Month: August 2013

Your home, your castle.  If you live in an extreme weather zone, how do you protect yourself from the weather?  How do you protect the citizenry from the potential weather?  Is the answer Government mandates for safe construction?  Or is the answer market driven?  In the wake of the weather disaster(s) in Oklahoma, the debate heats up.

Since in south central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, York, Lancaster) we are not in a high wind (tornado or hurricane) zone, our new home construction building codes do not need to be concerned about extreme weather.  But it does bring to mind another issue, that of man caused home disaster.  In some areas, there is concern about fire and personal security in our castles.  And there is a solution, providing home security by construction of a “safe” room in your new house.  A safe room is used for personal safety in times of emergency, as well as for fire protection of valuables.  The room is constructed of reinforced concrete, with a vault door.             Fort Knox sales a vault door, we build the safe room, and they bring the door out and install it.  In talking to the Fort Knox dealer about a current project, they have also been supplying them for safe rooms that are being built in existing homes.  While installation during construction in a new home is more convenient; if there is access to the existing basement, installation as a remodel project can be economically completed by the Wheatland Custom Homes and Remodeling team.  For more information, contact Rick@WheatlandHomes.com

Conventional wisdom is usually correct, you need to realize that it became conventional because after all, it worked in the past.  But although conventional thinking usually eliminates mistakes, it also prevents the “outside the lines” thinking that is necessary for truly GREAT ideas.

Let’s look at an example:  Wheatland Custom Homes and Remodeling was asked to design a home on a corner lot with building envelope and slope challenges.  There is the existing street on the narrow side, new street on the wide side.  The lot slopes the wrong way, because of the building envelope and storm water inlet, the garage needs to go on the low side.  And it is an infill lot between newer homes and older classic style homes.

Conventional wisdom says that the house needs to be part of the new home community, with the front door facing the new street.  And design some kind of basement garage, a bilevel would be perfect!  But really, a bilevel?  This is 2013, not 1970.  Hold on, this is about custom home designing, so why must the front door face the wide side of the lot, why can’t it face the narrow side, the existing street?  Why can’t the new house imitate the character of the existing classic homes?  The driveway will enter off the new street, with the garage dropping a couple steps to follow the grade. And since a couple more steps would be helpful, let’s design a stepped down family room between the house and garage.  Wow, this might just work!!  And oh yeah, the cost is critical.  How about the total package of $235,000?  Might just work in Susquehanna Township!

For creative solutions to your home building or remodeling needs in south central Pennsylvania, contact  rick@WheatlandHomes.com