Meet The Home Building Blog Writers
Hi...I'm Randy, your Fun Times Guide to Home Building host. My wife, Sandy, and I enjoy visiting new homes during the construction phase and also when they're complete. We've been doing this little spare time activity longer than I can remember. I decided that writing a homebuilding blog would be a lot of fun when given the opportunity by Jim and Lynnette of The Fun Times Guide. I like to take pictures of the homes we visit...inside and out...and blogging about the homes seemed like a natural progression of sharing this cheap form of entertainment with all of you in the virtual world out there.
We find ourselves leaping over mud holes, dodging nails protruding through 2x4's, balancing on catwalks that have yet to provide handrails (Sandy's favorite) and on occasion interacting with the agent-on-duty or builder. We choose to run these home construction site obstacle courses with an eye on our goal of gathering ideas (good or bad - see Dumb Homebuilding Ideas for some of the bad) on home building trends and ideas.
We've been homeowners since 1988. When we first bought our home in suburban Atlanta, it was located in "the country" about 30 minutes from Marietta. While our location hasn't changed, we are no longer in the country. It took a few years before we had a grocery store just down the road but things have definitely changed since then. We are surrounded by explosive growth and the growing pains that go along with it. We're making the best of it in at least one respect by choosing to be a part of the select group of people that choose to go behind the scenes of the home building scene.
More about our "homestalking" habits...
Homebuilding is definitely nothing new. Visiting new homes during the construction phase for curiosity's sake and fun isn't necessarily new either. Writing a homebuilding blog that chronicles these new homes during different phases of construction from a consumers' point of view is rather unique and loads of fun.
Why Do I Write A Homebuilding Blog?
When Jim & Lynnette of The Fun Times Guide offered the opportunity to write for a new sub-site about a subject that I was passionate about and enjoy doing on a regular basis, I thought it might be a great idea to blog about something Sandy and I have done for years, looking at new homes during the latter part of the construction phase.
Where Do We Go To See New Homes Being Constructed?
Most of our visits occur in Paulding County, Georgia and Cobb County, Georgia, although we definitely have not limited our viewing area locally. We've frequently visit homes in the construction phase on vacations and while visiting relatives in other parts of the country. Sandy and I have enjoyed looking at new homes being built in subdivisions for many years. If it were not interesting enough we would have given up on it a very long time ago.
Remember...we do this for fun!
What Kind Of Information Do We Collect About Homebuilding?
Visiting new homes under construction is cheap entertainment, we keep up with what is going on in our area and we are taking notes for our future dream home. We also see a lot of what we don't want a builder to do when the time comes to put our new home together, sort of a mental checklist. We always seem to find something new and/or different on our excursions to houses such as a different kind of flooring, paint schemes, indoor and outdoor building techniques, cool lighting fixtures, and Energy Star rated materials/appliances used for many different parts that go into a home and much more. We also have a good idea of how well each builder pays attention to "behind the scenes" details such as using better materials like Silent Floor systems or which method they choose to secure the posts for the back deck.
This site is basically all about checklists for what we think should and should not go into building a quality home. It's also about having a little fun seeing what's new in the housing market around our area.
Welcome and Enjoy!
Randy
Guest Writers At The Fun Times Guide To Home Building:
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Mary
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Hi Randy,
I could not locate a private email for you. The pictures you took of the Tate House at Christmas are wonderful. I would love to invite you back to the mansion this year for a Christmas tour. If you would be interested could you please contact me at mhmpc@juno.com and let me know the best way to get in touch with you? Thank you! - Marsha
Planning to build a Queen Anne Victorian with a large wraparound porch, any suggestions on the best material for the floor, post, and railings? Thanks!
Is there a standard depth for fireplace bookshelves? My fireplace is 24" deep. I am debating between cabinets that are between 18 and 24" deep. The 24" deep would be flush with the fireplace - not sure I like that.
Peter
Thanks so much for checking in and best of luck with your new home.
Thanks
Hey Randy,
Just a quick "thank you" for your informative blog. As a first-time homeowner (gulp) I'm consulting it often for ideas and to avoid
missteps.
Keep it up buddy!
Peter