Designing Your New Home for Custom Building

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Houston Home Builders

Designing and building a new custom home can be one of the most exciting times in your life. You are building a new home! Just thinking about it makes you smile.

But the thought can also seem a bit overwhelming. Building a custom home is very different from buying a new car, or even an existing house. Planning is essential to realizing the home of your dreams.

Before meeting with your home designers, spend as much time as possible thinking about the type of home you want to build and what it needs to include. The following tips might help.

Determine Your Budget

One of your first steps will be to set a budget for the total cost of your home. Determine the estimated amount you prefer to pay and the maximum amount you are willing or able to spend.

Get an Idea of the Square Footage for Your New Home

Compare the home you now live in to the one you want to build. Does your home have enough square footage? Are there any rooms you wish were larger? Do you need more rooms? Do you want a one-story home, one and a half or two stories? Keep in mind that the price of your home, as well as future heating and cooling costs, increases with each square foot added. Your home designer and builder can provide more information, but it’s best to consider your preferences and limitations in advance.

Make Your Needs & Wish Lists

Make a list of what your new home needs. Then make a wish list of additional features that are not necessary, but would nice to include.

Look Online for Home Design Ideas, Likes & Dislikes

Browse the FBG photo gallery of home designs, entryways, kitchens, bathrooms and more. When you find something you like, note the gallery name and image number, such as #3 of Outdoor Living. Even better, create a board on Pinterest.

Designing Your Custom Home with Pinterest

The popular new social network, Pinterest, is an online pinboard offering an excellent place to gather, organize and share images. You can create a home design board, then search in Pinterest as well as online for custom homes, appliances, plumbing fixtures, lighting, color schemes  – just about anything you can think of for your new home. (If you search for ‘Frankel Building Group’, you will see many custom homes FBG built.)

‘Pin’ the images you like to your board. You could even create a board for each room of your new home. Then when you meet with your home designer, you simply share the link to your board. What could be easier?!

Most likely, this will be the only custom home you build in your lifetime. Have fun with it!

Posted in New Home Design | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Questions to Ask Before Buying a Lot to Build a New Home On

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Houston Home Builders

You want to build a new home, but you don’t own property. Buying a lot is your first step, right?

It can be, but before you do there are many things to consider. You don’t want to find what appears to be the perfect lot at a very reasonable price and quickly purchase it, only to later discover you can’t build a home on it or doing so would be too costly.

Among the first questions you want to get answers to are:

• Is the lot in or near a floodplain? The building codes in a floodplain will be different, insurance higher, and the property could flood and erode. If your lot is right outside of a floodplain, it might one day be included in one after a periodic re-drawing or update of flood maps.
• What are the zoning, easement and land-use restrictions? You need to know if building the type of home you want, or any home, is possible. You can’t build on an easement, so know how much of your property will be allocated for that. And deed restrictions will tell you how much control you have over what you can and cannot do on your property, as well as what your neighbors can do. If there is a homeowner’s association, you’ll want details about that, including dues cost.
• What will it take (and cost) to get the property ready for building? You may need trees cut, the property leveled, utilities added and more.
• Are utilities available? If utilities are not already onsite, you’ll need to install them. The costs for running electricity poles and lines, installing a sewer system and drilling a water well can be expensive. If installing any utility is not possible, you certainly need to know before buying the property.

You will also need to find out about required permits and any of the city or county’s long range plans that could affect you. There could be plans in the future, such as for a new highway or landfill, that will completely change how you feel about your property.

These are just a few of the main questions you need answers to before buying a lot to have a custom house built on.

Frankel Will Ask the Questions For You
When working with Frankel Building Group to build on your lot, you won’t need to search for answers to these questions. What a relief, right?

We can help you find the best lot for you and the home you’re dreaming about. We will ask you about any current and future plans you might have, research the property, inform you of any restrictions, determine what’s needed to build, and add any associated costs into the price of your custom built home. We take care of the details and keep you well informed along the way. Contact us today to learn more.

Posted in Custom Home Builders | Tagged , | Leave a comment

HomeAid, Frankle Building Group Tackle New Shelter Project

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Houston Home Builders

HomeAid Houston, a Greater Houston Builders Association charity, and the Frankel Building Group are preparing a new improvement project for SEARCH’s client-welcoming area at the 2505 Fannin location.

Read more…

Posted in Press | Tagged | Leave a comment

Scott Frankel Talks Products & Great Finds in Custom Home Online

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Houston Home Builders





Read Article…

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Benefits of a LEED Certified Green Home

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Frankel Building Group is a proud participant in the LEED for Homes program. Watch the US Green Building Council video to learn about the benefits of living in a LEED certified green home.

Posted in Custom Home Builders, Green | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New ParkGate Reserve Home Under Construction

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Construction of the second Showcase Home in ParkGate Reserve by Frankel Building Group is now underway. Crews poured the foundation last week and framing of the model home at 6 Broadwater Court began Saturday.

Selected to develop a premium 50 acre wooded tract of land near the front of The Woodlands into an unrivaled subdivision, Frankel Building Group will construct 58 luxurious custom and spec homes. Lots in ParkGate Reserve, several of which are already sold, range from 10,000 to 27,000 plus square feet.

Learn more about these custom homes by The Woodlands TX. To inquire, please call Frankel Building Group at (713) 398-7541 or click here to submit a request for information online.

New Home in ParkGate Reserve

Posted in New Home Construction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Closing the Gap

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Houston Business Journal, October 28th
“Collaborating generations tap Millennium market with modern necessities in home designs”
Read Article…

Posted in Custom Home Builders, New Home Design, Press, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

iPod creator’s next quest: Making thermostats sexy

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Scott is losing his mind over this.
Read Article…

Posted in Home Automation, New Home Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Spray Foam Insulation for Energy Efficient Green Homes

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Sealing a Home with Spray Foam

As green home builders, Frankel Building Group uses quality products in construction that offer the most benefits to homeowners as well as the environment. One such product is open cell polyurethane spray foam insulation from CertainTeed.

Spray foam is the best material available for insulating your home. It provides a tight building envelope, sealing your home from air and moisture. In doing so, it significantly reduces utility costs and provides a healthier, more comfortable indoor environment. It also reduces home maintenance costs and can extend the life of your home.

Improving Home Energy Efficiency with Spray Foam

According to studies by the US Department of Energy, 40% of a home’s energy is lost due to air infiltration. Spray foam seals windows, doors and electrical outlets and fills gaps in walls and floors. It provides an air barrier that can save you 30% or more on utilities. Since your heating and air conditioning system doesn’t need to work as hard, it extends the life of that equipment, too.

Spray Foam for a Healthier Home

Spray Foam Insulation

Mold and mildew, a problem for Gulf Coast homeowners, can cause serious health problems and also damage a home. By providing a moisture barrier, spray foam helps reduce mold and mildew growth. It also prevents dust and pollen from entering your home.

Spray foam insulation is permanent, adds strength to your home’s structure, and makes your home more acoustically tighter, which reduces sound travel. The cost of adding spray foam insulation can be recovered in about five years through energy savings, so you can only benefit by making it a part of your home’s construction.

Check out Spray Foam at work in a Frankel home in the video below.

Posted in Green, Homes, New Home Construction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Houston Green Home Builders Build on Your Lot

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Houston Home Builders

Frankel Building Group is a full-service custom home builder, who builds custom green luxury homes and also builds directly on customer lots. Instead of committing to a designer, architect or builder; Frankel’s Design and Consulting division can help you when and where you may need it most. Although, our customers are not typically required to commit to using Frankel as their Houston home builder until the design process is completed, Frankel recommends that you do not choose a builder until your plan is finished and you’ve received a bid on it. Below are three of the top reasons not to choose a Houston home builder until your plan is completed:

1. I might find a builder that feels like a better fit for my style and personality.
2. What if the builder goes out of business early in the process?
3. I want to bid my plan with multiple builders, not just one. This way, I know that I’m getting the lowest building price.

Frankel Building Group builds LEED certified green homes. A LEED certified home has many benefits for customers and their families. In 2009, Frankel Building Group began building all of its homes to meet the criterions of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program. LEED is a certification program that delivers a third-party’s authentication of a building’s green design, structure and process. Vice President of Frankel Building Group quoted in an interview with Chron.com, “We think it’s a necessity for resale in the future. Green is about value. I think the LEED standards we build to now with foam insulation, dual-speed air conditioning, dual-flushing commodes; we think that’s going to be code in 10 years.”

Frankel Building Group goes above beyond standards to build better quality homes for their customers and their families. Frankel Building Group offers their customers many options from building on customer lots to custom built homes. With the Frankel Design and Consulting you get; a plan, specifications, price related consulting, bids with builders of your choice, as well as a bid from Frankel.

Before choosing Houston home builders to build on your lot, contact Frankel. From design and consulting to custom home building, you can only expect the best.

Posted in Green, Homes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment