Jones Pierce Studios is excited to announce our newest service offering for consultations. These are services we offered to clients for years as part of our project design and construction processes.
Today, more homeowners are contacting us with a need for standalone “fixes,” so we decided to fill this void. They appreciate our unique and holistic approach that comes from the diversity of our team. We have in-house architects, general contractors, building scientists and super-smart people who care about doing great work. They know how to get to the heart of the matter, offering a complete and considered diagnosis along with a plan of attack for a “fix” that’s just right for you.
Interested in learning more? Here are specific consideration areas where we can help you.
Renovate vs. Sell Analysis
The struggle often begins with the same thoughts: “We love our neighbors and our yard. This is where the kids grew up. It’s just familiar to us.” Still, clients tend to want to move as their need for space changes, either because their family is growing or as kids leave the house.
For growing families, the options are to add or reconfigure space to accommodate the new needs — for example, additional bedrooms, playrooms and systems of living spaces such as mudrooms to “welcome” muddy children into the home, work and learn-from-home spaces, etc.
For retire-in-place clients, we analyze how they can age in place while enjoying features of a new home, such as an improved master suite, better entertaining space or a resort-style back yard.
We can help you understand the potential and cost of both situations — to stay or move — so you make the best decision.
Due Diligence
You may have an idea in mind about what you want to fix. And that’s great. But there may be a conflict between what you want to do to your property and what is allowed by your municipality, historic district, homeowners’ association or your budget.
While thorough research of each area should be the first step of any construction project, it often isn’t. Whether we’re going to design and build your project or not, we make sure that what you want can and should be built.
On a recent project at Kennebec at Lake Martin, AL, we helped four clients understand the 65-page design guidelines that dictated house placement, size and construction materials. We helped make sure our clients could close with the confidence that their goals would work on the property.
Due diligence is part of our process, and it should be part of yours, too.
Design and Construction Forensics
The recent real-estate boom came with an unfortunate side effect: an all-time low in construction quality (at least, within the lifetime of our careers).
How does that play out? Often, it’s water infiltration — as vapor (humidity) or in bulk (stormwater). Here’s an example: a recent trend for infill developers is the use of modern boxes with flat roofs. Most will throw in a roof deck, bad flashing details, bad grading, inexpensive building materials that individually and combined make sure something will eventually leak. When this occurs, uncovering the source — or every source — can be very tricky. But our team has been very successful in dealing with these issues and can offer the report that your insurance company, lawyer or general contractor needs to correct the problem.
Every home’s nemesis is “uninvited” water, and we know how to show it the door.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
It’s very easy to ignore and defer home repairs. Our process helps you pay attention to what should be remembered, not ignored. Once we complete a design/build project, we offer clients an annual maintenance package with the intent of keeping the work “like-new” indefinitely. Through that effort, we have a checklist of items necessary to make that sort of claim possible.
We can also do a thorough inspection of your home, diagnose necessary repairs — and then offer a custom maintenance package to help your home remain almost ageless.
Preventative maintenance isn’t just for cars. Your home needs this type of TLC, too.
Maximizing Your Assets
To bring about in-town workforce housing, municipalities across the country, including in Atlanta (see item #10), are making it possible — even easy — to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or additional building on a home lot.
Whether it’s a garage, apartment for boomerang kids or your parents, rental property, separate home office, or in today’s world — a classroom — an ADU adds function and value to a home.
What’s been surprising to us is not seeing that many people take advantage of this new rule. We’re fans of the idea and are spreading the word! With current, super-low interest rates, our clients are able, on average, to refinance their home, add the accessory building to the note, and cover the additional cost with short- or long-term rentals — or enjoy more breathing room in a formerly congested home.
If the idea of a new, functional space has appeal, this is a perfect time to make your dream a reality. We can consult with you on how to add an accessory unit or guest house on your property.
Throw-in-the-Kitchen-Sink Questions
Have we inspired some ideas for your home? We hope so. If not, bring us your weird and wonderful questions and your hopes and dreams for your home. Do you want to be in the cool kids’ club with a killer dock or outdoor shower, living your best lake life? Do you want to introduce your indoors to your outdoors? What about getting a tax credit on your new pool pavilion outfitted with some solar panel bling?
If you thirst for change in your current home — or in one you hope to purchase — contact us for a Zoom call to get the consultation process started!