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#4: Ease-of-Maintenance – The relative time constraints of today’s family unit is at an all-time high. Many families now include two full-time working parents, additional outside work commitments, professional commitments, family commitments, and 2.5 children of varying ages. Time is a extremely precious commodity for which home maintenance is ranked right below doing your taxes and going to the dentist for a root canal.
Today’s homeowners want a home that is, not only, aesthetically pleasing and functional, but also includes modern building materials and design features that utilize the most current research developments and minimize the amount of maintenance (i.e. cleaning, painting, replacing, etc) needed over time.
One example of these type low-maintenance building materials is hardy board, which is a type of exterior covering similar, in look, to wood siding but made from an extremely durable concrete base. Hardy board/plank is the trade name for one brand of concrete fiber siding, however there are numerous other similar brands.
The product does not rot or deteriorate, and with proper installation and maintenance, appears to last for very long periods of time without deterioration. Additionally, the hardy board siding does need to be painted or re-finished, as any dirt, etc. can simply be washed away with minimal effort.
These type products can help to improve the quality of life of the home owners by minimizing the time and related costs associated with maintaining a home.
The floorplan trends and “most-requested features” listed in this article convey the general interests of today’s current stock house plan purchasers. It should be noted that certain parts of the country will include construction practices / demographic profiles / disparate geographical characteristics which is in stark contrast to those same characteristics evident in a different part of the United States.
In these instances, you can be assured that a designer has already developed a stock home plan design to fit your needs. A design that provides an excellent value, all the features, and a lower price than that of a fully-custom set of houseplans.
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Be sure to read Parts I and II of this article at the following locations:
Part I and
Part II
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About the Author
Mark Mathis is a building designer and publisher of several stock house plan websites and informational resources including
www.HousePlanCentral.com. Be sure to subscribe to the site's eNewsletter to receive special offers, promotions, and subscriber-only features.
Written by: Mark Mathis
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