Garman Homes Blog

Garman Homes Blog

Garman Homes  //  We are a new home building company in the Triangle Area of North Carolina.

 
Jun 2 / 1:07am

Habitat Blitz - Calm Before the Storm

by Garman Homes

Our trade partners agreed that they would prefer to work hard on Saturday and leave Sunday for a day of rest. I thought they were crazy! After all, we only have six days to build this entire house — I couldn’t imagine leaving the house idle for an entire day! But I was wrong; it worked out.

Our only activity on Sunday was the electrical. Imperial Electric ran the wiring and they had the job site to themselves. They accomplished their work quickly and expertly and packed up. The home was ready for inspections on Monday morning!

On this quiet day, I want to take a moment and describe the benefits of the Advanced Energy Program that we are following on our Habitat for Humanity home. As the owner of Garman Homes, I have weighed the costs and benefits of such energy programs and, so far, we have not committed to taking the plunge. But, with this Habitat for Humanity home, I admit that I am now a believer.

Thanks to 10 to 12 key building techniques and materials defined by this program, Cesar’s home will have an electrical bill of less than $25 a month. That makes a BIG difference for him and his finances. Thank you to Chatham County Habitat for Humanity for teaching us about this powerful program.

-Jim Garman
jim@garman.net

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May 31 / 1:00am

Habitat Blitz - Wow! What a Great Start!

by Garman Homes
Today was unbelievable! I have never seen a group of people so fired up to build a home! This morning Allan’s Quality Construction arrived before 7 a.m. to begin laying out the walls and organizing the panels for a quick start. After a quick blessing and opening ceremony with the Chatham County Habitat for Humanity team, the house sprang to life! It was like watching time-lapse photography — within an hour all the exterior walls were erected and by lunch time they were swinging the roof trusses into place.

Weather Master HVAC was not scheduled to start until 2 p.m. but, rather than wait, they donned their hard hats and worked side by side with the framers installing duct work and vents. By the time the roof was complete at 1:30, the HVAC was done and Carnell’s Plumbing started their installation.We made a few trips to the store: caulking for windows, more nails, button caps for roofing paper. But, overall, everything came together beautifully.

And, best of all, everyone had a great attitude! Our Habitat for Humanity homeowner, Cesar, was in the midst of all the chaos helping to erect the signs, carrying materials and giving encouragement to the team. What a great day!

— Jim Garman
jim@garman.net

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May 31 / 12:45am

Garman Homes Gives it Back!

by Garman Homes

Garman Homes is thrilled to be a part of Home Builders Blitz 2008! I just met with our team this morning to check that all systems are go ... everyone answered with an enthusiastic, “yes!”

Allan's Quality Construction is sending an army of people to start laying out the walls at 6:30 a.m. this coming Saturday morning. Carnell's Plumbing and Weather Master HVAC will follow up at 2 p.m. that afternoon to knock out the rough-ins. Imperial Electric will jump in on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon we hope to hang sheetrock!

Once Cortes Construction wraps up the sanding, the Stock Building Supply Team will dive in with the cabinets and interior trim on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Coleman Floors will install the flooring and we will prepare the home for final inspections on Thursday.

In our world, building a home usually takes 75-90 days. To pull off a house in less than a week during Home Builders Blitz, everyone has turned their standard procedures upside-down. Thank you to our trade partners!

And thank you to Cesar and his family who will be purchasing this home. His hard work and enthusiasm during the preparation has been an inspiration to our whole team.

-Jim Garman
jim@garman.net

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Apr 16 / 12:29am

G-Team Crib: Pinehurst Edition

by Garman Homes

Welcome to the first in a series...G-Team Cribs: Pinehurst Edition! After countless requests to glimpse inside the home of a Garman Homes Rock Star, we got lucky! Kristi and her beautiful daugther Kailey took time out of their busy schedule to show us through their Garman Home in Amberly. Check it out!

Credits... Rock Stars: Kristi & Kailey. Camera & Editing: Emily LaDue.

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Apr 7 / 1:20am

Oak Hall Party - Great Idea!

by Garman Homes
Jim Garman, the G-Team, my family and I would like to say “Thank You!” for the wonderful experience that we had yesterday. The neighborhood party was held in our new home (well, we close in 3 weeks..); I must say that we were very surprised at how many folks actually showed up to welcome us to the Oak Hall neighborhood! It was nice to be able to meet them ahead of time and to know that this area is so warm and inviting and full of friendly people.

A little background… Our family of 5 has been renting a small place in Apex for 4 years now, and we had decided that it’s time to move into something a little more spacious. Our search included the Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and Holly Springs areas. All four towns have good reputations, and our choice to go with this Garman home in Oak Hall was based on several factors: sidewalks, a pool, good-sized yards, established greenery, friendly neighbors, lots of kids, physical proximity, etc. Two things that immediately caught our eye was that this house had an interestingly open floorplan, and that it’s fit and finish was well above-and-beyond what the other big-name builders are putting out. What we are getting in $$/sq. ft. is phenomenal; you could easily drive just 10 miles away and pay A LOT more for the same house (no joke, similar floorplans in Cary are ~$100k more!).


The Garman Homes team has been polite, accommodating, and eager to help. I should mention that this includes EVERY member of the team, from the sales crew to the construction crew. I have showed up randomly throughout the building process and have had conversations with many of the workers, all of whom were very willing to answer all of my questions, every time, and with a smile no less! A nice touch to know that the people building your house are happy with their job and will take ownership of their work.


…yes, I am all caught up in the excitement of buying a new home. … no, I don’t work for Garman and I don’t get anything for posting this blog. I just think that when making a purchase of this magnitude, the purchase should have value and the customer service that goes along with it should be of value too, and Garman homes deserves a pat on the back for giving us both.

We are moving into our new home at 205 Muses Mill Ct. on 04/24/08. Stop by and say “Hi!”. After we’ve been there awhile we will probably submit an update to this blog, so keep posted…


The Smith Family, --- Jim, Melanie, Hannah, Jesse, and Taylor

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Mar 15 / 11:01pm

G-Team Strikes Again!

by Garman Homes
I want to say thank you for the G-Team Appointment. This is our 3rd time building a new home and I have never seen anything like it. I took the entire day off of work thinking I would need to wait around all day. To my surprise I had twenty vans all down the street when I pulled up to my home and they were all for my home. The entire process was one hour long. The men actually repainted most of my home due to my movers damaging it and they found a leak in the roof and fixed it that day.

What a great plan. I only wish more builders were aware of the clients needs. Thank you for our great home. Bravo to Garman Homes for a excellent idea!

Jennifer & Daniel Baiceanu
jennifer@marbleunlimited.com

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Mar 13 / 8:31pm

Guaranteed Closing Date - Thank Goodness!

by Garman Homes

My wife and I are recent Garman homeowners, and I cannot say enough good things about Jim, John, and the G-Team. The are without a doubt the best of the best of the best with honors. One Garman Difference in particular helped save our day, the Guaranteed Closing Date. My wife and I were expecting a baby in early January, the 2nd to be exact. We were living in a 2 bedroom apartment with our 2 year old daughter at the time. Our previous house sold and we were now looking for a new home. There definitely was no room for one more in the apartment. There basically was just room for our daughter and her toys!

So we looked and looked for months, but could not find a house we both liked. Whereas my wife was more concerned with the house itself, my major hangup was that I wanted a flat driveway for a basketball goal. That was essential. Anyway, we both liked the Fairfield neighborhood, but none of the houses for sale matched what we both wanted. We saw that Garman Homes was building in Fairfield so we checked out the floor plans online and really liked what we saw. We met Jim Garman in Fairfield with Jeff, our agent who lives in Fairfield, to look at the available lots. Jim was extremely nice and treated us like we had been friends forever. He took us around and showed us the lots. We decided on one lot with a flat front yard, perfect for a basketball goal driveway.

We got very excited when Jim told us he could have the house built by December 21st. We couldn't believe it. We shook hands and got the process rolling. Our house was finished on December 19th and is absolutely perfect. It was done early which was good since our son Matt was early as well. He was born on Dec. 30th. He loves being part of the scream-team, oh I meant the G-Team.

- Paul & Christi & Family
paul.segars@duke.edu

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Mar 11 / 3:23am

Oak Hall is Vertical!

by Garman Homes
Oak Hall is going vertical with our first home almost complete. I'm so excited to be the Sales Ambassador for Oak Hall. This neighborhood is Awesome! Things are rolling with 4 inventory homes being constructed and 1 already Sold!

Just look a the Chatham's "Wall of Windows" and the front porch wide enough to actually rock in that rocking chair. Customers love the covered back porch and added details in our homes.

Oak Hall has it all with miles of sidewalks, swimming pool w/ cabana, a tot lot I'd love to take my son to and best of all, homes built by Garman Homes. Oak Hall is located in charming Holly Springs, a place once known for it's 40 foot holly trees that towered over freshwater springs. Now Holly Springs is one of the fastest growing towns in NC while still maintaining that small town appeal.

Oak Hall is located just off Main Street and convenient to US 1 and Hwy 55. I truly believe Oak Hall is the place to be in Holly Springs!

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Mar 10 / 2:17pm

OMYGOSH - It's so exciting to see Garman Homes building in Stonegate in Wake Forest!

by Garman Homes
I have lived in Stonegate for 2 1/2 years and while I enjoy my home, I am so excited to see a new "face" in the neighborhood! Up until recently, all of the homes in Stonegate were built by McCar Homes. I am absolutely thrilled to see that future (and current) residents will have the opportunity to choose a Garman Home IN STONEGATE!

Stonegate offers residents access to a large private pool, a resident's club, playground and lighted tennis courts!! In addition, the entrance and grounds are beautiful and inviting. Residents are in close proximity to shopping, I-540, RDU, The Factory, and nightlife!

In that the Garman team would be a new presence in Stonegate, Jim Garman felt it was important for nearby residents to know more about him, and his company. He kindly introduced himself to current residents and invited homeowners to a social gathering, leaving the floor wide open for questions and commments. The Garman Homes representaives answered EVERY question, addressed EVERY concern and shared ideas for helping to make Stonegate o

ne of Wake Forest's best subdivisions.

All I've got to say is: "I wish I were building a Garman Home today!" The employees of this organization personify the meaning of customer service. They get it! Jim and his team were relaxed, professional and approachable. They are entirely committed to making your building experience FUN and exciting. If you're thinking of building a home, please take the time to speak to a Garman representative today! You won't regret it!

Connie Zupancic
Itsmecz@aol.com

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Feb 25 / 3:17am

Gourmet Cooking in Amberly

by Garman Homes
It all started with a simple question. “Jim, what do you think about a six burner cook top?”

The answer was “Oh yeh! We have wanted to do a “Gourmet Kitchen” option for the Pinehurst…big cooktop, high/low cabinets, double oven, etc. It sounds like this will be a great opportunity to design one. Please send me your dreams and let me work up a plan with the cabinet company. “

And a gourmet kitchen we now have! Jim Garman and his G-Team designed the following:


- High/Low Cabinets
- Cook top bump out
- Footed cabinets
- Under cabinet lighting
- Braiding across the top of the cabinets
- Microwave mounted under the counter top
- Double Oven
- Espresso Bar (aka Butler’s Pantry)

We ended up deciding on a 5 burner cook top…only to maximize the counter top space.

In the beginning, I got countless jokes regarding my double oven. Now, everyone wants to come to my house for gatherings because of the double ovens. We love it!

- Michelle & Dan
e-mail: mdurner@ams-nc.com

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