Magleby Construction prides itself on building and delivering homes in Utah that bring our clients’ vision and imagination into reality. We construct homes that are designed to maintain their luster and beauty for decades. But this is only possible if a home is nurtured and cared for over time.

Magleby has a period of time in which we respond to warranty service calls and address questions from new homeowners. Eventually the baton is passed to our owners for regular home maintenance. This helps insure a comfortable, secure and safe living environment and protects an important financial investment over time.

While every house we build is slightly different, they all need to be properly cared for to retain our clients’ investment and maximize their quality of life. We see it as our responsibility to educate and help our clients tackle their role as ‘good stewards’ of their home. What follows are suggestions for proper home maintenance:

Wood Floors. All types of wood flooring material, whether solid wood, composite, or laminate, require regular care. For prefinished products, no waxing is required. Clean these surfaces using a regular application of warm, soapy water. To maximize the life of wood flooring, keep it dry and free of debris that can cause scrapes and discolor the finish.

Drainage. An engineered combination of a home’s roof design, gutter system, and placement on the lot, work together to shed water from the house and its foundation. To maintain an optimum level of drainage, have gutters cleaned twice a year, ideally before the rainy seasons. Also, adjust the gutter’s downspouts to empty into splash blocks or extend at least two feet away from the home’s exterior walls. If you add shrubs, flowerbeds, or other landscaping around your house, angle (or grade) the dirt away from the home’s foundation.

Appliances. Refer to your homeowner’s manual or binder to find the user manuals to all of the kitchen and other major appliances in the house. These guides typically include seasonal and periodic maintenance tips. For instance, your refrigerator coil should be cleaned twice a year; check the seal of the door gasket, as well, to make sure you’re not wasting energy. In addition, the clothes dryer vent hose (between the dryer and the wall) and the vent louvers on the outside of the house should be cleaned at least semi-annually. Every three months, replace the furnace filter, clean out the dishwasher strainer, and drain and flush sediment from your water heater. Such maintenance chores allow these appliances to operate at their optimal performance and extend their usable lives.

Air ducts and ventilation. Air ducts and vent registers can become clogged or stifled with debris, reducing their ability to distribute conditioned air and keep your house comfortable. About every two years, hire a professional service company to clean them out. For the same reason, clean the filters and check the general operation of ventilation fans in the kitchen and bathrooms so they work efficiently, as well.

Roofing. Make regular and thorough roof inspections. Pay attention for missing or damaged shingles or voids in the flashing that may allow moisture or air infiltration. Replace or repair as soon as possible to ward off problems that can occur unnoticed or unseen.

You just left an impressive presentation with a professional homebuilder. In addition to a brochure highlighting his recent work, he provided you with a list of recent homebuyers and encouraged you to ask them about his skill, ethics and professionalism.

As you reach out to those references to gain valuable inside knowledge about the builder, what questions should you ask? Magleby Construction suggests a few questions to solicit the kind of information that will help you make an informed and confident decision. Of course, you may have your own agenda and priorities, which we encourage; but if you need them, these questions just may help get the conversation going:

1. Was the company easy to work with? How did the builder manage communication before and during construction? Was there one point of contact (typically the site supervisor) with the authority to make or negotiate decisions as opposed to a bureaucratic quagmire that was frustrating and confusing?
2. Was the jobsite clean? The best builders leave the job site clean at the end of each day. They sweep and haul their trash away, store or take their tools, and stack their materials. Not only does the jobsite look good (as good as anything can under construction), but is also one that’s safer should you want to check out the progress of the job on your own.
3. Did they finish on time? Finishing on time reveals a builder’s commitment and organizational skills. If the answer is “no,” why not? Did you make changes that caused some delays, or did bad weather become an unavoidable factor?
4. Did they finish on budget? Like finishing on time (or within the owner’s expectations), finishing on budget indicates a builder’s organizational and business acumen, specifically his cost-estimating skills. If the answer is “no,” did you have any special orders that may have been outside the scope of the original budget? Or did the builder neglect to calculate a cost and try to make you pay for it at closing?
5. Did they disappear after move-in? Perhaps your biggest worry is what happens after move in. A builder who has been available to answer questions and respond to reasonable warranty issues is an important indicator of a builder’s long-term commitment to the quality of his homes and the ultimate satisfaction of owners.

This handful of questions probably does not satisfy all of your needs, but it’s a start and often will inspire more questions that further reveal whether the builder you’re considering is one you can trust and rely on to do the job correctly.

Walk into most new homes and you’ll notice an abundance of natural light. In the past, poor thermal performance forced builders to scale down the size of windows and glass doors. But today, builders can maximize natural light by taking advantage of advanced technologies and materials, a wider range of sizes and styles, and a number of new products and creative applications.

For clients who prefer a modern look, glass walls can be used. For those who prefer traditional housing design, professional builders can work within historic housing forms to increase interior natural light. Window manufacturers have helped this effort by providing a wide variety of products to match traditional house styles.

For example, a roof window (or series of these units) over the center of the kitchen can bring in a tremendous amount of natural light without having an adverse impact on a traditional façade. This is especially true if that room is on the back or side of the house and out of view from the street. Unlike skylights, roof windows can open to vent stagnant or hot air and odors. They have a flat design, only slightly raised above the roof finish, which further reduces any intrusive appearance.

For smaller interior rooms, such as a water closet, walk-in shower, or storage area, traditional approaches to bringing in natural light are almost impossible, or at least impractical. Tubular skylights offer a solution. From a small, unobtrusive opening in the roof, light enters a tube lined with mirrors and reflective material that magnify available light into the room below. These small devices invite large quantities of light into tight spaces, making them feel more spacious and comfortable.

Fixed or operable transom windows may also be used to bring natural light into interior rooms. Set above passage doors to bedrooms and bathrooms or even in interior walls, transom windows can carry natural light from rooms on the outside perimeter into otherwise dark, inner spaces.

A kitchen backsplash can be used creatively to increase natural light. Glass block or fixed panes of glass may be installed in the space between the countertop and the wall cabinets. Light is brought onto the work surface without sacrificing kitchen cabinets for a large window expanse.

With new products to choose from and some creative design work, home owners are able to enjoy both their home style of choice and the aesthetic and cost-saving benefits of natural light.

Kitchens have always been the center of a home. The kitchen is so important to most people that it’s the space most likely to make or break the purchase of a home.

Not surprisingly, the layout, function and look of kitchens continually evolve to meet contemporary lifestyle and needs. Here are a few current trends to consider:

Outdoor kitchens. Once you experience a true outdoor kitchen with a full range of function, you’ll never go back to a rollout charcoal grill again. Manufacturers offer improved products that better withstand weather (such as polymer-based cabinet fronts) and refreshment centers that more aptly accommodate outdoor needs.

New fronts. Raised-panel cabinet fronts are a mainstay in kitchens, but the natural wood look is waning a bit in favor of paint finishes in deep reds and lighter greens. Designers mix and match painted and natural-wood finishes to add distinctive style and to identify subtle differences in function. For appliances, popular stainless steel finishes have evolved into brushed metallic and graphite-like looks to broaden the options and upgrade style.

Secondary kitchens. Also called butler’s pantries or prep kitchens, these smaller spaces allow caterers and party-throwers to keep the mess out of the main kitchen while also creating a convenient access to food and refreshments from the dining room. Smaller-scale appliances, including warming drawers, built-in coffee makers, and wine chillers suit the function of these spaces. Morning kitchens, located in or adjacent to the master suite, are also gaining popularity.

Specialization. Once upon a time, there was only one sink in the kitchen. Now there can be a handful that serve specific functions and are equipped with varying styles of faucets. Long trough sinks, multi-basin designs with integral cutting boards, small bar basins, and deep, single-basin sinks for large pots and pans can dot every corner of the kitchen.

Zoned approach. The advent of secondary spaces has affected the main kitchen. Smaller-capacity appliances and other products have fostered “snack zones” for busy families. Equipped with a microwave oven, dedicated storage for non-perishables, and various undercounter drawers for refrigerated foods, dishwashing, and warming chores, these zones accommodate a wider (and hopefully healthier) mix of quick meals in a self-contained area.

Center of the universe. The open kitchen plan that includes kitchen, casual eating area and family room is now firmly established. The newest expansion of kitchen function is the kitchen island that extends farther into the living space, serving as an area for homework and crafts, dining and catering, and all-round hangout. Equipped with flush-mounted or concealed under counter electrical outlets, overhead lighting, and ample storage, today’s island is considered by many as a home’s true center.

One of the by-products of a consumer-based society is that we all collect “stuff” — from sports equipment and garden tools to holiday decorations, craft and hobby gear, and clothing. In some cases, people have so much stuff that it commandeers their closets, outdoor sheds, and garages to the point of overflow and disorganization.

Homebuyers want relief from their storage woes. To that end, a variety of products and organizational ideas that can add convenient capacity have cropped up for every nook and cranny of the house.

Overall, the most popular trend in storage is the use of modular, adjustable systems that can easily be manipulated to accommodate changing storage needs. In any storage setting, be it a garage or a walk-in master suite closet, these systems employ a simple backbone of tracks or channels secured to the walls on which you can hang a wide variety of components without any penetrating fasteners.

In a clothes closet, for example, the system can include open shelves, door and drawer cabinets, tilted shoe racks, hanger poles, hooks, and laundry hampers. These pieces and parts can be arranged based on a homeowner’s particular needs; as those needs change, the components can be moved, replaced, or supplemented.

The garage is another area well suited to these storage systems. There are now wall-hung cabinets, shelving, hooks, and other handy components with the ability to be moved to any point along tracks or channels secured to the wall. Garage storage systems feature cabinets and work surfaces with lock-in-place castors that allow owners to easily bring those elements out into the open, or even to the outside, for better, safer, and more convenient access to their “stuff.”

In both of these settings, the storage system typically raises the wall-hung components above the floor, making it easier to vacuum the carpet or sweep out the garage. Doing so reduces the perception (or reality) of clutter.

In the kitchen, cabinet and appliance manufacturers offer several options to increase storage capacity. In addition to handy drop-down drawers and roll-out shelves, many of the latest cabinet companies provide in-drawer organizers, dedicated trash and recycling bins, and adjustable shelving to suit a variety of needs.

In the laundry room, pedestal drawers set underneath the washer and dryer provide additional and convenient storage while raising the height of the washer and dryer, making them easier to use, as well.

Today’s modular storage systems are available in a wide variety of styles and price points, from luxurious, all-wood components that enhance any master suite to ventilated coated wire sections that make sense for kids’ rooms and utility areas. Even if there is enough land and ample budget to build a large house with plenty of closets and space for stuff, it’s only smart to make those areas, and the entire house, as space-efficient and valuable as possible.