Barden Building Products Blog Archive

If you’re on the fence about building with Barden and our network of Independent Dealers, or opting to build the traditional (stick built) way, then this guide is for you.

We’ve put together some of the considerations that Barden home owners express as being the more “hidden” or not immediately apparent aspects of opting for panelized construction.

Modern design philosophies go hand-in-hand with modern construction practices.  

Whether you’re building the custom home of your dreams for your family or constructing a downsized home to spend the rest of your life in, your house should be a perfect, unique space for your interests, tastes, and lifestyle.

Panel building, or panelized home construction, can seem like a complicated method to those who are unfamiliar with it. 

But the truth is, when compared to modular or stick building, there are many aspects of the process where panelized construction simplifies the process for the homeowner.

If this article is the first place you’re hearing about panel building, it might be helpful to visit some of our past blogs where we explain the concept in detail:

• Behind the Scenes of Panelized Construction
• 5 Reasons Why Panelized Home Construction Makes the Best New Builds
• The 6 Steps to Custom Home Building with Panelized Construction

If you feel comfortable with your understanding of the basis of panelized building, let’s hop into the areas where it helps to simplify necessary build processes.

We’ll be the first to admit it -- the design phase of the custom home building process can be one of the most arduous ones, and is one of the most important ones due to the implications in later stages of the project if all of the aspects of design are not carefully considered.

Unfortunately, it seems like oftentimes the smaller design aspects are the ones that are not fully considered, planned for, and budgeted for -- causing unplanned changes, time wasted, and cost to accrue down the line.

We’ve put together some of the most common areas where homeowners get tripped up during the design phase, in the hopes of helping your project flow smoothly.

Our team has been working with people looking to build their custom dream home for 70 years. In that time, we’ve become familiar with the thought process of many homeowners before, during, and after their build.

Oftentimes, we see homeowners get hung up on some of the more unimportant aspects of building -- and these small details set the project back and incur additional expenses unnecessarily.

We’ve compiled some of the most common “traps” we see homeowners fall into when planning their project, in the hopes of aiding in keeping your project process smooth and efficient.

When it comes to designing a custom home, it can be easy to get caught up in the fun details: picking out the floor plan you like, furnishing the inside, mastering the landscaping.

But it’s even more important to put ample time, energy, and thought into structural elements of your home, such as house sheathing options, that are not only more functional for your home -- but impossible to change later. 

Make sure not to gloss quickly over the house sheathing options that are presented to you, and think carefully about what is best for your build. We’ve outlined the key considerations here to keep in mind when selecting the ideal exterior sheathing.

Downsizing a home means something different for everyone. 

Whether you’re moving locations to better suit your empty nest, seeking a more accessible home, or looking to build a home that has dedicated spaces for hobbies and interests -- the process of downsizing marks an exciting new chapter.

We’ve put together this guide to help answer questions we hear from people building their downsized dream home and aid in making the process go smoothly.

Most people only build a custom home once in their lives. Because of this, unfortunately some prospective homeowners are blinded by unexpected costs that they failed to budget for before building begins.

We put together this guide to help homeowners expect the unexpected, and account for every aspect of home building that might arise.

When building a custom home, there is one thing on the forefront of everyone’s minds: budget. As any savvy new home owner knows, budget goes beyond setting one fixed number and sticking to it through the building process.

While it is important to have your “magic number” or goal budget -- It’s also to know how much of that budget is allocated to various facets of the building process. And most important of all? Finding areas where they can tighten their budget, and save a little money if possible.

In this article we’re going to explore one major, expensive aspect of the home building budget: hiring an architect. How much of your budget should be going to an architect? Just how much are you getting for your money?