Building know-how, from the field.
Expert tips, trends, and honest advice for building a custom home in North Georgia.
When to Break Ground in North Georgia: Working Backward From Your Move-In Date
Most people ask how long building takes. The better question is when to start. Here's how to count backward from the date you want to be moved in.
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Builder Markup on Custom Homes: What’s Fair in North Georgia?
What does a custom home builder’s fee really cover? A straight answer on cost-plus vs. fixed price, fair markup ranges, and why the cheapest bid rarely is.
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Walkout Basement Homes: Doubling Your Living Space on a North Georgia Lot
A finished walkout basement can add a whole second living level — in-law suite, media room, or rental — for less per square foot than the space upstairs.
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How to Choose a Custom Home Builder — Cherokee Tribune Feature
We were recently featured in the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News — one of North Georgia's most trusted local publications — and we couldn't be more proud.
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Why Atlanta Families Are Moving to North Georgia
Remote work broke the commute anchor. A podcast episode on who is leaving Atlanta for Canton, Jasper, and Ellijay, and why so many build instead of buy.
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Featured in the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News
The Cherokee Tribune profiled our family-owned custom home business in April 2026: founded in Canton in 2005, 250+ homes, and what custom really means.
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Our Pre-Construction Process: What Happens Before a Single Board Goes Up
Most people think building a custom home starts when the foundation gets poured. The truth? The most important work happens long before that.
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10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Custom Home Builder
Choosing a custom home builder is one of the most important decisions you'll make in the entire building process.
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Building on a Sloped Lot in North Georgia
Past 15% grade, site prep alone can run $20,000–$60,000 or more. Slope tiers, walkout vs. stepped vs. pier foundations, and what hillside site work costs.
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How To Choose The Perfect Lot in North Georgia
Choosing a lot for your custom home in Georgia is one of the most consequential decisions you'll make — and it comes before you've drawn a single floor plan.
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How Not to Get Ripped Off by a Builder
Never pay more than 10% upfront, get three bids, and hire your own inspector before drywall. Twelve ways to protect yourself when hiring a builder.
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What to Expect When Building a Custom Home in North Georgia
From first consultation to final walkthrough, the eight steps of a North Georgia custom home build: land, design, permitting, framing, and finishes.
Read article → Why Builder Estimates Vary
A $625,000 bid is not $225,000 cheaper than an $850,000 one if it leaves out $150,000 of work. Why custom home builder estimates vary, and what to ask.
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Top 5 Kitchen Trends for 2026: The Shift to "Warm Functionality"
The all-white kitchen is over. White oak and walnut cabinets, furniture-style islands, panel-ready appliances, and honed counters lead the 2026 trends.
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Sub-Zero Temperatures
Disconnect the garden hose, drip the farthest faucet, and open sink cabinets on exterior walls. A builder’s checklist for pipes, ice dams, and furnaces.
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Smart Home Technology for Rural Properties in North Georgia
Starlink with cellular failover, a 26 kW propane generator plus battery storage, and security cameras: the smart home setup in 38 rural North Georgia homes.
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Custom Home Features That Maximize North Georgia’s Outdoor Living
Wraparound porches, outdoor kitchens, and floor-to-ceiling windows: how to design a custom home around North Georgia’s mountain and lake views.
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Design-Build vs. Traditional Building: Which is Right for You?
Multi-level decks for sloped lots, low-E glass, local stone, and a design-build approach that keeps a North Georgia custom home on budget.
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How Long Does Building A Custom Home Really Take?
10 to 14 months from permit to keys, plus 2 to 4 months for design and permitting before that. A month-by-month look at a custom home build in North Georgia.
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Why Design & Build?
An online plan fits about 80% of your needs. Design with the builder who will build it: 3D walkthroughs before ground breaks, fewer costly site surprises.
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Designing for Different Seasons
When building a custom home in North Georgia, one of the most important things to plan for is our region's four distinct seasons of weather.
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Roofing Systems
ZIP roofing replaces separate sheathing, underlayment, and weatherproofing with one sealed panel. What that means for leaks, energy bills, and labor costs.
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Strategies for Energy-Efficient New Home Constructions
Ten strategies for an energy-efficient new home, from orientation and passive solar design to high-SEER HVAC, ENERGY STAR appliances, and a sealed envelope.
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Erosion
Georgia's heavy rains can wash out slopes and undermine foundations. How grading, French drains, retaining walls, and rain gardens keep erosion at bay.
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All About Foundations
Slab costs least, a crawl space gives easier access to plumbing and HVAC, and a basement adds living space at a higher cost. How the three compare.
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Christmas in North Georgia
Looking for holiday lights in North Georgia? Dahlonega’s Old-Fashioned Christmas, Helen’s Christkindlmarkt, Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights, and more.
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Personalization and Control
Build or buy? Five advantages a new custom home has over an existing one, from choosing every finish and fixture to picking the piece of land it sits on.
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Fall Activities
Fall in Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer, and Dawson counties: apple orchards in Gilmer, Burt’s Farm pumpkins, Amicalola Falls foliage, and each county’s festival.
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Storm Preparedness
Eight ways to get your home ready for strong winds and heavy rain, from storm shutters and clean gutters to bracing the garage door and an emergency kit.
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Explore - Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer Counties
Blankets Creek trails, 729-foot Amicalola Falls, Cartecay River tubing and Sharp Mountain Vineyards — a local guide to Cherokee, Pickens and Gilmer counties.
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Modern Farmhouses
The trend of farmhouse home design has gained popularity in recent years — blending rustic warmth with clean, modern simplicity.
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Modern/Contemporary Home Design
Clean lines, open space, and a restrained palette. What defines modern and contemporary home design, and how it translates to a custom build in North Georgia.
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Choosing A Custom Home Builder
Ask for references, confirm licensing and insurance, and insist on a detailed written estimate. Six things to check before hiring a custom home builder.
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Creating Your Dream Kitchen
Start with the work triangle — sink, stove, and refrigerator — then layer in storage, lighting, and color. The four choices that make a custom kitchen work.
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2023 Pantone Color Of The Year
Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2023 is Viva Magenta. A color rooted in nature, it’s meant to signal strength, joy, and new beginnings.
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2022 Reviews Round Up
Customer reviews from 2022, gathered from Google, Houzz, and Facebook — homes finished ahead of schedule, sturdy framing, and a team that stayed reachable.
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Houzz
Precision’s seventh Best of Houzz Service award, five stars across 35-plus client reviews by the end of 2022, and what three of those clients said.
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Freezing Temperatures
Keep the house near 65 degrees, let faucets drip when it hits the teens, and know where your main shutoff is. A checklist for North Georgia hard freezes.
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Dawson County
Amicalola Falls, Burt’s Farm, and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame top Dawson County’s must-see list, from 600 steps up the falls to $12 museum tickets.
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Moving Tips for Saving Money
Use packing materials you already have Whether you’re moving across the country or just across town, moving can get expensive.
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Free Consults
What will it cost, and can you build on that land? A free consult, ballpark estimate, and site visit during due diligence answer those first.
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Custom Lighting
Light fixture ideas from recent Precision homes: entryway chandeliers, geometric statement pieces, recessed kitchen lighting, and lights over the island.
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Smart Home Technology: Options for Your New Home
Smart home tech has had time to drop in price and improve. Here are the options worth wiring into a new custom home — lighting, locks, climate and security.
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Best Websites for Energy Efficient Home Information
Where to read up on energy-efficient homes: Georgia Power’s savings programs, Conserve Energy Future, Green Home Guide, and our own 23-tip infographic.
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Organize Your Dream Kitchen
The kitchen pantry often ends up being a cluttered catch-all for dry goods, cleaning supplies, and overflow kitchen tools.
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Unmatched Quality and Attention
How our quality assurance program works, and why attention to detail during the build decides whether a home still feels solid twenty years later.
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Spring Cleaning
With spring just around the corner, it’s a great time to get a head start on cleaning and maintenance projects for your home.
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New 3D Home Tour
Eight full 3D home tours were live as of early 2022, including a new mountain home in Jasper. How to walk through, switch views, and measure a room on screen.
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A Look at 2021
A fifth straight Best of Houzz Service award, seven new photo galleries, drone and 3D home tours, and 24 blog posts: our 2021 year in review.
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Reasons to Build a New Home
Building a new home often costs about the same as buying one. Add lower maintenance, better materials, and safer codes, and the decision gets easier.
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Video Of Our Homes
Video tours of a Lake Arrowhead lake house, a Canton farmhouse with a pool, and homes in Alpharetta and Marietta, plus links to our YouTube channel.
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Customer Reviews
Honest communication, a spec sheet with costs broken out line by line, and a farmhouse finished despite COVID delays: customer reviews from 2020 and 2021.
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Should I Build A New Home Right Now?
Our 2021 case for starting a custom home: buildable land was getting scarce, interest rates were low, and pandemic-delayed demand could pick back up.
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Commuting from North Georgia to Atlanta
Cherokee is 35 to 55 minutes to downtown Atlanta, Bartow as little as 35, Pickens just under an hour. Commute times from six North Georgia counties.
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Georgia's 5 Best State Parks
Georgia has it all: the Appalachian Mountains, stunning waterfalls, the Little Grand Canyon, natural wonders, historic sites, breathtaking views.
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Building Process: Getting Started
Set a budget, find a lot, get a survey, check utilities, then choose house plans — designing with Precision takes about 4 to 6 weeks.
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Best Restaurants in Pickens
Seven restaurants Yelp diners rated best in and around Pickens County in 2021, from Old Mulehouse and 61 Main in Jasper to Bigun’s in Talking Rock.
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Where We Build
The North Georgia counties and towns we build in — Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer and Dawson — and what draws families to each of our main service areas.
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Tour Our Homes
Want to see what a Precision custom home really looks like before you build? Drone videos, 3D walkthroughs, room galleries, and plans with finished photos.
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Parks for Kids in Gordon County
Looking for a good playground near Gordon County? Four family favorites, from the Blue Ridge Playground to Cooper’s Furnace Park below Allatoona Dam.
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Top 10 Restaurants in Cartersville
Ate Track’s 70s-themed grill, Maine Street Coastal Cuisine, and Ross’s Diner: Cartersville’s ten top-rated restaurants on TripAdvisor as of 2021.
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Dawson County Attractions
Thinking about building in Dawson County? A local guide to Amicalola Falls, Amicalola River rafting, Lake Lanier, Burt’s Farm and the Racing Hall of Fame.
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Gilmer County
Five outdoor spots in and around Gilmer County, in visitors’ own words: Fall Branch Falls, Fort Mountain, Amicalola Falls, Red Clay, and Poole’s Mill Park.
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Gordon County
Under 60,000 people, easy reach of both Atlanta and Chattanooga, and Georgia’s first Apple Distinguished Public School. Why Gordon County suits a new home.
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Bartow County
Just 45 miles north of Atlanta is Bartow County, a beautiful area nestled in the Appalachian Mountains and rolling foothills.
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Cartersville's Best Attractions
The five best parks and nature attractions in Cartersville, Georgia, from the Etowah Indian Mounds to Red Top Mountain — worth knowing before you build here.
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Cherokee's Best Restaurants
With different dining options like outdoor seating, pick up, and drive through, here are some of Cherokee County’s best restaurants according to Yelp.
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2020 Reviews Another Great Year
Another year building in North Georgia, and another year of grateful customers. A look back at what our homeowners said about working with Precision in 2020.
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Best Campgrounds in and near Pickens
Situated in beautiful North Georgia, living in or near Pickens County means you have several great camping options nearby!
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Free Services to Get You Started
Three free services before you commit: a site evaluation on your land, a ballpark estimate usually within plus or minus 5%, and a before-you-build consult.
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Bartow's 10 Best Restaurants
Appalachian Grill, City Cellar and Loft, Fire It Up BBQ and more — Bartow County’s ten top-rated restaurants in 2020, as ranked by Yelp customer reviews.
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Fall Home Maintenance
Clean the gutters, check the furnace, inspect the roof and chimney, drain spigots before a freeze: a fall checklist to get your custom home ready for winter.
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What We Offer
What sets Precision apart from other builders: in-house design that fits your lot, plans with more than 200 internal checks, and over 100 custom builds.
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Our Standards
What separates one custom home builder from another? 2x6 exterior walls, 6-inch seamless gutters, 5/8-inch roof decking — the standards we build to and why.
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Local Attractions - Cherokee County
New to Cherokee County and looking for things to do? Callahan Golf Links in Waleska, the historic Canton Theatre, and the Blankets Creek trails near Canton.
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Waleska Spotlight
Waleska sits at the north end of Cherokee County — Reinhardt University, Lake Arrowhead, good schools and scenic land. A quiet place to build a custom home.
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Cherokee County City Spotlight - Woodstock
Considering Woodstock, GA for your custom home? Its walkable downtown, the Greenprints Trail, family farms, top schools, and a 30-minute drive to Atlanta.
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Local Attractions Pickens County
In and around Pickens County: the 729-foot Amicalola Falls, the 1906 brick-and-marble old county jail, the Kirby-Quinton Cabin, and 220-acre Gibbs Gardens.
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Top 10 Cherokee Movers
A 2020 round-up of the ten best-rated movers serving Cherokee County, ranked by Yelp reviews, with what real customers said about each crew.
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4 Canton Parks You Need to See
Etowah River Park’s canoe launch, Heritage Park’s walking loops, the Cherokee County Aquatic Center, and downtown’s Cannon Park: a guide to Canton’s parks.
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Why Living in Cherokee County is Great for Kids
Some of Georgia’s safest cities, top schools, Heritage Park’s climbing mounds, and miles of Greenprints trails: what makes Cherokee County great for kids.
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6 Reasons Families are Moving to Cherokee County, GA
Highly rated schools, cheaper land than near Atlanta, walkable downtowns in Woodstock and Canton, and Etowah River Park. Why families pick Cherokee County.
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Lakehouse Lake Arrowhead
Two lakes, a golf course, and lakefront and lake view lots inside a gated community. Why Lake Arrowhead is the place to build a custom lake house.
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Frozen Pipes
Pipes exposed to 32 degrees and below can freeze, and southern homes are the least prepared for it. How to prevent frozen pipes, and what to do if one bursts.
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Save Money and Stay Warm
For most families, winter means higher heating bills. Here are 5 free or inexpensive ways to save money while staying warm this season.
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Build or Buy
Build custom and you choose the floor plan, the lot, and the materials — from a walk-in pantry to energy-efficient windows. The case for building over buying.
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Open Floor Plans
Fewer walls, kitchen, living, and dining flowing as one space, a home that feels bigger than it is. What an open floor plan means and why it’s here to stay.
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Relocation Guide to Cherokee
Thinking of relocating to Cherokee County or surrounding areas like Cobb, Bartow, or Pickens? What area will best fit your budget and home needs?
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New to Bartow
Moving to Bartow County? Here are the school system, county services and local resources worth bookmarking to make settling into your new community easier.
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Choosing Color for your Custom Home
Check an exterior color in full sun and full shade before you commit. A practical guide to a custom home palette for curb appeal, room mood, flow, and resale.
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Winter Construction
Cool, dry weather makes winter a strong time to break ground in Georgia: better working conditions, fewer rain delays, and a move-in when the yard is ready.
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Best Fall Trees for GA Landscaping
Eight trees for fall color in a Georgia yard: ginkgo’s yellow fans, sassafras with its licorice scent, sweetgum’s lasting red, and the classic redbud.
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New to Cherokee?
Just moved to Cherokee County, GA? Schools, the feel of Canton, Woodstock, Ball Ground and Waleska, hospitals, where to update your tag, and utilities.
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New to Pickens?
A newcomer’s guide to Pickens County, GA: the school district, Jasper’s restaurants and golf, Talking Rock’s antique shops, hospitals, and local utilities.
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Customer Service and Quality Custom Homes
Five customer reviews of Precision Homes, including a 33-year military veteran who’d built two homes before and says this one blew him away.
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Where to Build a Lake House in North Georgia (and How We Design Them)
A local guide to the North Georgia lakes you can build a lake house on, from Lake Arrowhead to Carters Lake, plus how we design and build custom lake homes.
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Georgia Landscaping Ideas
Plant bulbs for color every spring, add height with trees and shrubs, and pick natives like redbud and dogwood. Landscaping ideas for a North Georgia yard.
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Is It Time To Build Your Custom Home?
Build new, or keep searching the resale market? A few honest signs that it is time to stop looking at other people's houses and start designing your own.
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3 Tips To Increase Your Home Value
Even a custom home may be sold someday. Three ways to protect its resale value: sweat the details, invest in kitchens and baths, and keep up curb appeal.
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The importance of A Reliable Builder
You may have heard or read a horror story about someone whose builder won’t answer the phone, fell behind schedule, or abandoned a project altogether.
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Why Energy Efficient Homes Are The Future
An Energy Star HVAC system can cut heating and cooling costs by up to 30%, and 91% of buyers weigh a home’s rating. Why efficiency is where building is headed.
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High Tech Homes
We already use cutting edge technology in our computers, phones, watches, and cars, and now it’s heading into our homes.
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Benefits of a Local Builder
Local builder or big corporation? Three reasons a local custom home builder wins: area know-how, a reputation staked on the community, and returned calls.
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Cautionary Tale: Red Flags
A couple paid about $60,000 and got a cleared lot and a stop work order. The four red flags they missed, and how a fair builder should bill you.
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Cost-Plus Builders vs. Fixed Price Builders
On the same house, cost-plus can hit you with $46,000 in unexpected costs; fixed price leaves that at zero. Plus the one question to ask a cost-plus builder.
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