PRODUCT REVIEW: WORLDWIDE STEEL BUILDINGS

Landscape: Graham Kimak Landscape Designs

Photography: J. Blanding Photography

Why we love them? AJH Custom Homes LLC specifies Worldwide Steel Buildings because they combine the affordable pricing of a pre-engineered building with quality steel, custom design and extremely attentive customer service.

Pre-engineered metal buildings, also known as PEMBs have been a popular product in the  light commercial market and for agriculture use buildings for many years. They utilize engineered steel posts and beams that are dialed in to be just as strong as the particular building and location call for. These beams and posts are connected with light gauge girts or purlins which support an exterior skin. This engineering means the customer is only paying for exactly what they need and doesn’t invest money in redundant assemblies or “one-size-fits-all” materials. However the process of minimizing expense in PEMBs often extends into the sales and support of those buildings and clients hear “you can’t do that” when they want to customize a structure. This sometime lack of customer service has earned PEMBs a reputation with residential customers as not being worth the trouble.

However, AJH Custom Homes has experienced something uncommon among PEMB vendors when working with Worldwide Steel Buildings. We find their products to be well designed, their team is willing to customize plans and incorporate client wishes, and their production support is excellent with attentive engineering review and comprehensive assembly drawings. They also provide notes and videos for team training! They are the best choice for a client interested in a detached garage, barn, stable, or workshop. The financial savings of a PEMB can be combined with custom engineering to create a structure and a space that complements your home and complies with HOA requirements. Instead of complaints you can expect envy from the neighbors!

Landscape: Graham Kimak Landscape Designs

Photography: J. Blanding Photography

Check out Worldwide Steel Building’s website from this link! And take a look at the video of a recent garage and outdoor living space AJH completed in summer of 2025!

PRODUCT REVIEW: AQUOR WATER SYSTEMS

Why do we love Aquor Water Systems products? Because the low profile faucet provides freeze protection while offering sharp modern lines or low visual impact.

A faucet should be located at each of the active spaces around the exterior of your home. But this often means a utility fixture is highly visible as your family gathers on the porch, pool deck, or grill station. Depending on which model you chose, you can align these Aquor fixtures with a modern home’s aesthetic or you can virtually hide the “hose-bib” entirely. The V2 with its square shape and color options is cutting edge for hose-bib technology and looks. At the same time the V1 with its low profile round shape can blend in anywhere and lets a traditional space shine.

In the upstate of South Carolina overnight freezes are a common occurrence and in the past decade deeper freezes have occurred each winter. If you are like us, when the forecast calls for overnight freeze you are busy worrying about your outdoor plants and not considering your hose-bibs. The cold weather impact is even greater for homeowners in Western North Carolina! In the past, homes often shed heat energy from the walls and floors which would keep the pipes and hose-bibs warm. As AJH strives to build homes tighter and exceed code minimums, installing spray foam wall assemblies or external insulation it has become more important to install a fixture that places the valve and water piping deeper inside the home’s envelope to keep it on the “warm side” of the shell … Aquor Water Systems does this so you don’t have to worry about it again.

Check out the V1 here: https://www.aquorwatersystems.com/products/house-hydrant-v1-plus

And the V2 here:  https://www.aquorwatersystems.com/products/house-hydrant-v2-plus-matte-black-stainless-steel

Also for a yard hydrant you can mow over instead of trimming around check out the ground hydrant: https://www.aquorwatersystems.com/products/ground-hydrant

PRODUCT REVIEW: JELD-WEN WINDOWS

An experienced developer once told us, “roofs don’t leak, it’s windows that leak.” And while there is an exception to every rule, we at AJH have found that it’s important to specify and install a quality window if you want to keep your home leak free! Over the past decade of building we have had opportunity to fit Jeld-Wen Windows on many different homes. Their classic double hung units with grids between the glass or simulated lites fit seamlessly in the suburban 5 over 4 with-a-door or in a Charleston-style row home. AJH appreciates the ability to manipulate the scale of their double hung units to match the exterior elevation character with light for the interior spaces.  When we build in the mountains, their ultra slim plate units capture the views while keeping out the wind and cold, and they can be engineered to withstand mountain storms.

“Jeld-Wen provides options for our customers in multiple lines and styles all while backing their windows up with a consistent warranty.”

Jeld-Wen offers low maintenance vinyl windows in several integral exterior colors; from traditional white and clay to dark bronze and black. In the past, AJH has relied on the their all-wood product when building in a historic overlay zoned districts. This product line also offers both stain or paint grade exteriors, and while the wood exterior does require a more attentive maintenance routine, there is no better way to match  historic fenestration. The Jeld-Wen aluminum clad product line is our go-to product and offers over 20 standard aluminum exterior colors and can even be customized to a color of your choice. We have yet to encounter a selection that we were unable to fulfill in the clad product line.

When specifying and purchasing windows AJH recommends Jeld-Wen because the lifetime cycle of their windows coordinates with the exterior finishes we install. It’s not smart to install a window that won’t last 10 years in a thoughtfully detailed exterior that will easily weather 50 years of sun, rain and cold! Choosing from Jeld-Wen’s product lines lets AJH match the right window both aesthetically and functionally to the home. And it allows our clients to enjoy beautiful views with peace of mind.

Key to that peace of mind is knowing AJH & Jeld-Wen will be there to service any issue that might arise. Whether in the frame of the window or the glass itself their warranty department is ready and willing to help AJH correct it, so our customers don’t have to live with anything less than an optimal unit.

Check out Jeld-Wen by following this link!