Anybody had their house built?

[djheater]

My wife and i are considering tearing down and building new. Has anybody done this?

I'd like some resources, the "home plans" sites I've come across all seem to suck (just don't seem to have what we're looking for). There are a million books on Amazon about this, anybody read any of them and reccomend specific ones?

thanks

 

[T3C]

not yet, cant wait untill the day we can afford to build a house though..

 

[Ornery]

Who is actually going to do the construction? You going to have an architect, contractor, carpenter or all of the above? I'd check with them to see if they've already built what you're looking for. You may be able to simply modify plans they already have.

What kind do you want? My personal favorite would be a Cape Cod with the master bedroom and laundry on the main floor.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: Ornery

What kind do you want? My personal favorite would be a Cape Cod with the master bedroom and laundry on the main floor.

Good advice, I wish there was a resellerratings for contractors, etc. We're looking to build a monster with a Mother-In-Law apartment attached. So probably couple of stories, 4 BR, 2-3 baths. Then probably put the MIL above a detached two car garage. something like that.

You see that's the problem, we have complicated needs and a specific lot, so it would have to fit the dimensions.
We'd end up hiring everybody I think.

 

[Shockwave]

It may end up being alot more if you hired everyone seperately then if you find a company that specializes in it. Also, it may be a helluva lot more pain in the ass, as YOU have to find everyone, get everything organized. With a "specialty" company, you sit down, figure out the plans and then they just run with it.
I myself would look at steel frame houses. LIterally, you can put the interior walls ANYWHERE, because there are no load bearing interior walls as I understand it. And from what I've seen, its comparable to wood in prices.
My house was built in a subdivision, so only thing I did was mark the boxes for the options and floorplan I wanted.

 

[Ornery]

Well, this is a good time to think about making things wheelchair accessible. Mom may be in good health now, but things can take a turn for the worse very quickly... God forbid. The extra money it costs could easily be recovered when you sell, because wheelchair bound people don't have a huge choice of homes to choose from. Guess it should be obvious that a second floor MIL suite might not be best. I'd stick the kids on the second floor. Good exercise for 'em!