Listed below are a number of standard features found in all Randolph Goers
Custom Homes. The features are not cosmetic, add little to the curb appeal , and
usually fail to initially appeal to the client’s eye. However they are items
that a family can only appreciate after occupying the home. Invest a few moments
of your time to scan and become familiar with these features. Then you can use
this information as a benchmark in your comparison of homes and builders.
Heating and Air Conditioning Systems Benchmark
Dual, independent Trane heating/ac systems. One system for each living level.
Units are sized to comfortably condition the home regardless of the season.
Insulated metal trunk lines. R-6 flex duct insulation. Customer Advantage
Each season creates unique needs for the two living levels. In a home equipped
with dual systems, the lower level system will be more active in the cooler
months while the upper system will be more active in the summer months. The
advantage of a two system home is the flexibility of each system to condition
it’s living area independently of the other living levels environment. In a
single whole house system, the lower level freezes in the summer months to
maintain upper level comfort (heat rises). Guess what happens in the winter
months to the upper level to keep the lower level comfortable?
Water Supply Benchmark
Copper water supply materials inside home. Customer Advantage
Usage of a material that has proven it’s worthiness to homeowners for decades.
Copper has never been involved in product litigation nor removed from the
building market due to nonperformance like other substitutes.
Humidifier Benchmark
Skuttle steam humidifier installed in lower heating unit.
www.skuttle.com Customer Advantage
In the dry, cold winter months a humidifier will assist the family in
maintaining a comfort level that does not depend upon the heat source only.
Additionally, a home with a comfortable humidity level will eliminate the drying
of a home’s interior thus eliminating squeaky floors, sticking doors, cracked
drywall, separating moldings, dust, allergies, etc.
Central Vacuum System Benchmark
M&S whole house central vacuum system Customer Advantage
Provides quiet and healthy removal of debris, dust, and dirt from interior of
home to power unit located inside garage. Beneficial to allergy sensitive family
members in the removal of dust to outside space vs. recirculating within home.
Eliminates towing a portable vacuum unit all around two levels. Considered by
future buyers as a desirable upgrade. A significant time saver for working
families.
Ceiling Fans Benchmark
Use of ceiling fans in all bedrooms.. Additionally, all fans are wired with two
wall switches for each fan...one switch for fan and one switch for fan light. Customer advantage
Increase comfort and lower energy costs
Cabinets Benchmark
Custom-built cabinets crafted locally Customer Advantage
Custom-built cabinets are precision made to fit each homes design. Factory
cabinets are mass produced production boxes made to fit standard sizes. Factory
cabinet installers are restricted in installations to using standard sizes in an
attempt to replicate a custom fit. Custom built cabinets provides buyers local
folks to assist in the selection of woods, styles, and options.
Garage Floor Benchmark
Garage floor installed with no.4 reinforcement bars, 6 mil poly vapor barrier,
3500 lbs concrete, and silicon sealed. Customer Advantage
The reinforcement bars strengthens the floor. The sealer seals the floor to
eliminate grease, oil and dirt from penetrating the
concrete surface and aids in slowing the concrete curing process thus increasing
it’s strength.
Foundation Waterproofing Benchmark
Perimeter, trench drain foundation waterproofing system with a lifetime
warranty. (www.sealingagents.com) Customer advantage
The importance of waterproofing a homes crawl space cannot be over-emphasized.
Moisture underneath a home will result in major structural damage to the home’s
framing members within a few short years. Additionally, moisture in the crawl
space or basement can aggravate allergy sensitive family members (mildew!). This
home utilizes a flexible waterproofing membrane on the sub-grade surfaces of the
living areas of the home combined with a 4” poly drain pipe and wash gravel to
carry water way from the home’s crawl space.
Gutter Drains Benchmark
Installation of underground drain system for all gutter downspouts. Customer Advantage
Positive drainage of all water away from the home site (usually 40-50 ft from
home.)
Stairway Safety (Two story homes) Benchmark
Stair way step light Customer Advantage
This inexpensive but very important light is located in the center of the
staircase providing a soft illumination to the stair steps.
Equipped with a l0w bulb, you can operate the light for cents/day. A positive
safety factor when considering the potential for
injury in a poorly illuminated staircase.
Footings Benchmark
Usage of two to three 1/2” steel reinforcement bars throughout perimeter footing
areas with 3500 psi concrete. Electrically
bonded to service panel to reduce interference with home electronics. Customer
Advantage
Minimizes risk of uncontrolled settlement of home’s foundation
Interior Painting Benchmark
Custom painting with three year warranty Customer
Advantage
The painting specialist performs the following steps in all new construction:
l. Heavy prime coat of all surfaces
2.Hand sand primer to obtain smooth, uniform surfaces
3.Caulk all joints, nail holes, etc.
4.Hand roll finish coat
5.Apply high gloss to all trim surfaces
Foundation Vents Benchmark
Automatic Vinyl Framed Vents Customer
Advantage
Automatic foundation vents have dual screening to stop the penetration of
insects and others, is maintenance-free, and are virtually indestructible and
not impacted by weather or usage. Additionally, the vents are “programmed” to
automatically open and close according to temperatures.
Carpet Benchmark
Usage of 55 oz. upgraded carpet with 6 lb. l/2” rebound padding Customer
Advantage
Upgraded carpet/padding as a standard to the buyers
Sub floor Sealer Benchmark
Use of Thompson’s Wood sealer on all sub floors. Customer
Advantage
The sealer prevents the sub floor from deterioration when exposed to water. In
addition, the sealer prevents typical construction
dust from penetrating the plywood. This dust can again be very significant to
allergy sufferers.
Shower Scald Valves Benchmark
Installation of shower scald valves that prevents a surge of hot scalding water
from burning a home owner when a toilet is
flushed in the home. This item is not only a comfort value, it is also an
important safety issue with small children or the elderly.
Insulation Benchmark
Insulate attic to a value of R40 (blown areas)/wall insulation at a Rl5 value
Customer
Advantage
Upgrading the attic insulation to R40 (the North Carolina building code
requirement is R30) and walls to R15 provides a home the extra insulation to
minimize utility costs and maintain family comfort. Additionally, since the
majority of the solar gain in the summer months and heat loss in the winter
months occurs in the attic of a home, a well insulated attic also increases the
life of your mechanical equipment (heater/air conditioner).
Exterior Wall Sheathing Benchmark
Usage of 7/1 6” OSB (oriented strand board) sheathing on all exterior walls.
Customer
Advantage
The usage of OSB sheathing is threefold. First, OSB has significantly greater
resistance to “racking”in comparison to other
products used for exterior sheathing. “Racking” is the pressures placed against
a home’s walls to twist, wrap, lean due to forces of the wind, snow loads,
material weight. Typically, most homes in this area are sheathed with
polystyrene or fiber boards and use internally placed 1x4” lumber to give the
home structural stability. Although this method meets NC building Codes, there
are engineering reports from other parts of the country that indicate that 1x4”
pine lumber is not the preferred method to give a home structural resistance to
“racking”. Secondly, OSB provides a superior subsurface to apply exterior
sidings upon vs. polystyrene or fiber boards. Finally, solid sheathing is an
excellent air barrier to reduce air infiltration.
Exterior Siding Benchmark
Maintenance-free exterior. If siding is used, CertainTeed .042 premium vinyl
siding is installed. This type of siding has a limited lifetime, transferable
warranty on all vinyl siding products. Boxing details are capped in aluminum
coil stock. Customer
Advantage
A maintenance-free exterior eliminates the future need to paint/sand/prime a
home’s exterior/boxing every 3 to 4 years.. It also eliminates the real
potential of moisture damage to the home’s exterior.
Windows Benchmark
Simonton Windows. This window is a totally maintenance-free product with an
excellent warranty on the product The window is a double hung, tilt sash model
that makes cleaning effortless, has dual night time security locks, and includes
hard coat low e with argon gas....a proprietary window application that cuts
ultraviolet ray penetration of a home by 83%...faded carpets and window
treatments are a thing of the past. This window literally bounces heat away from
the windows in the summer months and bounces the homes interior warmth back into
the home in the winter. Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Simonton
windows have been voted the top window by custom home builders for the past two
years. Customer
Advantage
No painting, no sticking, no rotting, no maintenance windows that are available
in a host of architectural shapes and sizes. Lower utility bills... greater
personal comfort. A window from the oldest and largest manufacturer of
maintenance-free windows in the country with the industry's best warranty.
Roof Benchmark
Usage of CertainTeed’s self-sealing membrane in all valleys of a roof system. Customer
Advantage
The overwhelming number of leaks in a home's roof occurs in the valleys
of the roof system. The valleys channel two or more roof surface’s water to the
gutters. A self-sealing membrane applied to a new home’s valleys before the
roofing is applied, will prevent any seepage in the valleys in cases of extreme
rain volume or debris collecting in the valleys.
Clothes Drier Vent Benchmark
Use of recessed 22 ga aluminized steel drier vent box (The Dryerbox.com). A
safer home and more efficient clothes drier. Customer
Advantage
Clothes drier vent hoses are a leading source of fire in modern home homes. Why? The
method most commonly used in construction requires the customer to attach the
drier hose with a number of restrictions and bends...the source for heat
restriction, lint clogging and fire!
Interior Trim Caulking Benchmark
Use of Sashco’s "Big Stretch” caulking on all interior crown and base board
moldings. Big Stretch is the only caulking that will flex up to 1/4” without
breaking. Customer
Advantage
In winter months when the interior home air is dry due to heating, moldings
typically shrink leaving gaps at joints and drywall areas. Big Stretch will flex
to minimize this ugly problem and reoccurring problem.
Home Buyers Warranty www.2-l0.com Benchmark
Completed home is enrolled in the Home Buyers 2-10 Warranty program. This
program is backed the largest national home warranty insurer in the US. Customer
Advantage
The 2-10 program provides the home buyer a comprehensive 12 month warranty and
then a subsequent 12 month major systems warranty provided by the builder...thus
the “2” in the 2-10 program. At the completion of the 2 yr builder warranty, the
Home Buyers warranty begins in years 3 thru 10..thus the “10”. This portion of
warranty provides protection against qualified catastrophic structural loss.
Most custom home builders only provide the 12 month warranty required by NC
law.
Exterior Wall House Wrap www.tyvecconstmction.com Benchmark
Cover all exterior walls with Tyvec house wrap. Customer
Advantage
Tyvec is a membrane that stops air infiltration while allowing the moisture that
normally accumulates in a home’s exterior walls
to travel through to the outside air. Tyvec makes a home more comfortable while
protecting the structure from moisture damage.
Subcontractor Selection
Benchmark
Selection of all subcontractors is based upon and in this order (1) a history of
successful experience in their discipline, (2) commitment to quality services,
customer satisfaction, and builder, (3) ability to be a strong team player. and
(4) cost. Customer
Advantage
While you may hear about the poor quality of workmanship in construction today,
it is sometimes hard to believe there are people in the building business that
still prioritize pride in the finished product above profit. Sure, quality
subcontractors cost more but the adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly
true in trade partner selections.
