Beyond Building Code: The Triple Check Construction Standard for New Home Building

Building a new custom home is the largest purchase most families ever make, and almost every builder in Northeast Kansas will tell you their homes "meet code." Here is what most homeowners never hear: building code is the legal minimum a house is allowed to be. It is the line between a permit and no permit, not a measure of quality.

Triple Check Construction builds past that line on purpose. Below is the actual specification list we use on our custom homes in Atchison, Leavenworth, Lansing and the surrounding communities, trade by trade, so you can compare it line for line against any other quote you receive.

Concrete, Footings and Foundations

Everything above ground depends on what is below it. Our residential concrete and slab work and footings and grade beams are done in house, not handed to the lowest bidder.

• 5-inch reinforced slabs. Many builders pour a 4-inch slab. We pour 5 inches with rebar tied on 24-inch centers for added strength and crack resistance under daily living loads.
• 3-foot-deep frost footings. Code in Atchison, Kansas requires footings 3 feet deep. We build to that depth every time, poured on undisturbed soil, so seasonal freeze and thaw cycles do not move your home.
• Under-slab PVC sleeves. We install conduit sleeves under the slab during the pour so future wiring, irrigation or utility runs never require cutting concrete.
• Passive radon rough-in. Northeast Kansas has known radon levels. We rough in a passive radon system before the slab is poured, when it costs a fraction of retrofitting later.
• Engineered fill and compaction. Fill is placed in lifts and compacted rather than dumped and leveled.

Framing and Structural Integrity

• Sill plates anchored every 4 feet. Standard code permits anchor bolts spaced up to 6 feet apart. We anchor treated sill plates every 4 feet, roughly a third more tie-down points around the entire perimeter, for better resistance to high winds and uplift.
• Subfloor screwed down. We screw our subflooring down rather than nailing it. Screws hold long term and are the single biggest factor in a floor that does not squeak in year five.
• Ring-shank nails on exterior wall and roof sheeting. Ring-shank fasteners resist withdrawal far better than smooth nails, which matters on the surfaces that take wind load.
• Simpson Strong-Tie connectors and hurricane fasteners at critical framing connections.
• TAMKO Titan XT Class 3 impact-resistant shingles as the roofing standard, not the builder-grade three-tab that comes on most spec homes.

Weather Barrier, Roofline and Water Management

A house fails at its water details long before it fails structurally.

• HydroGap drainable housewrap behind the siding, giving bulk water a drainage gap and a path back out instead of trapping it against the sheathing.
• Properly flashed windows, doors and penetrations with attention to sequencing, not just caulk.
• Metal-wrapped fascia. All exterior fascia is wrapped in custom-bent heavy-duty aluminum coil. No exposed wood to rot, peel or repaint, and no ladder work for the homeowner.
• Continuous vented vinyl soffits. Balanced intake air at the eaves feeds the ridge vents above, which keeps attics drier in winter and cooler in summer. Vinyl means zero painting and no pest entry.
• 5-inch seamless aluminum gutters, included standard. Many production builders treat gutters as an upgrade or install sectional gutters joined every ten feet that leak within two seasons. We roll-form 5-inch seamless gutters on site to fit your exact rooflines, with properly sized downspouts that discharge water well away from the foundation.
• Mold and termite treatment during construction, plus RISE siding and Gerkin double-hung windows — double-pane and double-hung, so every sash tilts in for easy cleaning and maintenance from inside the house.

Managing roof water is not a cosmetic detail. Seamless gutters and wrapped fascia are the cheapest foundation insurance you can buy in Kansas clay soil.

Electrical

Our licensed electrical work is designed for how families actually use a modern home.

• 200-amp Square D panel with room to grow for a shop, EV charger or future addition.
• Dedicated 20-amp home runs to each room instead of daisy-chaining half the house onto one circuit.
• Skip-wired kitchens. Kitchen circuits are alternated so two adjacent counter appliances are never fighting over the same breaker.
• Parallel pigtail wiring at devices, so a single failed outlet does not take the rest of the run down with it.
• CAT6 data drops for hardwired internet, cameras and work-from-home reliability.

Plumbing and HVAC

• Heat pump or high-efficiency gas furnace. Depending on your lot's utilities and your preference, we install a high-efficiency two-stage heat pump system or a high-efficiency gas furnace. Both are sized to your floor plan with Manual J load calculations, never by rule of thumb. See our HVAC installation and replacement details.
• Mueller Streamline DuraGuard UV line sets with sealed architectural penetrations, so insulation does not break down in the sun and refrigerant lines stay protected.
• 5-inch media filter cabinets as the filtration standard for better airflow and lower static pressure.
• Brass quarter-turn shutoff valves at every fixture instead of plastic multi-turn stops.
• Delta MultiChoice valve bodies in showers and tubs, so the trim can be updated in the future without opening the wall.
• Bath and range ventilation ducted in rigid metal directly to the exterior, never dumped into an attic.

Interior Craftsmanship

• Level 4 drywall finish as the baseline.
• Wood jambs with 2 1/4-inch casing all the way around, including the bottom of the window. No window stools on the standard.
• 5 1/2-inch baseboards throughout.
• Sherwin-Williams Emerald paint, Case LVP flooring and Shenandoah cabinetry.
• Solid wood shelving in closets and pantries instead of coated wire.

The Code Comparison

Turnkey Allowances You Can Actually Plan Around

Our homes are quoted turnkey, with real allowance numbers instead of vague "builder grade" language: garage doors at $2,500 per opening, toilets at $275, Delta faucets at $150, defined lighting allowances, and exterior-ducted ventilation included rather than listed as an extra.

The 1-2-10 Warranty

Every Triple Check Construction home carries a 1-year workmanship, 2-year systems and 10-year structural warranty. We are a local builder in Atchison. You will know exactly who to call, and we will still be here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a home built to code a well-built home?

Code is the legal minimum a house must meet to be permitted and occupied. It is a floor, not a target. Two homes can both pass inspection while being built very differently in slab thickness, fastening, ventilation and water management.

How deep do footings need to be in Atchison, Kansas?

Code in Atchison requires frost footings 3 feet deep. We build to that full depth on undisturbed soil on every home.

Do you install heat pumps as well as gas furnaces?

Yes. Depending on your lot's utility access, fuel availability and your preferences, we install high-efficiency heat pump systems or high-efficiency gas furnaces. Both are sized to your floor plan using Manual J load calculations.

Are gutters included in a Triple Check home?

Yes. We include 5-inch seamless aluminum gutters roll-formed on site, with properly sized downspouts routing water away from the foundation. Metal-wrapped fascia and vented vinyl soffits are standard as well.

Do you self-perform your builds in-house or use subcontractors?

Triple Check Construction is one of the few builders in the region with the in-house knowledge, equipment, and licensing to self-perform every aspect of the build — from excavation and concrete to framing, electrical, and heating and cooling. While we occasionally bring in trusted, vetted trade partners during peak seasons to keep schedules on track, having the hands-on capability to build every phase ourselves means we inspect and enforce our standards at a level typical general contractors simply can't.

Where do you build?

Atchison, Leavenworth, Lansing and communities within about an hour of 66002 in Northeast Kansas.

Build It Right the First Time

If you are comparing builders, bring this list with you and ask the hard questions. Ask about slab thickness, anchor spacing, how the subfloor is fastened, how the HVAC was sized, and whether gutters are included.

Call (913) 426-2588 or request a new home consultation. You can also review our new construction process and full list of services.

Code is the minimum. The Triple Check Standard is what we would want in our own home.