in countless Austin custom homes since then. For us, the definition of a true Casita is a Guest Suite that has no interior entrance into the main home living area. A hybrid of this concept that we have since developed includes an outdoor entry into a Guest Read More→
Garage Design Makes a Difference
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At Sterling Custom Homes we enjoy working with clients from the earliest stages of lot selection and home design. One of the topics that we discuss very early in the design process is the Garage configuration. When you are building luxury homes in Austin, garages are an important component in home design because the location of the garage begins to dictate the overall layout of the plan.
Typically, there will be a relationship between the Garage and the Kitchen. This enables the homeowner to conveniently unload groceries without walking them through the house. With the Garage / Kitchen relationship determined, the Master Suite usually moves to the opposite side of the home. You can see how the dominos start to fall and the home layout begins to take shape just from the simple decision of Garage location.
Another consideration for Garage location is the requirements of the 
community in which the home will be built. Many high-end neighborhoods will not allow front-facing garages. We have, however, obtained permission in some cases to position one of the garage bays at an angle to the street. This not only provides easier access into the garage but it also provides additional interior space for storage. See the example floorplan attached.
At Sterling Custom Homes, every detail of your home design is carefully scrutinized to make the best use of the land, sun orientation, access, aesthetic appeal and overall layout. More than 20 years of experience enables us to guide our clients through this amazing process as we work together to design and build your dream home!