Building a House: Any advice?

[Raiden256]

Hey folks...

I just signed a contract to build this house last night. Since I've never had a home built before, I was wondering if anyone who has done it has any advice.

Any questions I need to ask, or things to which I should pay close attention during the build process?

Any things I might want to do now because they're easier, rather than later when the house is complete? (Note that since this is a relatively high volume builder, they don't let the owner do a whole lot of tweaking. If I establish good relationships with the contractors though, maybe I can get things like the pre-wiring for my home theater equipment done -- who knows.)

Thanks!

 

[Pliablemoose]

Cases of beer for the construction crews go a long way towards getting what you want, just be sure to bring it by @ the end of their day, not @ 8:00am might want to check what their favorite brand is (kegs work well too)

Always loved the future owner when they did that for us

 

[BigJelly]

A couple of things i learned:
Complete the basement.
Build a room or storage space above the gerage.
And make sure you get a battery back up sub-pump.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Storage of all your stuff is always overlooked when you're planning a house, the over the garage storage idea is a very good one

 

[RossMAN]

Wow nice home, what's the total cost?

 

[human2k]

wow, you must be rich, beats living in the card board box.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Do the extra room/storage above the garage & have them put in a small door into it from the master BR &/or 3rd bedroom/home office.

It would make it much easier to get to the storage than climbing those damn collapsing stairs thay like to install...

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

whats the sq footage?

 

[Raiden256]

Base price = $190,900
Options = $22,825 (almost every one available)
Lot premium = $1000
Sales Incentive = (-) $450

Total = $214,275 for 2307 sq ft

With $28K down and with a 2/1 conventional buydown mortgage (3.875% year 1, 4.875% year 2, and 5.875% thereafter until year 30), payments including P&I, PMI, insurance, and taxes are roughly, $1170 per month the first year, increasing by about $110 the next two years.

My three favorite words are Dual Income Family

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Raiden256
Base price = $190,900
Options = $22,825 (almost every one available)
Lot premium = $1000
Sales Incentive = (-) $450

Total = $214,275 for 2307 sq ft

With $28K down and with a 2/1 conventional buydown mortgage (3.875% year 1, 4.875% year 2, and 5.875% thereafter until year 30), payments including P&I, PMI, insurance, and taxes are roughly, $1170 per month the first year, increasing by about $110 the next two years.

My three favorite words are Dual Income Family

Damn and this is in KENTUCKY, right?

I assumed everything in the midwest (cough vi_edit in Iowa cough) was cheap?

 

[Queasy]

Go ahead and find an independent inspector to inspect the home when the frame is up (prior to the putting up the sheetwall) and when the home is complete. You do NOT want to trust the builder's inspector. They are honest for the most part, but they work for the builder, not you.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Once the house starts being framed, visit the construction site regularly with a digital camera (or a disposable), a yardstick, and a notebook. Go room to room, taking pictures of each wall, putting the yardstick in the picture for scale. Make notes about which room you're in and which wall you're facing as you take pictures. This will be absolutely invaluable later when you need to figure out where studs/pipes/wiring are, unless you happen to like removing/reinstalling drywall.

If you have carpeting and it's an option, go for denser (7+ lb.) padding to extend the life of your carpet.

Inquire whether the shingles/exterior paint contain algae resistance. See if you can upgrade if they don't (the price may be a couple hundred dollars extra, but you're going to save yourself a lot of cleaning/repainting later).

If you ever want an inground sprinkler system, think about having it installed now as the house is being built.

 

[yowolabi]

Don't build it out of glass...




If you do, don't throw stones.

 

[Raiden256]

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Once the house starts being framed, visit the construction site regularly with a digital camera (or a disposable), a yardstick, and a notebook. Go room to room, taking pictures of each wall, putting the yardstick in the picture for scale. Make notes about which room you're in and which wall you're facing as you take pictures. This will be absolutely invaluable later when you need to figure out where studs/pipes/wiring are, unless you happen to like removing/reinstalling drywall.

This is something I hadn't thought of. Sounds like great advice!

 

[spacelord]

get good carpet and padding. builders tend to screw you on upgrades though.
you may be better off to take their crappy base carpet and pad, and then have it replaced in a year or 2 by a carpet company.

don't let the builder take advantage of you. this hasn't happened to me... but to others. The builder messes up.. for example puts in wrong tile, wrong doorways, stuff you didn't want.. wether is more expensive or cheaper.. don't let him force you to pay extra for his screwups. Honestly I think its screwups, because the contracters are hired because they are cheap and uninformed.
if he wants to give you something better for same price take it though.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Go ahead and find an independent inspector to inspect the home when the frame is up (prior to the putting up the sheetwall) and when the home is complete. You do NOT want to trust the builder's inspector. They are honest for the most part, but they work for the builder, not you.

That's advice I'd recommend to anyone buying a house, new or otherwise (although it's even more of a factor when buying a secondhand home). Also be sure to interview inspection candidates -- find out how many years experience they have, whether they have certification (American Society of Home Inspectors -- ASHI), how current they are with existing codes, and most importantly, see some sample reports -- what sort of documentation they will give you. A thorough report should include a checklist of what was inspected, and detailed notes about any issues that are found. Also, get a person who specializes in home inspection and isn't part of a firm that does repair work (i.e. conflict of interest).

It's also a very good idea to ask if the inspector will allow you to accompany you on the inspection. Don't use anyone who balks at this, and make sure that you go when your inspection is scheduled (wear rugged, okay-to-get-dirty clothing). Ask questions about any issues found and what their remedies are.

 

[Ornery]

"...this is a relatively high volume builder, they don't let the owner do a whole lot of tweaking..."

Did your upgrades include better quality windows, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures and flooring? That does sound pricey for Kentucky. Any particular reason you chose this builder? Any particular reason you're buying a new house? The most choice locations already have houses sitting on them. What do $220,000.00 houses look like in those areas?

I personally would prefer the master bedroom and laundry on the main floor. Did you pick a colonial because it's more practical? How long do you plan on staying there? Go check out some of the neighbor's homes and see how satisfied they are with the construction, drainage, settling and repairs by the builder.

 

[spacelord]

save extra cash for the folllowing things which will add up big time!

1. Shades and Blinds (unless you just tape up wrapping paper..)
2. Landscaping (unless you go just spread grass seed and apply water with hose)

 

[Raiden256]

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...this is a relatively high volume builder, they don't let the owner do a whole lot of tweaking..."

Did your upgrades include better quality windows, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures and flooring? That does sound pricey for Kentucky. Any particular reason you chose this builder? Any particular reason you're buying a new house? The most choice locations already have houses sitting on them. What do $220,000.00 houses look like in those areas?

I personally would prefer the master bedroom and laundry on the main floor. Did you pick a colonial because it's more practical? How long do you plan on staying there? Go check out some of the neighbor's homes and see how satisfied they are with the construction, drainage, settling and repairs by the builder.

The upgrades included several structural things like a 6' addition to the family room, a boxed bay door off the kitchen, fireplace, full basement etc. Also upgrades of standard things like carpet and trim to nicer versions.

We didn't want a 1st floor master as we have a baby coming soon, and this wouldn't be practical. We'll prob be in the house a minimum of 7 years.

This house is in an area of town that has almost no new construction, and the more we looked at older, existing homes, the more appealing building a house became. You could maybe get the same features in an existing house for ~$10K less, but to have everything new and not need to update anything, it really was a wash for us.

Keep in mind this is Louisville, not the rest of Kentucky. Even though Louisville's cheaper than most places in the US for property, I suspect it's higher than most other places in KY.

 

[rahvin]

Find out where the general lives so you can kill him after it's built. This is often overlooked as you think you might be satisfied, that is until you have lived there a year and the wall starts sagging.

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Storage of all your stuff is always overlooked when you're planning a house, the over the garage storage idea is a very good one

Yeah make sure it's all open so you can put a lift in your garage

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: Raiden256

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Once the house starts being framed, visit the construction site regularly with a digital camera (or a disposable), a yardstick, and a notebook. Go room to room, taking pictures of each wall, putting the yardstick in the picture for scale. Make notes about which room you're in and which wall you're facing as you take pictures. This will be absolutely invaluable later when you need to figure out where studs/pipes/wiring are, unless you happen to like removing/reinstalling drywall.

This is something I hadn't thought of. Sounds like great advice!

Went through with my camcorder and did that. Didn't have a digicam. It's a bit of a pain to get to the right point on the tape, but, it's come in handy a few times now.

Keep in mind, some Inspectors can be bastards about 'extra' wiring not in the plans. It's not your house until you close, so, you can actually get in legal trouble for doing stuff yourself. That said, I was allowed to run a few wires as long as they didn't look out of place. I was careful and it went smooth. The builder wanted $150/run labor to do that (for any/each type of wire). Bastards. Wouldn't/Couldn't run duct either or I'd have paid to 'legally' do that.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Cases of beer for the construction crews go a long way towards getting what you want, just be sure to bring it by @ the end of their day, not @ 8:00am might want to check what their favorite brand is (kegs work well too) Always loved the future owner when they did that for us

Yeah that worked well for us too...Those guys work their butt's off.


Ausm

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Raiden256 Base price = $190,900 Options = $22,825 (almost every one available) Lot premium = $1000 Sales Incentive = (-) $450 Total = $214,275 for 2307 sq ft With $28K down and with a 2/1 conventional buydown mortgage (3.875% year 1, 4.875% year 2, and 5.875% thereafter until year 30), payments including P&I, PMI, insurance, and taxes are roughly, $1170 per month the first year, increasing by about $110 the next two years. My three favorite words are Dual Income Family

Damn and this is in KENTUCKY, right? I assumed everything in the midwest (cough vi_edit in Iowa cough) was cheap?

Nice House BTW that is about the going price for the same type of house where I live also...


AUsm

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: dman6666

Originally posted by: Raiden256

Originally posted by: FeathersMcGraw
Once the house starts being framed, visit the construction site regularly with a digital camera (or a disposable), a yardstick, and a notebook. Go room to room, taking pictures of each wall, putting the yardstick in the picture for scale. Make notes about which room you're in and which wall you're facing as you take pictures. This will be absolutely invaluable later when you need to figure out where studs/pipes/wiring are, unless you happen to like removing/reinstalling drywall.

This is something I hadn't thought of. Sounds like great advice!

Went through with my camcorder and did that. Didn't have a digicam. It's a bit of a pain to get to the right point on the tape, but, it's come in handy a few times now.

Keep in mind, some Inspectors can be bastards about 'extra' wiring not in the plans. It's not your house until you close, so, you can actually get in legal trouble for doing stuff yourself. That said, I was allowed to run a few wires as long as they didn't look out of place. I was careful and it went smooth. The builder wanted $150/run labor to do that (for any/each type of wire). Bastards. Wouldn't/Couldn't run duct either or I'd have paid to 'legally' do that.

Uhm, there's a nice gadget called a stud finder that will be alot easier then going back to that tape to accurately find framing members.

The other problem with doing extra wiring yourself is that the framing inspection has to be done after all the plumbing & wiring rough-in. If you go in to run some CAT5 and drill through the wrong part of a framing member, or to big a hole, it won't pass framing (which is the contractors responsibility) and will potentially cost alot to fix. I've heard of some generals that will let you go in and do this yourself, but they generally want to know that you have a clue. Most will refer you to a list of subs and tell you you have to work from that.

At least in my area, the building inspectors don't care about low voltage wiring as long as it doesn't impact the structural integrity.