Interviewer: So, you have seen a lot of changes in the home building industry.

LP: I sure have and not all of them have been good for either the industry or the consumer.

Interviewer: You mentioned production and custom builders, what would you consider your company to be?

LP: We are a true custom homebuilder.

Interviewer: What do you mean by a “true” custom homebuilder?

LP: I believe that to be a true custom homebuilder the owners of the company should be involved in all aspects of the building process. That way those with a vested interest in what happens have day-to-day contact with not only the clients but the subcontractors as well. Several years ago, we decided to try and grow to a larger company, however, the larger we got the more removed we were from the process and what we found is that the quality quickly begin to go down hill. So, we made a decision right there and then that we would remain a small company, so that we would be involved in the day to day process and that way be able to maintain the quality at the highest possible level. It is better for our customers and we can ensure that they get the best-built home possible. People are spending a lot of hard earned money on their homes and we felt they deserve to have the best their money can buy.

Interviewer: Can you tell me what the differences are between custom and production builders?

LP: First of all let me say that we have many fine custom builders in the Columbus area. But not all builders that market themselves as custom are, some production builders claim to be custom. But in answer to your question, the first major difference is the philosophy of the two different types of builders. For production builders every dollar saved in the construction process is a dollar times the number of homes they build annually. They look for ways to save pennies and dollars in the build process. These are companies run by corporate executives (not builders) looking for every angle to enhance the bottom line. The extra expense does not have the same impact on our company. While we also need to be profitable to stay in business we do not have the overhead of the large builder and can put that money into the house in the form of quality construction. We feel that if you are going to spend the type of money it takes to build a new home today, we should maximize every dollar we can and build the highest quality home we can build.

Production builders have several layers of management, other employees and marketing/advertising costs that a small company like ours simply does not have, so our advantage is in lower overhead costs allowing us to put more of your money into your new home. And we can do this without sacrificing quality and at about the same price as a production builder.

Interviewer: That’s fascinating, please continue,

LP: Another major difference is in the quality of materials and the sub contractors that work for us. Again production builders are always looking for ways to cut costs, so another way to accomplish that is in the materials used and the labor. We use the same craftsmen and materials to build all our homes no matter the price level. We could hire lesser quality subs and use lesser quality materials but we do not think that is fair to the consumer. So, in essence the same things go into our $300,000 homes as in our $800,000 homes, it is just a matter of less square footage.

Interviewer: You have mentioned that quality is a major difference; can you give some specific examples?

LP: Sure. First we only use poured concrete walls in our basements. They are 17 times stronger then block walls. They are practically impervious to water and they provide a damp free basement. Twenty plus years ago when we were building in the Pittsburgh area block basements were all that were available to us. In those days we would not back fill the foundation until the house was in the dry wall stage because at that point there was enough weight on the foundation to stabilize it.

Today for safety concerns foundations are back filled before framing will start. Builders using block have to brace the block walls at what they consider the critical points in an effort to minimize movement and cracking caused by the weight of the perimeter dirt fill. However, it is impossible and impractical to brace every inch of the block surface, thus leaving un-braced areas to be stressed by the weight of the backfill. To make matters worse, we have very heavy clay soils in the Central Ohio area. This could lead to stress problems that may not show up for a number of years and will not necessarily be severe enough to come under your structural warranty.
Block is also very porous and as a result dampness is drawn through it. You will see homeowners running dehumidifiers in their basement in an attempt to dry out the walls and prevent mold and mildew problems. There are some builders who actually inform consumers that they provide a dehumidifier as a standard feature. Block walls save the builder a small amount of money up front but leaves the homeowner with the extra expense of running the dehumidifier, dealing with mold & mildew, sealing the walls and also with the very real threat of cracking and bowing walls in later years. It is simply a cheaper way of building adding to the bottom line of the builder.

Interviewer: What else?

LP: Another area where production builders can save money is in the framing of your home. They will use less wood cutting corners where ever possible for example using scrap material to create corner returns for drywall support. We use full 2x4s fully supporting the drywall returns. Another way to save money with the framing is by panelizing. Panelizing is like trying to put a puzzle together with pieces that do not fit well. Panelized walls are built off site and trucked in.

Interviewer: I am sorry to interrupt but by panelized do you mean prefabricated walls?

LP: That’s another way of putting it, however it is not a complete wall with drywall like a modular home. Years ago we experimented with factory built wall systems. In an effort to bring the framing up to our standards we spent more money trying to fix problems with panelized walls than we would have had we stick built from the start. Typically, high volume builders who are trying to put up a lot of homes in a short period of time using unskilled laborers use panelized products. It is simply a cheaper way to build adding to their bottom line.

Interviewer: Is there anything else?

LP: We fully sheath our houses in Oriented Strand Board (OSB), in other words wood. This is simply the right way to build. It provides lateral stability making the entire house very strong. As an example if you set a piece of OSB on its edge there is no side-to-side movement. Now take a 4’ x 8’ framed wall with Styrofoam on it, set it on edge and watch the movements go from rectangular to trapezoidal. The foam board has no strength! Think of the framing and sheathing as the skeletal system of the house, you want that skeletal system to be as strong as possible right?

Interviewer: Well, sure.

LP: Further Styrofoam cannot be anchored to. Picture this you have a frame wall covered in either Styrofoam or OSB. Then most builders will wrap the house in Tyvak or R Wrap. At this point it is impossible to discern where the Styrofoam or OSB is nailed to the studs! Now along comes the bricklayer, stucco applier or trim carpenter. All these materials having fastening systems which they rely on to properly anchor them to the wall. Brick uses wall ties nailed to the wall, stucco uses wire mesh nailed to the wall, wood siding is nailed directly to the wall! Now theoretically they are to the find the stud but all too often that is not the case. When you have a solid OSB house shell this is not an issue as the anchors are in wood. Improperly fastened materials could bow, crack and sag sometimes years later after the home is long out of warranty.

Production builders will use only as much OSB as required to brace the house and fill in other areas with what is simply Styrofoam. They will argue that the foam adds an R-value. While foam adds about an R 2 value over OSB, it is meaningless as some builders use it on only a portion of the walls. What is does is create weak points throughout the skeletal system of the home.

For builders that are starting to use Styrofoam over the entire lengths of some walls, again they argue R-value as the reasoning for it. But answer me this. Would you rather have a more structurally sound home or one constructed of Styrofoam? They will tell you that it is an acceptable way to build a home. Again, do you want to settle for acceptable or would you rather have a home that is built in an exceptional manner? We start at the level of exceptional and go up from there. Using the foam board is simply a cheaper way to build adding to their bottom line.

The other thing you have to ask yourself is if they are willing to compromise on the structural integrity of the homes they are building by building in just an acceptable manner, then where else are they cutting corners in an effort to save money? Wherever it is, it is not in the best interest of the consumer, no matter what they say.

Interviewer: You seem to be really hard on production builders. Why is that?

LP: I am hard on any builders that have the mentality of saving money over quality.

Interviewer: But isn’t it better for the consumer to keep costs down?

LP: It would be if those savings were in fact passed onto the consumer. But have you seen the prices for new homes going down?

Interviewer: Well, no!

LP: That’s right, the fact of the matter is they are always increasing, even when the builder cuts costs.

Interviewer: How much money are the other builders actually saving?

LP: In actual dollars, I do not know. If I had to guess I would say from a few hundred dollars to perhaps $5000 per house.

Interviewer: So, it is just you and your partner Jack Thrush, Steve Thrush and a part time receptionist, right?

LP: In our corporate office yes. We have remained a small company for two main reasons. Less overhead means more of the customers’ money actually goes into their house and we can keep it a very personal and intimate process. Also, owner involvement means more freedom of choice as to what goes into your home. It also means that the people who have a vested interest in the company are also totally involved in your build process.

Interviewer: Who does your sales and marketing?

LP: In our subdivisions we use Realtors.

Interviewer: Why not have employees? Do Realtors offer any additional advantages?

LP: Well, we tried hiring a sales person once and it just did not work out. There is also that overhead thing. But, quite frankly, Realtors do bring a lot to the process that a salesperson for a builder can’t. For instance, Realtors are not just extremely knowledgeable of our product but they know the entire marketplace. They know what amenities actually increase the value of a home by what is selling. They have an intimate knowledge of the entire market not just new builds and they know what all the other builders are offering. This is good for both the customer and us.

Interviewer: Do you have a service department?

LP: It’s funny that you would ask that because just recently one production builder was bragging about their service department and how they have hundreds of letters from customers praising their service department. I really do not look at that as a positive for two reasons. First of all the fact that they even need a service department indicates that they have enough problems with their homes to warrant having a service department in the first place. Then to say that you have hundreds of letters just reinforces the fact that they have had hundreds of problems.

We do not have a service department because we do not need one. If we did it would be like the Maytag repairman ads sitting around with nothing to do. We do everything we can to ensure that you will not have problems in the first place, which takes us back to quality materials and quality craftsmen. If you build the home right from the get go there won’t be many problems, thus no need for a service department.

Interviewer: Do you have warranty issues that require service?

LP: Of course, no builder is perfect but we have such a miniscule amount that having a service department would be, well, a waste.

Interviewer: When a problem does occur, how is it handled?

LP: When that does happen here is how it is handled. Jack, who is my partner and construction manager, will assess the situation. If it is something that he can handle he takes care of it. If not, then we have the actual contractor who has the expertise to fix the problem come out and take care of it. So, if it’s a plumbing problem we have the plumber fix it, etc. We do not have someone who is a general handy man making repairs he is not qualified to make.

We offer a one year BIA Warranty and a 10 year insured structural warranty. It is important to make sure that the structural warranty is insured because if it isn’t insured it is only as good as the builder remains in business. I will tell you that we have in the past and will continue to service our customers even when they are either out of warranty coverage or what they need done is not a warranty issue. We feel that is just the right thing to do and since we have so very few problems it is not a burden for us.

Interviewer: Is there anything you would like to add in closing?

LP: I just want to say that we truly care about each and every one of our customers. We are not out here just trying to build houses we are building relationships. We understand that $300,000 is a lot of money and we want our customers to build the house that they want to build. We will not try and force any particular plan down their throats. We will not use high pressure sales tactics to get them to build with us, such as telling them they will only get a certain discount if they sign a contract right away. We do not have promotions offering free appliances, fireplaces etc; because we feel that our customers are smart enough to know that nothing is truly free. Most builders that do that kind of thing do it right after they have either raised prices or their sales are really slow. Believe me they have the house marked up enough that they will not lose money on the deal otherwise they would not be in business too long.

I guess I really just want people to know that when you choose Arlington Homes to build your new home, if you are comparing a similar floor plan and square footage, you can get a exceptionally built custom home with more quality features at the same price as a production builder and you will be dealing with professionals who always have your best interests in mind. After all it is your money and your new home. Don’t you think you deserve to have the best home your money can buy? At Arlington Homes, we do and that’s why we deliver the highest quality product at the lowest possible price and we build our homes to last and not become maintenance problems falling apart after a few years of service.

END