Barden Building Products Blog Archive

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?

When you’re building your dream home, you want to be able to customize it with everything that you and your family needs.

This is why choosing the proper building system or method to allow for ample customization is of paramount importance when embarking on your home building journey.

Some home building systems and builders enable configurable building, but not truly customizable. We put together this guide to explore common limitations with some home building methods, and explore how much they are custom versus configurable.

Now that you’ve made the decision to build a new custom home, you’re probably wondering what the next steps look like if you choose to go the route of panelized home construction.

Or maybe you’re deciding between a couple different methods, and haven’t settled on the perfect one for you. The panelized building process is unique to other methods, specifically when looking at it compared to the traditional stick building process.

We put together this guide so you could take a look at what each phase of the process looks like, from the first step you take to the day you move into your new home.

With roots tracing back to some of the first homes in America, panelized construction has a firm foothold in home construction. 

Though panel building’s origins are old, panel built homes are anything but dated. 

During the past 70 years, we’ve seen many trends, technologies, and techniques come and go in the home building industry.  We’ve also watched how panelized construction has evolved in more recent history, too, and become a polished manufacturing process with an unmatched level of precision. 

While there’s no one way to build a home, panelized construction gives homeowners the absolute flexibility to realize the home of their dreams down to the smallest detail while keeping costs in check.