Winter Has Arrived... Are You Prepared?

This morning we received the first snowfall of the year! Along with that comes cold temperatures. Cold temperatures can lead to problems if you don't prepare correctly. Here are some great tips to prevent any troubles this winter

Disconnect all garden hoses from their accompanying water spigots - Leaving the hose on your water spigot may cause your spigot to crack, leaving you with some troubles.

DO NOT salt your driveway - Salt has an eroding effect on concrete and asphalt. While salt may do a great job at getting ice off your driveway, it will significantly reduce the life of your concrete and can be harmful to your pet.

Bump Up Your Humidifier - The winter is the driest time of the year. Low humidity in a home can cause shrinkage in your home, resulting in cracks in materials such as drywall. Low humidity can also be very bad for furniture and musical instruments.

Clear Gutters - Although unlikely, it is possible for ice to build up in your gutters, which may cause expensive leaks. To prevent this, clear any debris from your gutters before the snow melt.

Whats your homes HERS Index?

Have you heard of the term HERS index? You may be curious exactly what is a HERS index. The HERS index is a scoring system established by The Residential Energy Services Network. The lower your homes score, the more efficient your home is running. A lower HERS score means lower energy bills, and less environmental impact. The HERS scoring system uses a reference home with a score of 100. Each point decrease under 100 means that a home is 1% more efficient than the reference home. A net zero home produces a HERS score of 0. All of our homes are scored by a professional independent company.

How to Sell Your Home Faster!

You have found the perfect new home for your family! But before you can purchase your new home you need to find a buyer for your current home. Here is a list of tips to hopefully help sell your home faster!


Exterior

• Pull weeds from garden beds
• Keep your lawn mowed
• Add some fresh mulch to spruce up beds
• Trim your trees and bushes
• Wash your windows
• Sweep or hose off walkways and driveway
• Plant some inexpensive flowers to add color
• Clean off dirt from doors
• Coil up hoses on nice reels
• Keep yard clear of toys, lawn equipment, etc
• Wipe off outdoor light fixtures with a glass cleaner

Interior

• Store personal items away
• Make sure everything is clean
• Remove carpet stains with products such as "spot shot"
• Consider repainting damaged walls or flashy colors
• Replace light bulbs that are burnt out
• Make beds
• Store toys, games, etc
• Open shades and blind to let natural light in
• Clear and clean kitchen
• Organize Closets
• Clean out garage, do not store boxes in garage

With these tips you can make your house look clean and presentable. It is ideal to have the least amount of clutter possible in your home. If you have many boxes, furniture pieces, etc, consider renting a storage unit for these goods.

Cleaning Products To Be Proud Of

Everyday, consumers like many of us visit their local big box store to purchase cleaning supplies to keep their homes looking nice. Arriving in the cleaning supply isle often leaves you with little choices. You find cleaning supplies packaged in boring containers. You then turn the bottle over and see that the ingredients of the product have long names that you cannot pronounce. Do you really want a product that looks old fashion? Do you really want to be putting chemicals into your home that you don't know the effects of?

A company by the name of Method has come into the cleaning product industry with a focus on design and environmentally healthy cleaning products. All products Method offers are manufactured using safe and sustainable materials, as well as responsible manufacturing. 100% wind energy is used in manufacturing every Method product. Using safe cleaning products can drastically improve indoor air quality, providing a better living environment for your family, pets, and guests. With Methods attractive design you no longer have to tuck your cleaning supplies away in a cabinet after use. What a great way to go green!

Finding The Value That Comes With A Quality Home!

Value isn't just about the amount of options that you can get for the price you pay for a home. The most important items in your home are often behind the walls or overlooked.

Floor Plans - A homes floor plan may very well be the most important aspect of a home. The floor plan of a home affects how you live your life. A modern floor plan can provide a great deal of convenience and contribute to a families function. Modern homes are being designed with qualities such as open floor plans, walk in pantries and convenient kitchen layouts. Poorly designed or older floor plans may feel cluttered, often with low ceilings and tight spaces.

Green Products & Materials - Green building is the future. While green building products may not be the cheapest, they add to the life and value of your home, while also reducing your utility bills. Many green products have a much longer life than conventional building products.

Warranty - A new home comes with a warranty, which means you are covered if something goes wrong or is not up to your standard. Since all appliances in your new home are also new, you have the benefit of manufacturer warranties.

Homes Built To Code - New homes are built to serve today's needs. This includes being build to current plumbing, electrical, and safety standards. Insulation is now a priority instead of an after thought, resulting in homes that require less energy to heat and cool, that are also better for the environment.

Stay Connected With A Free iPad 2!

We are giving out a brand new iPad 2 with every new home purchase! You may be thinking this is just to draw attention to our homes and offer an incentive to build a new home with us. While it is an excitement to receive an iPad, the reason we are doing this is so our homeowners can stay completely connected during the entire building process.

Our project tracker is set to run flawlessly from iPad, allowing you to track your homes progress, change orders, warranty, pictures, and more from just about anywhere. With our project tracker you will also be able to communicate with DJK regarding questions, concerns or even changes to your project.

Naperville Last Fling!

New to town or just looking for something fun to do this labor day weekend? Check out the Naperville Last Fling. With great rides, music and food The Last Fling is great fun for the whole family. The fling runs Friday September 2nd until Monday September 5th. Some big name bands will be playing such as Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich, so don't forget to get your tickets! Just one of the many great events to attend in Naperville!  

Advantages to Owning a New Home

Custom - Building a new home allows you to choose the options and features that you desire. In a custom home you can choose the features that you want such as: cabinets, paint colors, granite, flooring and more. Building a custom home eliminates costly repairs or renovations needed when moving in to a pre owned home.

Green - New homes are built to a completely different set of standards than homes build 10 to 20 years ago. Homes are now incorporating environmentally friendly and energy efficient materials. New custom homes use significantly less energy to run due to new insulations, sealants, windows and more.

Warranty - New homes come with a warranty to protect you from things that may go wrong in a home. Buying a pre owned home can cost more than anticipated when problems arise. A new home offers you the security and piece of mind that a pre owned home cannot.

Customer Service - While building a new home you have the opportunity to work with a team of knowledgable professionals that help guide you through every step of the building process.

Modern Design - New homes typically have much different design elements than homes built 20 years ago. Modern homes typically have much higher ceilings and open floor plans, making the home more comfortable for living.

Healthy - With strict environment and health codes in place, homes have become much healthier. New homes eliminate the possibility of harmful materials such as asbestos and lead.

Website Improvements

We have recently made some changes to the website in order to make it more easily navigable. Check out our site to see the new look! www.DJKhomes.com.

New Express Home Collection

We will soon be launching a new collection of home, the Express Home Collection. These homes will be geared toward the buyer looking to build a home around $300,000. This collection will offer a more streamlined selections process. Buyers will be given limited color and selections packages that have been put together by DJK Custom Homes.

DJK is Certified

DJK Custom Homes is continuing to strive in these tougher economic times by adding to our knowledge level through education and certification courses at the Northern Illinois Home Builders association.

DJK Custom Homes has recently earned “Certified Green Building Professional” (CGP) and “Certified Graduate Builder” (CGB). By becoming a Certified Green Building Professional we have expanded our knowledge and ability to construct more energy efficient and environmentally friendly homes. “Green” building should be at the forefront of builders and buyers thoughts when building a new home. Incorporating practices to the efficient use of energy, water, and renewable resources; therefore reducing the impact on our natural surroundings.

On the other hand, DJK Custom Homes has also taken the time to further our knowledge and expertise in the building industry by becoming a Certified Graduate Builder. Although it is not a requirement to be a (CGB), the certification allows us to better serve our customers by adding even more credibility to our over twenty years in business and shows our continued commitment to the industry.

Since the beginning of 2010 DJK has written 20 pre-sale contracts with prices ranging from $350,000 to over $1,700,000. We attribute some of this success to our new (CGB) and (CGP) certifications that again shows DJK’s commitment to building quality yet cost effective homes.

Steps Ahead

We have been a part of the community since 1988. Over the past 22 years we have strived to stay ahead of the competition by incorporating the latest of building technologies and providing our customers with the help they need in building a home that is right for them.

Over the past year we have decided to take another step forward. One area that we have made a major improvement is our website, http://www.djkhomes.com/. We have completely redesigned it in order to provide prospective home buyers with current information on the latest DJK building practices as well as new tools to aid in the home building process, from design to completion.


In 2010 we introduced our brand new line of standard features. Our new standards focus on building High Performance homes that have lower ownership costs, provide better performance, & better air quality. We have partnered with DOW chemical to bring the highest quality insulations and sealants to our homes.

Did you know a typical 2,500 sq. foot home has more than a half mile of cracks & crevices? That's why DJK has introduced a standard "High Performance" critical energy seal package to seal crack & crevices!

Visit our website at http://www.djkhomes.com/ to find out more about what we are doing.