Thank you very much for the basket…we lived on it upon our arrival. It was very thoughtful and appreciated! I relayed that message to Kathy and Jim along with our gratitude and happiness for the incredible construction and customer service dedicated to our project. It is rare that you can walk into your new environment and find it better than you expected or could imagine! We are so pleased with the project and happy that we did it right.

Mark, I apologize for not calling you during the hectic moving-in period when we were there. We are truly impressed and happy. As I mentioned, I did remark numerous times to Jim and Kathy, and would like to complement the both of them for the incredible customer service. Kudos to you of course as well. They are a true asset to the Harwick team!

Hi Alex,

I continue to be so impressed with the outstanding work of the Harwick team on all aspects of the “Maintain It” process, procedures, work performed and reporting. The Report is fantastic and so helpful. Harwick’s thorough inspection of our home and identification and completion of warranty items is just first-class. The organization and completion of the “season open” program for our home is so comforting to our enjoyment of our new home and just knowing that Harwick has everything in working order and ready for arrival gives us a nice feeling. We are so glad we purchased a Harwick home! We are so glad we purchased a Harwick home!! We can’t say it enough!

Thanks again for your and Shane’s and Preston’s great work on our home.

Thanks very much, Alex, for arranging to get everything completed for the house before our unexpected arrival, 5 days ahead of schedule. We were so surprised to see the furniture moved that quickly, especially when the house had just been power washed.

You really went above and beyond and thanks to Preston as well, for “making it happen”. We really appreciate your good service. It looks like Dave has done an excellent job of power washing.

Thanks again, to the Harwick team for making our return so easy!

This one describes builders being back in the market purchasing raw land.
http://www.builderonline.com/land-acquisition/as-lot-prices-dip-more-builders-buy-land-again.aspx?cid=BLDR090908002

This one descibes how the time is now to buy

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/RealEstate/its-time-to-invest-in-real-estate.aspx

Our Antica Model in Mediterra Country Club in Naples Florida won the 2009 Aurora Award for “Detached Single-Family Home Over $3,000,001″ as well as the prestigious 2009 Grand Aurora Award for “Detached Single-Family Home Over $3,000,001″.

We also won the 2009 Aurora Award for “Custom One Of A Kind Over $3,000,001″ and the prestigious 2009 Grand Aurora Award for “Custom One Of A Kind Over $3,000,001″ for a custom home we built for Wayne and Maria Wiles in Fort Myers Florida.

Harwick Homes would like to thank all of the design professionals and craftsmen that helped make these beautiful homes possible.

For more information on the SEBC and the Aurora Awards please go to:

http://www.theauroras.com/

Roofing System- We have worked closely with one of the leading roof engineering firms that are familiar with our climate to design a roofing system that not only meets the roofing code but exceeds it.

Our standard tile roof system is designed to be completely water shedding. In most cases our competitors use a very basic system where the tiles are simply there for the” look” leaving there inferior underlayments as the single water proofing element. Very little effort is made to keep the water on top of the tile and off the underlayments. Our system goes to great lengths to keep all of the water flow above the tile with a system of flashings and counter-flashings in an effort to keep the underlayments as a true secondary method of water proofing.

When it comes to underlayments, the standard found on the majority of our competitors roof tile installations utilizes an organic 30 pound base sheet with a second layer of a 90 pound cap sheet adhered to the 30 pound base sheet with hot asphalt. In conjunction with our consulting engineer we utilize a significantly more robust underlayments which consists of  a Firestone SBS base sheet rated at 55#’s per square and an Firestone SBS modified Cap sheet rated at 97#’s per square far exceeding that of our  competition. Our underlayments are actually designed for use as an exposed roofing membrane on commercial flat roofs. All in all our roof specifications should remain trouble free for up to 30 years even in our extreme tropical climate.

Once this two layer system of Modified Bitumen is installed the finished tile is installed in a manner that sheds the water directly off the top of the finished product not allowing the water to reach the underlayments. This type of installation also gives us the benefits of two lines of defense on the roof.  With this two layer system of modified bitumen we easily meet the code and insurance requirements for secondary waterproofing.

 Not only do our State Licensed Superintendents and the local governments’ inspectors inspect for a code compliant quality installation; we hire the engineering firm that designed our specifications to do several in process inspections and a final inspection.

 Our second story balconies receive the same type of attention starting with full concrete floors with built in pitch and multiple layers of Modified Bitumen underlayments flashings and door pans to ensure a deck surface that will give our clients years of trouble free service.

Regardless of the type of foundation all foundations are reinforced with steel rods or “rebar” for short. Just like the foundation or “footings” the structural engineer determines the number, size, and placement of “rebar” in the foundation system.Throughout the foundation “rebar” is installed at specific locations such as either side of door and window openings. These “down rods” are a continuous link between the foundation and the “tiebeam” which caps the final wall height.

Once the foundation is poured; concrete block is laid to the desired height which is typically 4-8” below the finished floor of the home. Rebar is then placed in the open cells of the block and the block is them poured solid with concrete. After the “stem wall” has been back filled with clean fill dirt and the underground plumbing installed and inspected the masons return and begin the concrete floor forming.

As the masons prepare for the slab pour, some of the rebar from the stem wall is bent over so it will be covered by the concrete in the slab, while other bars continue up through what will be the exterior walls of the home. Slab preparation is critical; it consists of a soil pre treat to hinder termites from entering the home and is sealed with a layer of 6 mil visqueen. All the penetrations from plumbing and electrical piping are taped tightly to the visqueen to ensure the soil pre treat is sealed from the home. A layer of woven steel mesh is then laid over the visqueen andsupported by “mesh ups” which are small plastic hats that ensure the steel mesh is encapsulated in the slab.

The final step as the pour begins is the forming of an 8” wide by 1-1/2” deep ledge around the perimeter of the slab. This ledge is one of the many waterproofing elements in our drainage plain. It ensures that if moisture penetrates the wall system it will settle in this ledge and exit the home below the finished floor.

Once the slab is poured concrete block is laid to the desired height. All window and door openings are checked and rechecked to ensure they are in the appropriate place and the correct size. Rebar is then placed in the open cells and the “tiebeam” is formed. The tiebeam consists of plywood forms that extend above the finished block work. The structural engineer calls out the finished height and width of the “tie beams” as well as the numbers, sizes, and placement of the “rebar”. Once inspected by our superintendent and the county structural inspectors the beams are poured solid
with concrete.

All window openings regardless of size and shape are then poured in solid concrete to their appropriate size to  accept the windows and doors. All of our second floor balconies are also poured in steel reinforced concrete. These balconies are poured with a pitch to ensure that once they are thoroughly waterproofed the water will drain properly to the exterior.