Things to Consider when Deciding where to buy

Posted on December 28, 2016 by P&D Builders

Deciding where you want to live is the one of the most, if not the most important decision you will have to make when buying or building your home. If you are buying or building a home, chances are that you plan to be there for a while, so many factors will go into this decision.

First you need to think, are you going to start looking in the city, suburbs or far from either of those? Cities are great, everything is easily accessible, and they offer tons of energy. Suburbs offer family-friendly enclaves. And the country can be a breath of fresh air and offers tons of space. It is simply up to you to decide which ones works best for your lifestyle.

Here is a quick checklist as you sort through your options:

Amenities: What is nearby? Are there nearby parks, open spaces, restaurants, shops, a grocery store? How about things in the community like libraries, community centers, work out facilities? The best way to find out is ask locals or get in your car and check it out for yourself!

Schools: This isn’t just for people with children, if you are newly married or want to have kids at some point in your life that is very important to consider. This may be the single most important factor in choosing where you live. What school district you would like to be in can limit your choices of where you want to live. You will need to check out test scores, class size and school rating of different schools in the area that you want to live in. A helpful website to help you find out this information is http://www.greatschools.org/.

Community services: You will want to get a sense of the community and its current affairs. Reading community blogs and local newspapers will clue you in about issues like traffic, safety and development projects.

Transportation: Do you want to drive everywhere? Be able to bike places? Or go completely car free? These are all things to think about. Check out the local transit system and see if you will be able to get everywhere you might want to go, the times and how close the stops are to where you may want to live.

Commute times: If you plan to get to work by car, determine whether you will be driving residential streets or busy arterials. Drive around at all times of the day, not just one weekends when you are looking at houses. Drive your route during rush hour. It would be unfortunate to move and come to find out your 15-minute commute has now turned into an hour commute both ways.

Ease of access: Are things easy to get to? How much time do you want to spend during a day of errands in the car? How long do you want a simple trip to the grocery store to take? Maybe that more expensive house might be worth it when it comes to how close you are to places you will be visiting frequently.

Safety: You can check online stats or drop by a local precinct to ask how a certain neighborhood is. Bottom line is if you feel safe walking around at night or not.

Economic stability: A healthy mix of residential neighborhoods (property taxes) and businesses (sales and payroll taxes) sets the stage for vibrant, well-funded communities. Cities with colleges and government services are most likely to remain stable.

This list is not completely, but it is a good starting point when thinking about where you want to build or buy. At the end of the day, it is about what means the most to you.

New Home Construction Trends

Posted on December 20, 2016 by P&D Builders

When it comes to building a new home, you have a lot of questions to think about, some are larger scale and some are smaller. Trends in the interior design world seem to change by the season or year. When it comes to home construction changes, the changes occur at a slow pace, some trends even lasting decades. Home fashions take a while to build momentum, but they are happening. Here is a look at a few trends in the world of home construction.

Solar roofing

Recent improvements in solar tech have moved solar panels from an expensive niche technology to a reality for many homeowners. One of the main factors that has really made solar panels popular is the amount of support it has received from power companies, state and local governments and eco-conscious investors. The support means leasing options, subsidies and tax breaks for solar customers. If you are redoing or getting a new roof for your home, that is a great time to consider solar panels as well.

Smart Homes

Smart phones, smart cars, it seems everything these days are upping their technology to become smarter for their end users. Every year, companies are rolling out some type of new technology to help people better manage their homes. Many things in the home can now be controlled by an app whether you are in the home or across the country. Some items that can be controlled by your phone include doorbells, portable cameras, two-way speakers, television devices, thermostats and more. Homes are being retrofitted with these devices and it is believed they will come standard in new home construction moving forward.

Barn Doors

Yes, this does pertain to the interior design of the house, it also has to deal with the construction of the home. Most interior barn doors slide on a bar mounted above the frame, which presents a smaller profile for interior thresholds. Because these sliding doors offer a rustic charm while remaining functional, the use cases for barn doors are myriad. From closet doors to room dividers, barn doors are quickly becoming the solution to dozens of interior design dilemmas.

Electric car charging stations

The continued growth of the electric car industry is having a lasting impact on at least one aspect of home building: the garage. As more homeowners make the switch to fully electric cars, charging stations are being a more common fixture in garages. The most expensive stations can be around $3,000 but a small self-installed unit can be as little as $300.

The ever-changing world of technology has greatly impacted home construction. There has been an increased focus on green home and home automation, which these trends do not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Changes in technology will continue to drive home construction with a renewed focus on flexibility, automation and energy efficiency.

Helpful tips for Hosting Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2016 by P&D Builders

Are you hosting your thanksgiving this year for the first time? Or would you consider yourself a veteran party host? Hosting and cooking this great American meal is a big milestone for a cook, but it can also cause anxiety and nerves. Here are some essential tips that will help your day go off without a hitch.

Never turn down help. If your friends and family offer to bring dishes that are vital to the meal then let them! It will help with your stress overall on the day of and they will show off their cooking skills as well.
Make as much ahead as possible. The last-minute rush is one of the most stressful parts of the day. When you are planning your menu, look for dishes that can be made ahead of time. If you are in charge of cooking all of the dishes, start the casserole and pies earlier in the week then cook them the day of.
Don’t experiment with new recipes. Thanksgiving is all about the classics, so stick with the classic recipes. Leave your brain to focus on the turkey.
Start early on the non-food prep. The food isn’t the only thing that needs prepared. You are probably pulling out serving dishes that need to be washed, extra silverware and napkins. Do all of that the week before. Double-check your serving plates and utensils and iron your tablecloth if needed!
Set the table the night before. It will make you feel so much better as you are running around doing the prep work to see a nicely set table. It will give you the peace of mind that when all the food is ready, your table is ready too.
Have the beverages ready to go. Have the wine chilling in the fridge or a premade cocktail ready to be poured. If everyone has a drink in their hand, they won’t care if dinner is served an hour later than planned.
It is okay to buy parts of your meal. Do you have a great bakery? Buy the desserts from it. Do you hate making gravy? Buy some before. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a few pieces of the meal especially if you want a more relaxing day before hand.
Relax, have fun and enjoy the holiday. People are there to enjoy a good meal and one another’s company. Do not feel stressed about entertaining. Ask for help, laugh and remember the turkey can rest for an hour while you finish everything else. Find gratitude in the busy, messy, loud and delicious holiday.

Most importantly, be thankful for the food on the table and the people surrounding you! After all that is what the holidays are about, enjoy!

4 tips to keep in mind when Building a new home

Posted on November 16, 2016 by P&D Builders

Building a home is a tremendously exciting process due to all the decisions, large and small, that you get to decide. YOU are the builder, you get to choose everything from bedrooms to outlets. When spending the money on a custom-built home, keep these things in mind.

Have as many details in place before you start building as possible. This can mean not just knowing how the floor plan will look but knowing how the rooms will be designed. The whole process is about building the home of your dreams but it can be overwhelming for some. After about the tenth round of decisions, you might start thinking enough is enough. If you have as many details worked out before hand as possible, the more and more decisions that come along the way will seem less exhausting. Our people at P&D Builders will be there to help you through each and every decision.

Think about resale value. Even if you never intend to sell your home, and plan to pass it on for generations, still consider that you might sell it someday. Life happens, you might think you know where you are going to be in 10 to 15 years but nothing is for sure. When you are building, you have to consider what other people would want as well. You may want a five-story home but another family out there might not want to spend their days going up and down stairs. A decision like that could cause you to drop thousands when it comes to selling your home.

Keep your mortgage within your means. Create your dream home, but make sure it is one you can afford. You don’t want to be drowning in mortgage payments and not be able to enjoy your new home or always worrying about if you spent too much.

At the same time, don’t sacrifice all of your amenities. Once again, life happens, if you are afraid once your kids start getting older and college comes on the radar that it will be hard to find the money to upgrade. Then throw in a few additional things that you are passionate about having in your home. Know what upgrade is a must have then wait till life slows down financially for other ones.

P&D Builders wants to make your dream home a reality, contact us today!

Preparing Your Home for Fall

Posted on October 11, 2016 by P&D Builders

Fall is here! The temperatures are dropping, the leaves are starting to change and everyone seems to be loving it. The time has come to finish up any last-minute summer maintenance projects and get your home and yard ready for follow. We have some quick and easy tips to get your home clean, warm and ready for fall (and the dreaded early winter days).

Outside

Clean out the gutters. Everyone’s least favorite job but now is one of the most important times to be doing it. A few hours of work can prevent big problems later one. While you are up there, give the roof a good look to look for any damaged shingles, flashing or vents. You should also inspect the chimney.
Turn off outdoor plumbing. When the time is right and those hopes of random warm days are over, drain outdoor faucets and sprinkler systems, and cover them to protect them from freezing during the winter.
Clean outdoor furniture and gardening tools. It may not be quite time to put them away yet but go ahead and make sure your outdoor furniture and gardening tools are cleaned up and ready for storage.
Plant bulbs for spring-blooming flowers. Spring will be here before we know it, hopefully. So be prepared by planting bulbs this month, as soon as the soil has cooled down, you will reap big rewards next spring. If you’ve ever planted bulbs before, select a spot in your yard that gets full sun during the day.

Inside

Prepare your furnace. Visually inspect your furnace and replace the furnace filter before turning it on for the first time. If you want, you can go the extra step to get it professionally looked at before it gets too cold.
Clean the fireplace and chimney. Clean out the fireplace, make sure the flue is operating properly, and that doors and shields are sound. Then, stock up on firewood!
Keep the warm air inside and the cold air outside. Inspect your windows and doors. If you are feeling cold air come in through the cracks, the weather stripping isn’t doing its job. Now would be the time to re-caulk around the windows and door casings if needed before you spend too much on your heating bill.
Light the way. Bring as much light into your home as you can for the colder, darker months. To accentuate natural light, clean your windows and blinds, especially in rooms that get a lot of sunlight. Add lighting to darker spaces easily with new lamps and consider replacing tradition incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs.
Create a mudroom or drop zone. As the weather gets colder, it is going to require more layers. If you do not have a designated mudroom, it is time to think about creating an area where those coming and going from the home can drop their things or extra layers. Also put down an indoor/outdoor run to protect the floor.

These are a few quick and easy projects to begin preparing your space for all. Once you have checked a couple of these off the list then it is time to sit back and enjoy the season in your warm home.

Home Organization Tips

Posted on October 5, 2016 by P&D Builders

We all know the key to happiness is a clean home right? Well that is not exactly true but a clean, organized home can make you feel a lot better than you think. Everyone has their own style and can choose to organize their home in whatever way works best for them and their families. We just wanted to offer a few tips that we found helpful.

Create a vision before you organize

How many times have you said “I’m going to organize my closet”, only to get discouraged halfway through the process? The solution here is to create your vision first, then organize. It’s when you first take the time to think things through before you being doing the work. Ask yourself some of these questions:

How do I want to use the space in my closet?
Will I store just the season’s clothes? Will I use half for things other than clothing?
How’s the lighting?
Do I need a step stool to reach the shelves?
Do I want to keep my hamper in the closet or move it to the bathroom?

Hooks can be your best friend

Getting organized doesn’t necessarily mean having custom shelves built to clear the over-cluttered corners. We look for practical solutions with an aesthetic flair first. It’s not necessary to answer the organizing dilemma with an expensive or time-consuming project. Using hooks that you buy at the department store can be the first step on the path of organization. Here are a few good places hooks come in handy:

Bathrooms: blow dryers and curling irons
Kitchens: brooms, aprons & towels
Bedrooms: Purses, accessories
Home office: cords, headsets & chargers

Subtraction

Getting rid of items in your home is no easy or quick task. It can seem overwhelming and it can feel like you are moving stuff around rather than getting rid of everything. With your intention set towards subtracting items from a particular room, start with one spot for example the dining room table, and remove items that don’t work or you simply do not need. Place them in a “somewhere else pin” and come back to the pin when you have time and deliver them where you see fit.

Drop Zones

No this isn’t the newest ride at the amusement park. This is an area for each member of your family to put his or her belongings right when they enter the house so they don’t end up anywhere else. Set up a table right inside the garage or front door. This will help keep your home organized and also the members of the family organized. If they drop their gym bag in the drop zone, next time they are looking for it it will be right where they left it!

There are many different ways to generate more organization in your space. These are just a few ideas to think about. Keep up with our blog for more home organization tips!

2016 Parade of Homes Recap

Posted on September 26, 2016 by P&D Builders

On behalf of P&D Builders, LTD. We want to thank everyone who came out to this year’s Parade of Homes. There were 16 homes in this year’s parade so we want to especially thank those who stopped by our house, we know it was easy to get tired looking at all those beautiful homes!

For those of you that did not have a chance to make it out this year, we are going to give you a quick recap! Our complete photo gallery can be found here.

Complete details of the home:

5,294 sq. ft.
5 Bedrooms
6 Full & 1 Half Baths
3 Car Garage
$978,750

Our must see feature:

Glass floor with a spectacular view into the custom-finished wine cellar below.

Some of our outstanding features include:

Strong corporate commitment to our award-winning “Certified” Energy Star Program
Home design resulting from a partnership between the build team and the client’s vision
Open-air, two-story, totally-enclosed garden courtyard entry
Extraordinary custom wine cellar with glass ceiling above
Sensational upper foyer with Juliet balconies overlooking garden courtyard entry

Each year, the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio hosts the Parade of Homes. This year’s parade was the largest since 2005 and features 16 luxury homes ranging from $799,000 to $1.3 million. The entries were judged on 15 different categories this year. A couple examples of some of the categories are: curb appeal, special features, best kitchen and many more.

We are pleased to announce that we took home two different awards! We got the gold in the First Interior Impression category and the silver in the Exterior Architecture category. You can read about all the categories and award winners in the full article found here.

Once again we just want to thank all those companies that played a part in the design and decoration of this year’s home and thank all of those that came out to the parade!

Contact Information

Home Design
P&D Builders Design Team
(740) 201-8079

Interior Design
Nth Degree
(614) 855-8533

Landscape Design
Simes Landscape, Inc.
(614) 332-0335

Sales Contacts
Dan Dillon
(614) 207-3490
Ed Snodgrass
(614) 565-5705
Jason Cordle
(614) 207-3506

2016 Parade of Homes Preview Party

Posted on August 22, 2016 by P&D Builders

The 2016 BIA Parade of Homes will be hosting their annual Preview Party again this year. This offers guests an exclusive look at all the Parade has to offer and allows guests to tour the event’s 16 high-end, luxurious homes before the parade is open to the public. The Preview Party features a progressive dinner, along with beverage pairings by Cameron Mitch Catering Company.

The event will be taking place Thursday, September 1st from 6-10 p.m. with proceeds benefiting the BIA Foundation and Habitat for Humanity Mid-Ohio charities. Tickets are $85 a person, then raise to $95 a person after August 24th.

For a chance to win 2 FREE tickets to the Preview Party from P&D Builders, enter HERE.

The winner will be announced Friday, August 26.

Purchase tickets for the event here. The Preview Party can be your exclusive first look at all 16 of the entries in this year’s parade along with enjoying tons of good food and drinks. We hope to see you there!

2016 Parade of Homes Entry

Posted on August 10, 2016 by P&D Builders

Verona developed by Vince Romaneilli

Find directions to the event!

Verona is located just east of the Columbus Zoo on Powell Road (SR 750). From I-270, take the Sawmill Road exit and travel North approx. 4 miles on Sawmill Road (which will turn into Sawmill Parkway). Turn left (West) on to Powell Road (SR 750) and travel approx. 0.7 miles. The entrance to Verona will be on your right (watch for signs).

September 3 – 18, 2016 (rain or shine)
12pm – 8pm Monday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm Sunday

no entry one hour to close

At 5,294 sq. ft., the home has 5 bedrooms, 6 full & 1 half baths and a 3-car garage. Features include:

Strong corporate commitment to our award-winning “Certified” Energy Star Program
Home design resulting from a partnership between the build team and the client’s vision
Open-air, two-story, totally enclosed garden courtyard entry
Extraordinary custom wine cellar with glass ceiling above
Sensation upper foyer with Juliet balconies overlooking garden courtyard entry

You can purchase your tickets for the event online, and save $2, or purchase them at the door! This is a year you definitely do not want to miss!

Summer Staycation Projects

Posted on July 27, 2016 by P&D Builders

Have you and your family decided not to take any big trips this summer? That is totally okay! That means more time around the house so you can finally get to those projects that have been hanging over your head for the last few months. If you have an extra 12, 24 or 48 hours of free time in a long weekend provides all you need to reenergize, refuel, and recommit to that straggler project on your to-do list.

Devoting your time off to tackling a highly anticipated home upgrade or a lengthier maintenance project can pay off all summer long. Squeeze any of these summer projects into your time off, and every weekend to come will feel more relaxing.

Painting Interior Trim

A quick and easy way to get a whole-room update is to paint your trim. Painting baseboards, chair rail, window trim, and crown molding in either complementary or contrasting tones to your walls really can wake up ordinary rooms and hallways. Start off with a liquid sanding product so that the new paint adheres well. Then apply two of three light coats of interior latex enamel paint, allowing a full day of drying time between each. For an ultra-smooth finish, buff lightly with micro-grit sandpaper and follow with tach cloth before each successive coat.

Backyard fire pit

Extend your outdoor hangout time by offering light and heat into the evenings is one you won’t regret – especially when it’s too easy to skip. The fire pit doesn’t have to be a large, lavish model to be a place for guests to hang out. In fact, you can assemble an attractive one in just a day from a kit with no-cut blocks from your home improvement store. Then stack the blocks end-to-end to form a perfect circle, then stack them two or three high and slip on an iron fire pit ring. Prepare for your patio to be the hottest spot in the neighborhood!

Organizing the Garage

A couple extra hours are all you need to take all that garage clutter and turn it into an organized and functional space. Here are a few storage strategies to take advantage of:

Attach wall brackets to hold lawn tools and folding chairs.
Install ceiling hooks to hang bicycles.
Suspend shelves from above to store scrap project under lumber and large plastic bins.
Wherever there’s a blank wall, hang pegboard and a slew of hooks to sort out your small hand tools.

Most importantly, think in sections. Designate one area for gardening items, another for tools, and additional zones for various hobbies. That way, when you need something, you’ll be able to find it and return it when you are done.

Replacing worn window screens

A soft breeze through the bedroom window can be most refreshing on a cool summer night – but not if every bug can come through the ripped screen into your space. Ripped screens are something that can hinder the exterior appearance of your house as well. Replacing those damaged, torn screen is an inexpensive, easy way to improve the interior feel of your house and the exterior look.

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