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Any advice for a guy who is going to build his first house?

R

RU482

Lifer
Just curious. My wife and I are getting ready to start bringing things together to build our first new home. If anyone here has any tips or warnings of pitfalls, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thanks!

We have found a lot in the country that we like and that is within our budget. We have a design that we like too. I planning to act as the general contractor, with assistance from my father and father in-law (both of which do that for a living). We are also planning on doing as much of the work as we physically and legally can (some framing, roofing, drywall hanging, wiring?, plumbing?, insulation, landscaping, decking, siding, painting, ect). We are exploring the panelized housing route (where they prefabricate some of the major components of the house off site), but I have yet to nail down the numbers from them. That's about all I can think of for now
 
As a structural engineer who inspects houses on a daily basis, one of the most overlooked (and under designed) components of a house is the foundation. I live in an area of the country (Mississippi) with "fat" or "heavy" clays and they are hell on a foundation that can't handle the seasonal movement.

Texas is known for having terrible soil conditions with this type of soil.

Who is doing the foundation?
 
When you do the walk-thru, if anything is not right, hold money out in escrow until it's fixed. This is the only thing that a builder understands.
 
You are building the house? Or you mean you are paying someone else to build a new house? In the case of the former, I'd suggest a power nailer. They make things like roofing soooo much easier. (and faster)
 
Originally posted by: db
When you do the walk-thru, if anything is not right, hold money out in escrow until it's fixed. This is the only thing that a builder understands.
Click to expand...

READ THE THREAD.
 
Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
As a structural engineer who inspects houses on a daily basis, one of the most overlooked (and under designed) components of a house is the foundation. I live in an area of the country (Mississippi) with "fat" or "heavy" clays and they are hell on a foundation that can't handle the seasonal movement.

Texas is known for having terrible soil conditions with this type of soil.

Who is doing the foundation?
Click to expand...

Engineers do cost a bit of money, but it is the way to get it done, and done right.

Look into structured wiring for the house, like Cat5e and coaxial cable, fiber runs to all the rooms. http://www.hometech.com/
 
Originally posted by: Mill
Originally posted by: db
When you do the walk-thru, if anything is not right, hold money out in escrow until it's fixed. This is the only thing that a builder understands.
Click to expand...

READ THE THREAD.
Click to expand...

Sniff--I'm sorry.
I mean: SNIFF--I'M SORRY.
 
Have a set of plans drawn up by a REAL ARCHITECT who is familiar with the area.
Have the plans examined by the local code enforcement agency BEFORE starting work.
Do not be afraid to get a general contractor on your side for consultation. and ask lots of questions.
Do not fear saying that you cannot do something and to call in competant LICENSED and INSURED and BONDED sub contractors.
Take out a workman's Compensation Rider on your insurance policy, especially if you're acting as the General Contractor.
Did I say ask lots of questions?
Good luck, and have fun.
 
gigabit ethernet, coax, phone, and speaker wire in every room. If you don't want to shell out for the wire up frount, at least run some pipe that you can pull wire through later one.
 
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