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Built Right

By Cindy Hodnett
HomePlace Writer

One of the displays in Troy Warner's Spring Festival home reads "Built Right Custom Homes — It's What We Do," and the statement is a fitting summation of Warner's business philosophy. Primarily a custom-home builder who offers only a couple of spec homes each year, Warner believes that he has an obligation to create beautiful and functional properties for all of his clients, regardless of price or square footage, and his "Built Right" houses are scattered throughout the Triad in upscale neighborhoods and on private property.

"My focus is on giving clients what they want on a true custom basis," Warner said during a recent visit to his Barrington Oaks Spring Festival home. "It's all about customer service and building a high-end, top-quality product."

Warner builds five to seven houses each year, and he said he tries to adhere to a 75 percent ratio of custom to spec properties. His Spring Festival entry features many of the amenities usually found in more expensive properties, but it's surprisingly affordable.

"I was asked to come into the Barrington Oaks neighborhood, so I adapted this floor plan for the lot," Warner said. "You can entertain in this house with no problem, and there are a lot of extras."

In addition to the comfortable and open floor plan of the main level, Warner has incorporated an impressive list of green features into his Spring Festival home, including a sealed crawl space, low VOC paints, formaldehyde-free insulation, R-15 insulation in the walls and insulation around the ductwork, an engineered wood flooring system, and a Rinnai hot-water heater. Warner is also offering several features that are guaranteed to make running the household easier. A laundry chute from the second floor eliminates long trudges downstairs with a full basket of dirty clothes, and a pass-through from the master bedroom into the laundry room allows homeowners to toss their clothes out of sight at the end of the day. The laundry room also includes a wash sink, perfect for messy household chores.

The mud room and shoe storage in Warner's home will certainly elicit a lot of heartfelt sighs when visitors see it for the first time. A dream come true for any parent who faces the ongoing battle of muddy soccer cleats, dog leashes and book bags, the mud room is the kind of feature that families are looking for.

Listed for $368,500, Warner's Spring Festival home has more than 2,500 square feet, three bedrooms, two full and one half baths, and a bonus room. The property offers a lot of luxury for the money, and Warner said that it showcases the quality of home he likes to build.

"I have been building homes for six years, and I am an accredited master builder through the North Carolina Builders Institute," he said. "I find that the more educated I am and the more refined my practices are, the better my business runs and benefits my customers. For example, I designed an estimate program, and with it, I can usually come within $1,000 of my estimate on any job."

Warner will be on site at 73 Barrington Oaks this afternoon and available to discuss his work, as well as potential projects with visitors. Currently, he is preparing to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project and is looking forward to upcoming work that includes several customs and another spec home in Barrington Oaks.

"I really enjoy it when my customers bring me their plans or their concepts and we turn that into reality," Warner said. "That way, we get every detail right."

Built Right Custom Homes of NC LLC is a member of the Home Builders Association of Winston-Salem. For more information about HBA, call 336-768-5942. For more information on Built Right Custom Homes, call 336-462-4671. To visit Warner's Spring Festival home, follow Highway 158 to Clemmons; turn left on Hampton Road and continue about 1 mile to a left turn into Barrington Oaks; turn left into the first cul-de-sac and follow the signs to the home, which is on the left.