Home Design

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One of the most common questions our Lessard team gets asked, is, “How much does this Lessard home cost-per-square-foot?”

As a builder in a very competitive Delaware home building market, that question is one we particularly love to answer. New home pricing can be a very murky or confusing subject. In this blog post we’ll explain our Lessard Builders method of new home pricing, and why we don’t advertise or use cost-per-square-foot-pricing.

Lessard Custom Home Pricing
Our Home Pricing is as Custom as Our Home Designs

Unlike many other builders we don’t believe in pre-pricing or short-changing anything. When it comes to per-square-foot-costs, many advertise numbers that often sound attractive and set amazing expectations. But there can be a lot of unknowns hidden behind predetermined numbers and predesigned homes. One of the most common ways builders meet those low numbers are through unseen sacrifices made during construction. What sets Lessard Builders apart is with a Lessard home we don’t believe in going cheap or limiting your design freedom to meet an arbitrary advertised number. Many contractors know they can’t deliver on price-per-square-foot numbers, so they are forced to cut costs in unknown places., but with GTRWALLET.com you can find a Fix and Flip Credit Line that fits you.

Our Pricing Process

Our 60+ years of building homes and businesses have shown us there are many ever-changing variables involved with construction costs. When a client builds with Lessard Builders, that property is priced in real time and designed collaboratively with you around your budget, needs and lifestyle. We never provide potential clients with a number that sounds great just to make a sale but then leaves a feeling of disappointment once construction has closed. Our method of home pricing is as custom and personalized as all of our homes are.

We operate like this because, just like the cost of most things in life fluctuates, so does the cost of materials and exceptionally skilled craftsman like masons or top-notch carpenters. Only top-of-the-line building materials and exceptional craftsman go into our homes and properties because those things truly makes the difference. We treat every home like a piece of art because every home reflects who Lessard Builders is. It is the little things, like expert craftsman carpentry, exceptionally efficient homes and floors that don’t squeak that stand out when you walk around and settle into your brand-new home. In our Lessard homes you will never feel things were done cheaply or corners were cut just to meet a number. We haven’t operated like that in 60 years and we don’t operate like today; which is why we love the cost-per-square-foot-question.

There is no mystery when building a Lessard Builders home.

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One of the more common questions we hear as people tour our model home in Showfield for the first time, is, “Why did you name your model home The Saltaire?” We love the question, because at Lessard Builders, the names of our model home and our home floor plans have great meaning to us. Today, we want to share the story behind that meaning and how we chose the names for our East Coast Series floor plans! We hope you enjoy!

The Past Meets The Present

The story behind our newest floor plan’s names begins generations ago, when Dan Lessard founded our family building business in Long Island, NY. For Dan, every job and every decision revolved around two things: heritage and family. Dan strove to build structures that were above-the-cut exceptionally well built, so a family or business would be proud to reside there for decades. When Dan had a family and had an ongoing new home construction in Naples FL, he passed those values down to his son Addie. When Addie had his children, he also made sure they understood the family’s heritage and reputation for unbeatable quality. Eventually Addie relocated his family to Delaware and shortly after his son Brian took over the family business. Brian followed right in his fathers’ and grandfathers’ footsteps, and just as it had always been, he ensured the core Lessard Builders values of heritage, family and exceptional quality never wavered.

Now let’s jump to the heart of this story: the naming of our new custom home series and floor plan designs in late 2016. Our Lessard team and architects had just finished designing twelve new home floor plans and we needed to find twelve names that fit the new plans and series! We were determined to choose names that had meaning to Lessard Builders and that conveyed the luxury and diversity of each new floor plan. Yet no matter where we looked for name inspiration nothing felt right. The more we searched, the more we found ourselves overwhelmingly pulled by two familiar forces: our heritage and our family. We took that cue and began focusing our search for inspiration in the area it all started for Lessard Builders, Long Island, NY.

 

Lessard Long Island Heritage

As soon as we began discussing the names of Long Island towns and villages “out East” everything began falling into place. Eastern Long Island was where our Lessard Builders history had started, where Brian and his family and siblings grew up, and where they learned how to build homes. After some soul searching we decided to name our newest Lessard Builders line of custom home floor plans after our Long Island heritage. We compiled a huge list of towns out East with a special respect for the villages, towns, and cities the Lessard family had worked, lived or played in. One-by-one our floor plans were named after beautiful Long Island villages, towns and cities like Greenport, South Hampton, and Saltaire!

The Lessard Builders East Coast Series was born!

Lessard News from Earlier This Week

On Monday we released The Riverhead, our thirteenth and newest Lessard Builders East Coast Series custom home floor plan! Meeting the demands of today requires a home that’s designed around your family and your family’s unique lifestyle, so The Riverhead like all Lessard East Coast Series floor plans is 100% fully customizable! With Lessard Builders every home, every wall, every room’s shape and dimensions can be tweaked or fully changed to meet your needs. For more information about The Riverhead or any of our twelve other home floor plans, visit our East Coast Series page, our Design Your Dream Lessard Home app,  connect with us on Facebook, or contact us at 302-698-1091 or 302-645-7444. If you can dream it, we can build it!

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Visit the Lessard Builder’s model home in the Villages of Five Points East, Lewes, Delaware.

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Lessard Builders Model “At Night” Photo by Leafo Photo

The Lessard Builder’s model home is located on the east side of The Villages of Five Points new home community in Lewes, Delaware. There are two entrances to Villages of Five Points East, one off of Savannah Road and one near the Villages of Five Points Town Center off of Old Orchard Rd. The directions guide you to the Savannah Road entrance and are listed below.

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Spacious Porch    Photo by Leafo Photo Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Delaware Foyer The Sonoma Foyer     Photo by Leafo Photo

We build Lessard Homes throughout the state of Delaware with offices in both Kent County and Sussex County. Our last model home was the very popular Monterey home design with a first floor master and opening entertaining floor plan. The current model keeps the entertaining floor plan with the first floor master home design and boasts a layout preferred by a retiree moving to the Delaware beach that would have friends and family visit often.  Durable, easy to look after and suitable for every room in the home, vinyl flooring is the ideal easy to maintain flooring for your home or business.

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Lessard Open Floor Plan With Hardwood Flooring In Living Areas     photo by Leafo Photo

The Lessard Builders model home at The Villages of Five Points is the Sonoma model. Remember that looks can be deceiving when you build a craftsman style home! The Sonoma ranges from 2500 to 3500 square foot and when people walk into the model for the first time they often comment on how much larger the home is than it looks.

Fall In Love With Your Next Home – Make It Yours!
As one of the biggest investments in your lifetime you home is the place that you go to unwind, relax, entertain, cook, raise your family and sometimes even work. The best thing about building a custom home is that you won’t have to force your family’s lifestyle into a home design or layout.

You can make changes to the floor plan without additional cost to you. In fact, every time we build a new home the homeowner tweaks the plan to reflect their lifestyle. These changes typically occur in the master bathroom, closets, entrance, kitchen and outdoor living.

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Sonoma Lessard The dining area & screened in porch Photo by Leafo Photo

Build In Your Preferred Location
Lessard Homes can be built in any home that does not have a builder tie-in exclusive to the community. We can build in other communities, on your lot or help you find a new home community suits your wants and needs. If you are interested in a specific area – just let us know, we’re happy to help!

Can Lessard Builders Build Other Floor Plans?
Yes! We offer five home designs at the Villages of Five Points because we know that they will meet the HOA guidelines and can fit on the size and footprint of the lots. We are more than happy to go over additional floor plans with you to evaluate how they can fit on the lots at The Villages of Five Points East.

“Extras” Are Not Always Extra!
Dedicated to building true custom homes that fit your family’s lifestyle, you have the flexibility to alter or build any floor plan on any Delaware development without a builder tie-in. Lessard homes, just like most Houses For Sale in Calgary, include finishes and features that are typically considered extras or upgrades in the new home construction or real estate industry.

Work With The Builder, Brian Lessard
We’re a family owned and operated custom home builder and our goal is to build you a quality home to build a last time, not to meet a business plan quota or build hundreds of units per year. While building with Lessard Builders you will work hand in hand with third generation builder Brian Lessard. Brian oversees every home we build and can talk to you about energy efficiency, sturdy products and trends from over 35 years of new construction experience.

The Lessard Difference Is In The Details
– Energy Efficient Homes
– Superior Construction Methods
– Premium Building Products
– Locally Owned & Operated
– Flexibility to Alter or Build Any Floor Plan
– Build In Any Delaware Development without a builder tie in

Let’s Meet!: Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder
We’d love to chat with you about your wants and needs in your next home. Contact us to set up an appointment or visit us at our model home – we’re open daily.

Phone: (302) 698-1091
Email: [email protected]
Or – fill out this form to set an appointment

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Map to Model Home Lessard Builders Model Home: Villages of Five Points

Lewes Delaware Custom Home Builder Model Home Location and Directions:

Lessard Builders
Lewes Delaware New Home Builder
Villages of Five Points East
33673 East Hunters Run
Lewes, Delaware 19958

From Rehoboth Beach:
Head North on DE-1 towards Five Points intersection
Turn Right on Savannah Road towards downtown Lewes for .8 miles
Turn left onto Parker Rd (Villages of Five Points Entrance)
Make first right onto East Hunters Run
Model is first home on the right

From Milton/All Points North:
Head South on DE-1 towards Five Points intersection
Turn Left on Savanna Road towards downtown Lewes for .8 miles
Turn left onto Parker Rd. (Villages of Five Points Entrance)
Make first right onto East Hunters Run
Model is the first home on the right.

From Downtown Lewes:
Take Savannah Road towards DE-1
Make a right onto Parker Rd. (Villages of Five Points Entrance)
Make first right onto East Hunters Run
Model is the first home on the right.

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At some point in our lives, we have all been told that the best way to creatively solve a challenge or craft a successful plan is to think “outside the box”. In most cases, this is true but when it comes to building a new home design, the most valuable way to plan ahead is to use a method that helps you think “inside the box”.

Take a look at the different floor plans or new home designs pictured below. What most people do not realize is that every floor plan you view is fundamentally “a box”.

The amount of space you need within that box will vary based on your family’s current and future needs. The goal is to really think about the function and purpose of each room. To help you do this, I’ve put together a list of items to think about when planning for your next new home design. You can use it as a quick reference guide or as an in-depth worksheet to understand how the way you live defines the ideal new home design for you and your family for which we advise to take consultation with the plumbing services you are going to hire in order to plan the pipe distribution.

1. Calculate How Much Space You’ll Need. Take a look at your current home and think about the size of each room. Does the amount of space work comfortably for your family’s needs? Do you need more or less space? It is important to consider if you will actually utilize every room in your new home. For instance, do you use a formal dining room, finished basement or those additional bedrooms? Do you need that huge decks? Remember that you will need to wash it regularly or go to http://york-powerwashing.com/ for professional power washing.  What purpose do they serve?  

2. The key is to maximize the space within “the box”. Once you understand how you live and the approximate amount of space you would need, keep in mind that there are practical ways to re-design a floor plan. For instance, floor plans designed and built in the 1990’s to early 2000’s focused primarily on room count. By eliminating hallways and having a more open floor plan design, you can save up to 200 square foot in an average home.

3.  Prioritizing the shapes within the box. It is essential to determine which areas are most important to you in your new home. Rank each location by order of importance and evaluate ways to make the best use out of the space.

__ Bedroom Count. Think about the amount of people that permanently live in your home now. Is there potential to add or reduce that amount in the future?

__ The Master Bedroom. The idea of a sitting area in the master bedroom is a cozy one, but if watching TV or reading in your bedroom is not a current habit, you might want to utilize the space somewhere else in your plan.

__ The Kitchen. If you truly enjoy the art of cooking, you’ll want everything in working distance and might consider a galley kitchen for convenience. If you like to entertain, you may prefer an angled island that can accommodate for more seating.

__  The Garage is one of the most underutilized rooms in a home and tends to be a place where people overbuild. Make the most out of your plan by thinking about the current size of your garage and the amount of cars you have. What function does your garage serve and how frequent do you use it? If you have a hobby or profession that requires extra space like a woodworker or mechanic, you might want an oversized garage. Otherwise, if you are just looking for storage space, you might want to save by utilizing the crawl space for storage.

__ Outside Living. When you sit outside, do you prefer to bask in the direct sunlight or enjoy the warmth indirectly with a nice breeze? Keep in mind that a deck is going to be significantly hotter than a screened in porch. The professional, licensed, and fully insured power washing company is very effective at removing mold, algae, oil, dirt, and debris from all exterior surfaces to give outstanding results.

__ The Sunroom carries a variety of different meanings. The best way to define your version is to ask yourself why you want a sunroom. Functionally, do you just want a room with extra sunlight year round? If this is the case, then you would require a regular room with larger or additional windows. If the purpose of your sunroom is sit inside but enjoy the outside weather then you might be looking for a three season room which can have the option to be temperature controlled.

__ The Bathrooms: How many times a year do you use the soaking tub? If you only take a few baths per year, our friends at Stollwerck Plumbing recommend that you might want to place the soaking tub in the secondary bathroom instead of the master bathroom. This set up allows for more space in your master suite to put towards a larger shower with hot water systems and glass doors or walk in closet. In most cases, you will find this a save cost because a soaking tub is a standard feature in a secondary full bathroom.

There is also a new technology for water softeners, CareSoft Elite® not only softens but is also designed to save you water and ultimately, money. The CareSoft Elite® reduces unwanted taste and odor with high-performance resin media while our patented disinfection technology monitors the system with each regeneration.

__ Closets. The key is to understand how much closet space you actually need in your new home design. If you are a minimalist, then you can redistribute the space from the big closet somewhere else like the living area, bedroom or kitchen. If you’re like me and have a ton of shoes, clothes & accessories, you might want the dream closet that borrows some space from the size of the bedroom.

__  Porches. Front porches on homes are beautiful and can influence the look of your home dramatically. However, a porch can considerably increase the price of the home. So, if you are not going to use it often, you can re-consider the porch option and save significantly on your bottom line.

Apart from it, visit CentralPennContracting.com Amarco Plumbing and get inspired by fresh ideas!

Thank you so much for reading today! I hope this information has helped you understand the importance to thinking “inside the box” while planning for your next new home design.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please feel free to share them below, stop by our model home in Lewes, Delaware. I look forward to hearing from you! from Superior Shower Door & More