One of the hardest parts about building a new house or doing a major remodel is making sure that you do it without any regrets. Who wants to spend THAT much time and money on something and then wish that you would’ve done it differently? Absolutely no one. But, on the other hand, is it even possible to build a new house and make all of the right decisions the first time around? Probably not. The reason being, how will you know how your family will live in your new space befor

It’s no secret that the thought of a home construction project can bring on anxiety for just about anyone. Building or remodeling the most expensive thing that you own can be stressful, and paying for it is typically the root of the anxiety. So, why can’t there be a way to make homeowners feel more at ease so that this process can be a more enjoyable one? Well, I feel like there is. Educating clients (and potential clients) about the home building or remodeling process is so

1. How Long Does It Really Take to Build a New House? So often we get calls from potential clients who are considering building a new home, but aren’t quite ready to dive right in. There are so many factors to consider if building a new home might be in your future. The obvious one is what the cost will be. But beyond the cost, building has to fit into your lifestyle too. It’s an undertaking that requires some coordination. Maybe you’re renting and need to figure out how many

Us Wisconsinites, along with so many others living in the upper Midwest, are bracing ourselves for some record-breaking cold coming our way this week. I’m not just talking the type of winter temps that we should all be accustomed to from living in our state… I’m talking REAL cold, like the kind that I thought only existed in the North Pole. My weather app right now is showing a low of -29 degrees on Wednesday night after a balmy high of -13 degrees during the day. And these a

It may sound cliché, but starting your home on a good foundation is a crucial first step in building. This means making sure that your house gets placed according to plan on the lot, that it’s set at the correct elevation, and that all of the walls are square. It sounds easier than it really is. Before building my own home, I had no clue what all went into building a foundation. This may be a step of the building process where you rely heavily on your builder to make sure tha

Happy Halloween everyone! With the thought of getting lots of visitors to your front porches tonight, I figured that this was the perfect time to talk more about what people see when they first walk up to your home – your front porch! It’s really your chance to make a first impression for anyone coming to your home, or in some cases for people driving by. For me, it was always an exciting part of the house to think about decorating! Especially for seasons like fall. How fun i

If words like “backfill,” “zero-step entry,” and “granular fill” aren’t in your vocabulary yet, they will be once you build a home! Looking back, this is an area of the home building process that I knew very little about when we started… but it truly is some important stuff. So, if you’re like me and digging basements isn’t really your thing, then keep reading and you’ll be able to talk with your builder about excavating like a pro. The plan for excavating really starts befor

My favorite space in our home is, without a doubt, the 3-season room. It’s the type of space that you might not even know that you need, until you have it… and then you realize that you can’t live without it. It’s the kind of room that can be so many things. For us, it’s the place where we eat dinner on summer nights, a playroom for the kids when the weather is too chilly to be outside but the fresh air still feels so good, and it’s our favorite place to sit and have a cup of

One thing that I decided right away for this blog is that I want to be sure that I do NOT write boring content. So here I am getting ready to type week two’s topic – “the bidding process,” and all I can think about is how it’s likely one of the most boring parts of the building process for the customer. So boring. As the one ready to build a new house, here you are all excited because you finally landed on a house plan that you really love, all of your momentum is moving forw

One of the most common phone calls to the Sockness Builders office is someone calling to say “I’m not really sure what to do here, but I’m thinking about building a new house.” If you’ve never done it before, this is so true. Where do you start anyway? Well, a couple of questions come into play. When you know you’re ready to build, you need: 1. A lot to build on. 2. A builder. and 3. A plan of what you want to build. You don’t always have to get these three things in that exa

First things first, I want to introduce myself. My name is Erin Weberpal. I’ve been working at Sockness Builders part-time since 2011 when I left my full-time marketing job to split my working hours between helping out at the Sockness Builders office and also pursuing my photography career. My parents started Sockness Builders all the way back in 1986, which also happens to be the year I was born. My childhood memories are sprinkled with those of the business… from my parents