TimberTech. Dress up any deck with the Classic Black composite railing system. The industry's first black composite railing is made with the same precision as the maker's other composite materials for a durable, attractive surface. The low-gloss finish complements all TimberTech decking, including t...
LAST YEAR, FORBES PROCLAIMED SAGAPONACK, N.Y., the country's most expensive zip code, with a median home price of $2.7 million. When architect Michael Lomont staked out a street address for his young family in this once agrarian community on the eastern tip of Long Island, he paid less than half tha...
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WHEN DELIVERED, THE AVERAGE new home includes very little landscaping or none at all. Sure, there's a driveway and perhaps some flowers planted in front, but that's about it.
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IN A HOT HOUSING MARKET, A BUILDER must find ways to stay ahead of pack. Raleigh, N.C.–based St. rence Homes has launched a program to do just that. The company has partnered with Moline, Ill.–based lawn care manufacturer John Deere to build a “John Deere Signature Community” of upscale homes.
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Although all of the lots in this community were plotted at 45 feet wide, the builder narrowed some of them and made others wider to achieve a lower sales price per square foot.
It's not unusual to hear land planners talk about communities that have dedicated themselves to being good stewards, about local officials and developers working together to preserve precious resources, about building plans that promise to maintain habitats and open space. There's a lot of that talk...
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CEO Brownell pegs his future on conservation design techniques. "It's the future ... the way we'll all need to do development," he says. Bielinski Homes scored big with its 39-acre Prairie Glen community, in Germantown, Wis., on agricultural lands that included "partially degraded wetlands." Wetland...
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By Nigel F. Maynard. Pinecroft at Evans Farm are condominiums offering luxury living to retirees and empty-nesters. Category: Condominiums--for sale; Entrant/Builder: Craftmark Homes, McLean, Va.; Developer: Elm Street Development, McLean; Architect: Lessard Architectural Group, Vienna, Va.; Land Pl...
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Wondertec International, based in Newberry, S.C., says that its new cement-based landscaping and subdivision wall system is faster to build than concrete block and is as much as 40 percent cheaper. Moreover, with recent Dade County Miami approval, the wall can be built up to 15 feet tall in high-win...
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Not only do builders need to educate themselves on TND details and logistics, but they also have to teach their subs. "Plan to see costs rise as subcontractors figure this out," Burton warns.
Part of "getting" TND is understanding that the architecture of the homes takes a backseat to the quality of life in the neighborhood. "You can use those items to sell your TND through zoning but don't forget that it's about quality of life."
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As the TND process evolves, compromises--or hybrid communities--will have to be built. "Many builders feel they have to cave on one or two things," admits Speck, "but though they might achieve a certain bonus in the marketplace by providing the TND look, the true large-scale gains that one accrues i...
I'On is a successful 759-unit community in Mt. Pleasant, a bedroom community of Charleston, S.C. Civitas, the developer of I'On had a green light to build its high-density community. Graham found his project the subject of a South Carolina Supreme Court case tasked with deciding whether you could ha...
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The Mid-Atlantic is now competing with Florida sunshine and desert landscapes. Toll Brothers and K. Hovnanian are both investing aggressively in suburban Washington locations. K. Hovnanian is expanding its successful Four Seasons brand with two new communities: Four Seasons at Kent Island in Queen A...
With the EPA announcing that it intends to close the door on CCA-treated wood in two or three years, alternative decking manufacturers maneuver to fill the void. Clear winners: alternative decking material manufacturers, such as Trex, CertainTeed, and LP, along with Florida-based U.S. Plastic Lumber...
By Christina B. Farnsworth. assisted living and 31 units of special care for residents suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. Windows typically face either landscaped courtyards shaded by wooden trellises or the open space surrounding the facility.