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