Small Lot Information:

You may be like so many others that I have encounter over my years in the building business that have a narrow lot. It’s frustrating, but not so much with the lot as with builders that have limited plans, or no plans at all for these challenging lot sizes.

For example, in Tacoma the average city lot size is 50 x 100. Side setbacks are typically 7.5. or 15 feet total - that gives us 35 feet to work with. Besides the fact that it is  “tight,” since 35 isn’t an even number, that translates to some waste in materials that ultimately you would have to pay for i.e. plywood.

One of the things that make it even more of a challenge is that folks often find a plan that is to big for the lot and wonder if it can be changed to fit. Often though the reason you like the plan was because of the size. Making changes to a home that does not fit will likely end in a futile attempt to make it so.

That is why True Built Home has faced this challenge and have addressed your needs. You will note that we have more narrow lot plans than other on-your-lot builders. In fact, many on-your-lot builders don’t want the business. The reasons are many, but here are a few to consider:

• Cities have different policies about building codes that present ever changing challenges.
• Narrow lots have limited space and make it more of a challenge to have materials dropped off. Contractors like to have their vehicles close to the home for a number of reason and often narrow lots can’t always accommodate them.
• Many contractors work on the home at any given time. This present space issue as well. Just bear in mind if you have a home built, we would rather send contractors at more spatially so all can have plenty of room to work on your home.
• Every contractor who builds in a city must obtain a license to do so. So, instead of having a license just to build in say Federal Way, we would also need one in Tacoma, or Olympia. They need to be updated each year and although they do not cost much, it still presents a challenge to the general contractor who has to make sure that everyone he has hired is licensed in the city where that house is being built.

These are just a few of the challenges that we face, but we are committed in assisting you to get your new home.

Note: All city lot homes come standard with full Hardie Plank Siding, heat pump packages, and instant hot water. You may add an electric furnace package as a back up to the heat pump if you’d like, but it really is not necessary in this part of the county. (Heat Pump: An electric device with both heating and cooling capabilities. It extracts heat from one medium at a lower (the heat source) temperature and transfers it to another at a higher temperature (the heat sink), thereby cooling the first and warming the second) Some folks associate a air condition coil as a heat pump. They are different. The air condition coil is in addition to the furnace, being them electric or gas for the home. The heat pump is a one piece heating and cooling unit that can save lots of money over the course of a year and the life time of the unit. True built Home uses either Carrier, Trane or Coleman depending on your location.

You can contact me either by phone at 253-377-4483 or email at  
Sincerely,
Lewis D. Mann   
Founder-CEO