My Bielinski Home Building Experience, Pt. 4

By Paul Bielinski

I’m building a new Bielinski home! And if that isn’t exciting enough, you all get to follow along. In this five-part series I’ll share what that process looks like. This month we’re on to construction!

What can the customer expect when it comes to building with Bielinski?

This is my second home that I’ve built through our company so I know I’m getting the same great service that every Bielinski customer gets, thoughtful design paired with the best standards and materials.

Here are some of the above-and-beyond standards Bielinski adheres to:

• Formed drain systems at the footings
• Both horizontal and vertical rebar in the foundations
• Spray foam insulation at the joist skirt
• I-joist flooring system spaced 16” on center
• Adhere OSB decking to the floor system using both screws and glue
• 2” x 6” wall studs spaced 16” on center
• OSB sheathing at the walls on the house and garage

Some builders will use a few of these standards, but not all of them, and a lot of them will use inferior standards instead, like:

• Use of corrugated drain tile that kinks and cracks at the footing
• Either horizontal or vertical rebar in the foundation but not both
• Batt insulation at the joist skirt allowing air and bug infiltration
• Dimensional lumber for the flooring system spaced up to 24” on center
• OSB decking only screwed or nailed to the floor system and not glued causing squeaks
• 2” x 4” wall studs spaced up to 24” on center
• Foam sheathing at the walls

Adhering to mediocre standards leads to building mediocre houses, and I didn’t want to live in a mediocre house. At Bielinski, we hold ourselves to a higher standard, and it shows in the homes we build.

How much was I involved in this process as a customer, not a CEO?

Recently, we created a new system where our construction managers contact the customers at least once per week to inform the customer of their new home’s construction status. Previously, we let the customer determine how often they want to be contacted, but we realized that sometimes things would fall through the cracks. Once a week is now the minimum, and customers are free to contact us or have construction managers contact them whenever they want.

Since all the decisions pertaining to construction were made in previous steps of the building process, these calls are more about keeping the customer aware of how their home is progressing than making decisions.

What sort of things can come up in the construction process?

At this point you should expect things to go as planned. However, mishaps can happen. You’ve got to remember that this is a process and not a product. Maybe a product is discontinued by the time it’s supposed to be ordered and installed and a new selection needs to be made. My advice, remember these two things:

1. Building your home involves a lot of moving parts. There are literally hundreds of hands involved in the construction of your new home. Things are bound to happen that might not have been a part of the plan.
2. There is nothing that can’t be fixed.

Our job is to make sure the construction process goes as smoothly as possible. During my home’s construction I would visit the site once a week to check up on the progress in person, which I highly recommend. Being there physically allows you to understand exactly how your new home is being built, and any hiccups along the way won’t stress you out as much.

Keep your eye out for more pictures on our Instagram, and if you missed the first three parts, check them out here: part one, part two, part three.