|
Wednesday, April 11, 2001 Builder's first Fayette home leaves quite an impression By JOYCE
BEVERLY
Al Waters, owner of AlSon Builders, has built only one home in Fayette County, but oh, what a house! Had construction been complete when The Citizen published articles March 7about Fayette's most valuable homes, this property located in Lee's Mill Landing near Fayetteville would have been on the cuff of making the Top 10. A recent tour of this 8 bedroom, 7-bath 11,884 sq. ft. showplace unveiled a home where the extras are tantalizing, but the quality and the builder are the real story. The beginning of Waters' career in home building is not what you'd expect. This unusual entrepreneur holds a BS from Georgia Southern University, where he majored in chemistry and respiratory therapy. After seven years as a respiratory therapist, he described himself as "burned out." Looking for a new challenge, he applied to several medical schools. His acceptance to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, instead of his preferences of either Emory or Morehouse, presented him with a dilemma spend a lot of time away from his wife, who was pursuing a career in medicine in the Altanta area, or make a change. Waters opted for a change and entered the world of business. What was initially a disappointment turned into "a good thing," Waters said. His first venture, opening a new car wash, soured when the contractor hired to build the facility left the job unfinished. Waters was forced to complete the job himself, and "that's how I got bit by the bug," he said. Soon he attended a course for real estate agents on home construction and then went to work as an apprentice. Within four months, he was made superintendent, and eventually became a contractor himself. His first residential construction projects were in the Enclave, a subdivision in Atlanta's downtown begun by Herman Russell and completed by Waters. The medical professional turned home builder shouldn't be such a surprising story, Waters said. "Doctors want to be builders and builders want to be doctors," he explains with humor. "I do this out of fun," Waters said. "I love doing it. I build every house like I was building it for myself." Building a home with Waters, who believes the process should be fun for the client, too, most often begins with an interview with architects Bobby and Eric Curry, a husband and wife team who have designed most of the homes he's built in the past few years. The Currys enjoy working with clients, Waters said. "They'll pull stuff out of you that you don't know you have," he said. Waters' customers are typically not first-time home buyers. "Some have had bad experiences with builders in the past," he said. "They are educated consumers. They don't want the problems they've had before." Problems generally arise when builders choose less expensive materials or techniques for budget-conscious homeowners. "I don't make decisions for you for the sake of saving a few pennies," Waters said. "I give you a choice." The quality customers expect from Waters is evident in the framing process. Waters insists that plumbers and HVAC contractors run ducts and pipes along the outside walls of the house as much as possible. Infrastructure is pushed through interior walls and ceilings in a way that cuts down on soldering and joints, which reduces problems homeowners can have with leaks later. "What people don't see will hurt them when it comes to construction," Waters said. And what they do see are standards Waters holds for all of his homes, regardless of size. "The crown molding in my $400,000 house is the same as a $1 million house, there's just less of it," Waters said. And crown molding is a trademark of Waters' homes. A 10-inch base of molding is standard. A 6-piece crown package includes aprons, 4-inch crowns and picture molding layered most effectively in his trey ceilings. Interior doors are trimmed in 4.5 -inch to 5-inch poplar. It took a literal mile of crown molding to complete the home at Lee's Mill Landing. Interior doors are trimmed in 4.5" to 5" poplar. Other standard features of an AlSon home include zoned heating and cooling systems. "I never want my clients to be hot or cold," Waters explained. "It cost less to run two two and a half ton units than to run one 5-ton unit." Eighty-two pound carpet with 8 pound pad and high-grade berber in basements are also standard. He doesn't use columns for support in his basements but opts for an engineered floor system instead. A minimum of three coats of deluxe grade paint plus primer are also standard, interior doors feature level handles, all of his showers feature sitting ledges and in his three-car garage, the doors of three vehicles can be opened all at the same time. The "extras" on the Lee's Mill Landing home are almost too many to name, but consider these: A two-story master bedroom suite beginning on the main level with a fireplace in the bedroom area and tall-bayed windows overlooking a private deck and the lake, a spiral staircase leading to an enormous upperfloor sitting room, a sauna with two entrances and a steam shower, two-person whirpool tub, two-person shower with half a dozen heads, a bidet and phone in the water closet, heated ceramic tile in the bathroom, walk-in closet with a washer and dryer and an island featuring a heat-resistant top as a built-in ironing board. The suite is heated and cooled by a separate HVAC unit. An additional seven bedrooms and six baths; Linen closets in each bedroom; 150 recessed lights; Electric cable level for lowering and raising the chandelier for ease of changing fixtures and cleaning; Computer area set up for three systems with accompanying cabinetry; Smart wiring (16 lines on CAD 5, DSL, cable and DSS) which will allow up to eight computers on a network; Two 85-gallon water heaters; Cedar closet; Two full kitchens (one in the walk-out basement); Guest bedroom on the main level with private bath and closet; A soundproof theater in the basement wired for overhead projector and equipped with a dozen speakers and a subwoofer; An exercise room in the basement complete with dance floor; A large in-law suite, and much, much more. The house is presently under contract and Waters is headed to a 30-acre subdivision he's developing in Fairburn, the Lakes at White Mill. Eighteen homes are planned there, 10 of which are pre-sold. He wants to come back to Fayette County for his next project, where he hopes to build about 20 homes in the Fayetteville area on a 40-acre tract. Waters prefers smaller subdivisions. "It gets old when you're in a development for three to five years," he said.
|
||