Plainly put, a stick-built home is a home built on your site with a wooden frame, board by board or “stick by stick”. It is the most traditional building method. Over other options, it offers a number of advantages, which is why it remains so popular. In fact, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 97% of new homes built in 2020 were stick-built, including a large majority in southwestern Virginia.

Features of a stick-built home

The defining feature of a stick-built home is that it is built from scratch on your lot, out of wood, using tried-and-true home building techniques. Typically, local craftsmen will frame the house by hand, as well as set in place such items as roof trusses, floor joists and beams. The entire building process takes place on site and you’re able to see your home take shape.

Why choose a stick-built home?

Customization: One of the biggest reasons people choose a stick-built or “site-built” home is the level of customization that is possible. You’re only limited by your budget. This allows you to work with your builder to design the exact home that you want. Whether you’re working with one of their plans or your own, just about everything can be customized, from the home’s layout and dimensions to each and every fixture. A good builder can guide you by providing you with pricing for the changes you wish to make and help you understand which sorts of changes drive cost the most or increase complexity of the build. An additional benefit is that some changes are even still possible during the home’s construction.

It’s true that modular homes can offer some flexibility, but the nature of them being prefabricated in an assembly line style, limits significantly the modifications that can be made.

Restrictive Covenants: Many developments require that new homes be stick built and have restrictive covenants in place that frequently prohibit modular homes. This is especially important if you think you’ll build in a development. For example, locally, Smith Mountain Lake has over a hundred different homeowner associations, many of them with rules specifying only stick-built homes. If you’re considering building on a lot covered by restrictive covenants, it’s important to clearly review them and understand fully what you can and cannot do.

Flexibility with cost: There is no denying that the cost to build a new home has increased, and inflation has created challenges for builders and customers alike. With a stick-built home, there are typically more ways to find cost savings, starting with the advantage of having an endless number of plans to choose from. As there are no pre-existing structural limitations as to what can be built, your builder can help you find, or even design, a plan that fits with your budget.

In conclusion

Stick-built homes can be customized exactly to fit your needs, offering significant flexibility in design and cost – major advantages over modular homes. Being able to stretch your dollars as far as possible is always crucial, but perhaps even more so today. They can also be built anywhere, regardless of HOA restrictive covenants. These are big reasons why stick-built homes are by far the most common choice in southwestern Virginia.

For more info or to set up a free consultation, please reach out at 434-266-1070 or fill out the short form on our Contact Us page, and we’ll get in touch.

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