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Stephen Waters

@firstworldwasted

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I like it better outside

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Thanks to everyone who stopped by today to paint Roney for Mayor yard signs! Want one for your yard—or to join our fun team of volunteers? Click “volunteer” at KimRoney4Asheville.com and follow @electkimroney!

#KimRoneyforAsheville #KimRoneyforMayor #reducereuserecycle #Asheville

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The correct order of operations can sometimes be more difficult than knowing how to build the home. Coming from the remodel world early in my career in which we self-performed most parts of the projects that order of operations could be wildly different from that of a new construction, sub-contractor driven project. Sometimes it even becomes wildly different based on the scale of the project. Having toured 25K SQFT homes where one end is in drywall while the other is still in rough framing and not dried in yet, I can see that order of operation is so different on every project. What works for one project doesn’t for another.
What is the most ‘out of order thing’ you have ever had to do?
Project #rockytopaarow
Architect @hoke_ley
Build @aarowbuilding
#aarowbuilding #comobuilds #kscustomhome #desotoks #kansascitycustomhome #foundation #concrete #concretelife #stego #vaporbarrier #insulation #haloinsulation #longliveourbuildings #buildingscience

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Heading to Build Show Live this week? Swing by Booth 637 and meet the experts at Santa Fe Dehumidifiers! Their team will be on site to talk shop, walk you through the product lineup and answer questions—whether you’re sizing a unit, planning an install or just want to learn how to get the most out of your dehumidifier (yes, even reading the manual counts).
If you’ve ever wondered which model is right for your space or how to improve indoor air quality, this is your chance to get answers from the people who know these systems inside and out. Stop in, say hello and leave with a plan for a drier, healthier home. Make sure you say hi to my go to for help @
#BuildShowLive #SantaFeDehumidifiers #IndoorAirQuality #BuildingScience #HVAC #HVACLIFE #aarowbuilding #comobuilds #buildingbetter #dehumidifiers #buildingsciencefightclub #build #ubip #buildbetter

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Another builder asked: Who’s responsible for protecting the work on site the contractor or the installer?

At Aarow Building, our answer is simple: we are.

Our clients hired us to be the responsible party—the adult supervision—on every project. That means we check protection on every site, no matter who installed it. If it’s missing, weak, or could be better, we fix it.
Because at the end of the day, if there’s a problem, it’s our problem. So we’d rather make sure there isn’t one.

Who is responsible for protecting work on your project, general contractor or the installers?

Project - #paradiseaarow

#builderlife #constructionleadership #jobsiteprotection #buildingstandards #highperformancebuilding #customhomebuilder #constructionbestpractices #qualitycraftsmanship #buildbetter #constructionsite #generalcontractor #constructionmanagement #buildingscience #attentiontodetail #aarowbuilding #comobuilds

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I think we’re only a few short years away from a second “mold crisis.”

Why?

Because we’re upgrading insulation and air sealing without getting equally serious about water management at openings.

Once air leak testing is fully enforced, windows will start failing within a few years (because all windows that see water eventually leak). With more insulation and less airflow through walls, drying potential drops—fast. Reduced energy flow-good. Reduced drying potential-bad.

That means a single window leak can cause way more damage, way faster.
I hope I’m wrong. But we’re not taking chances. Every opening we build is fully waterproofed so that if a window ever leaks, the water drains safely outside.
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Project #paradiseaarow
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#aarowbuilding #columbiamo #kansascity #johnsoncountyks #comobuilds #kcbuilder #builditbetter #passivehouse #betterbuilding #windows #windowinstall #windowinstalltipsandtricks #rainscreen # #MoldPrevention #MoistureControl
#BuildingEnvelope #Weatherproofing #BuildingDurability #HealthyHomes
#MoldAwareness #Waterproofing #beforeitsaproblem #UBIP

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The creation of spaces that are well proportioned, and welcoming is something that in my mind is not done well often. So often now, homes are created with these huge entry ways, and really tall front doors as if giants reside at the home. The internet, design magazines, and whatever else folks are viewing to get their ‘taste’ from have forgotten to remember that we have to feel these spaces as we inhabit them. A home should be welcoming. The entry should bring you inward and encourage you to feel warm and encouraged to feel comfortable, not small and insignificant. This entry deck leads you into the front door, its warm, secure, and become more and more secure the closer you get to the door. It works. So do the material choices.
#quarryheightsarrow
Architecture @stevenbaczekarchitect
Interior Design @lemuellerdesignco
Build @aarowbuilding
#comobuilds #aarowbuilding #design #architecture #residentialdesign #homedesign #senseofplace #designthatfeelsgood #comfortbydesign #invitingspaces #designwithintention #humanscale #builtright #craftedwithcare #architecturedaily #interiorandexterior #designmatters #highperformancehome

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The best part of IBS is getting to connect with manufacturers that don’t have local representatives in our markets. We have already ordered our @nakamotoforestry cladding for our #quarryheightsaarow project however they were ordered from mail ordered samples. Seeing it in-person, we made the right choice! Go to the south hall today and check them out.
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#aarowbuilding #comobuilds #nakamotoforestry #siding #cladding #building #woodsiding #ubip #longliveourbuildings #betterbuilding #ibs2025

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Controlling the movement of air is one of the most important parts of providing control over the built environment for our buildings. Majrex is the product we use on the bottom side of our trusses or ceiling framing to stop the migration of air. This could be handled by a multitude of very simple products. However, this product is also a smart vapor control membrane on top of being an air management tool. Made by @siga_north_america this smart vapor barrier allows for one directional moisture flow. This means water vapor can migrate from the attic into the building allowing for drying of the assembly, but not the other way around. This is a critical part of our homes reaching 0.6ACH50 or less during blower door testing. That air control layer being continuous is key. Majrex is a large part of that.
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Project #cattleranchaarow
Architect @stevenbaczekarchitect
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#aarowbuiling #customhome #customhomebuilding #comobuilds #kcmobuilds #homebuilding #betterbuilding #buildersofig #thewaywebuild #homebuilding #custom #homebuildersofig #homerenovations #ubip #buildshownetwork #tipsandtricks #siga #majrex #airbarrier #ACH50 #phius #passivehouse

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Plumbing planning and layout. I understand that it doesn’t have to be clean looking to function well but there is something in my ape brain that allows me to feel like things will be better when the work looks simple and clean. On some level less twists and turns don’t hurt anything. What does your ape brain like to see on jobs? Plumbing or otherwise?
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Project #paradiseaarow
Architect @stevenbaczekarchitech
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#aarowbuilding #comobuilds #kcmobuilds #customhomebuilder #plumbing #plumbingroughin #foundation #building #buildingplanning #betterbuilding #tipsandtricks #builditbetter #foundationwork #basement #agoodstart #ubip #buildshow #longliveourbuildings

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There are things that 15 years ago I tried really hard to talk clients out of doing because I simply didn’t like having to deal with. One of those things is wall-mounted faucets (another is wall-mounted toilets which you can see in the background). They were scary, I thought we would mess it up. Now I have a different opinion. We have our systems in place, our team is more organized, our we are just all around a better builder and it isn’t a challenge to nail the details. Or I guess I should say it really isn’t a big deal for us to figure out how to nail the details. Does that make sense? You grow and get better over time and the things that used to scare you and intimidate you become small and simple. Such is life right? What is something in your builds or life today that used to be intimidating and is commonplace today? Be honest, younger folks here need to hear it from us more often.
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#aarowbuilding #kcbuilding #johnsoncountybuilder #johnsoncountybathroom #comobuilds #bathroom #bathroomdetails #wallmountedfaucet #wallmountedtoilet #dwell #architecturaldetails #longliveourbuildings #ubip #buildshow #builditbetter

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Not sponsored. When I was a kid all we could get our hands on was crappy duct tape that was really hard to tear and white masking tape that was impossible to find the starting point on. Tapes have become something I could have never imaginged. Now there are tapes for everything including masking off duct work. This stuff comes from tapeguys.com and we are freaking in love with it. It doesn’t screw up finished surfaces when, you can tack it to lots of different surfaces, and it is perforated for ease of workflow. Masking duct work is a pain. If something is difficult of painful it is less likely to be completed or completed well. Simply keeping some tape around resolves that issue. Again, not sponsored, we like this stuff, and you should know about it. What is that thing that since you first joined the industry has evolved beyond what you ever imagined?
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#tape #hvac #hvaclife #maskingtape #whoknew #aarowbuilding #comobuilds #kcbuilds #customhomebuilder #bestpractices #longliveourbuildings #iaq #indoorairquality #6ps #remodel #renovation

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Sometimes planning is the only thing that makes the world go round. After a couple weeks of measuring and showing up with the steel guy, really, I think @russelbilt and @bbuildsit made three trips to site to verify measurements before the steel went into production, the steel was placed, and it was time to fly some 2 ply 48’ LVLs. Our solution for flying them into place as cost effectively as we could was to laminate them on the ground the day before and have them completely ready for when our crane arrived. In fact, once the crane was set and ready to pick, it was only about 13 minutes to lift the two in place. Thankfully we partnered the garage roof trusses to make it worth the effort. This house has a very complicated little frame, more complicated that it first appears. It is coming together nicely, and we are really happy with it so far. Follow the #quarryheightsaarow project to follow along.
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Project #quarryheightsaarow
Architect @stevenbaczekarchtiect
Build @aarowbuilding
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#aarowbuilding #comobuilds #columbiamo #kansascitymo #johnsoncountyks #kcmocustombuilder #kccustombuilder #customhomebuilder #betterbuilding #flyinghouse #huber #longliveourbuildings #ubip #design #dwell

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