I had the honor of interviewing  Robert Marini Jr., CEO of Robert Marini Builders.

If you were to speak in generalities, why would you tell people to buy new construction?

I would answer that question with a question...”Why would you want to buy a 20 year old car?” By purchasing a new home, you are purchasing the latest new home technologies in building systems and energy efficiency. When purchasing a used home, one has to deal with functional obsolescence, updating the home, and eventually performing major repairs (such as a new roof) that would not be necessary in the purchase of a new home.

With energy costs skyrocketing, what do new homes offer that older ones may not in terms of energy efficiency?

All of our homes are energy star certified and exceed the minimum requirements and pass a rigorous testing process that guarantees our customer’s energy savings of at least 30% compared to a home that is not certified. From upgraded insulation to Andersen Windows, two stage high efficiency gas furnaces and highly efficient air conditioner’s our Customer’s are assured that their energy costs will be greatly reduced. We often get calls from our Customer’s asking us if their is a problem with their gas and electric meters because they can’t believe how low their monthly energy costs are. Recently we surveyed one customer who moved out of a 1,800sf townhome and into a 3,200sf home. Their total energy costs for their new home were virtually the same as what they were paying for their older townhome.

What separates Robert Marini Builders with the other local builders?

Teamwork that is customer focused. We have a team of professionals that care about our Customer’s and the finished product that we deliver. This attitude exists in everyone in our organization from the foundation contractor to the final cleaning team. The attitude, experience and skill set of our employee’s and trade partner’s deliver a product (homes and communities) that our customer’s can be proud to call home.

What are the latest technologies/construction methods that Robert Marini Builders utilize

Codes have become more stringent over the past ten years and in addition energy star homes are built much tighter than the average home. As a result, building systems are more important than ever and making things even more complicated than that, we live in a cold climate. We employ a best practices systems approach for high performance homes in cold climates. We need to make sure that the homes are safe, healthy, durable, comfortable and environmentally responsible. There are several systems that we monitor on a regular basis such as the following:
• Systems engineering that design the structure using advanced framing techniques
• Duct systems that eliminate air leakage
• Mechanical systems that are efficient and allow the home to breathe
• Moisture control systems that prevent moisture from damaging the structure
• Drainage systems that keep ground water away from the foundation
• Sub slab systems that control drainage and radon gas
• Energy performance that seals the building and prevents air leakage
• Occupant health and safety systems such as building ventilation and humidity control


Talk about the warranties’ that Robert Marini Builders has put in place

Our warranty is among the best in the industry. We offer a 2 year systems warranty 5 year extended coverage warranty and 10 year coverage on structural defects. More importantly, we build in quality up front to reduce callbacks. We believe that the up-front cost of using better materials and labor to produce better results provides a “payback” to our profitability in reducing callbacks and warranty claims. We look at the warranty as a document to protect the customer from substandard building practices, however, our philosophy is to pay more up front to get savings “in the long term” by not having to spend a lot of money on costly repairs.