New house!!

[markgm]

I planned on getting a house later on in the year when I figured my credit score would be as high as it could be because I'd have paid off loads of stuff. Starting my house hunt early I found a new constuction that'll be finished in April or May. Well long story short, they ran my credit and pre-approved me for a loan with a good rate. Well, that was last week, next week I am going to put a deposit down and sign loads of paperwork!!

Seeing as I've saved (or spent!) tons of money as a result of this board, I was looking for suggestions from others about what I should ask to be included in the house (it's framed, roofed, sided, and has the windows in already). Things I've already requested that they've agreed to include gas appliances, better electrical, stuff like that. Anyone know what changes I should have them make and which ones I should do on my own? Running ethernet through the place is way too expensive (something like $100-$200 a jack) so that's something I'll do on my own. One of the closest I am turning into a media closet to hide all the computer junk in a central location. Those are the kind of things I'm looking for. Installed garage door openers $950, 2 on ebay, $300 or less!

I'm just ever so slightly excited! By the way, if anyone has a coupon for the builder, let me know, a 10% off would be nice ;-)

 

[Slacker]

Central vacuum system and conduit for future wiring like fibre or whatever new tech comes along.

 

[Chunkee]

flooring and upgraded kitchen amenities like countertops, better cabinets, actually putting on hardware on the cabinets that you choose, tiling, nice bathroom fixtures, lighting- getting better than crappy contractors grade,..

do this all now if you can my friend, it is cheaper and much easier before all the dry wall etc is in place.

also, better insulation, better windows,

and of course lastly

LANDSCAPING! they can get that for cheap and saves you a bunch of labor and time.

good luck

jC out

 

[MrScott81]

$100 to $200 per jack for ethernet? That's insane.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

950 to install a 200$ garage door opener? thats robbery! what else are they ripping you off on?

 

[iamwiz82]

I second the idea of conduit.

 

[Specop 007]

I recommend jacks yourself, most builders seem to rape you on that.
Upgraded insul, but it will most likely be to state code and also most likely will be maxed for the frame size (I think 2x4 only support R19 max... I THINK....)
If you can, get the spray in insulation. My father had it in his new house and LOVES it.
Check the warrenty, its probably 1 year from time of purchase but best to know for sure.
How wide are the doors? If you can upgrade them its a huge benefit. Most are a 32 (I think) and a 36 is much better. Windows is also ncie to upgrade to double paned or some such.
Also ask if they leave any extra building materials. They should, but ya neevr know. In my case they left the left over flooring and paint. The paint has came in very handy (Have kids)

In retrospect theres alot I would have done differently in my house, mainly with ergonomics in the kitchen.

 

[Budmantom]

Surround sound, lots of cable and phone jacks and wiring for fans.



Tom

 

[DeMeo]

a keg of beer and aold hound dog.

 

[rahvin]

Get it in the contract that you can do Low voltage wiring yourself. Make sure it's in writing and they don't charge you for it.

 

[WhiteKnight]

For the network runs, see if they'll let you in there before the drywall goes up, or at least before the painting and spackling is done.

 

[cpals]

Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
For the network runs, see if they'll let you in there before the drywall goes up, or at least before the painting and spackling is done.

That's what my friend did. His brother and I helped wire ethernet in all the rooms and even added a couple teleephone jacks.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: MrScott81
$100 to $200 per jack for ethernet? That's insane.

I don't think so, have them drop 2 RG6 and two cat 5e drops to every room for $500-700 and you will be set. Also have then wire the room where your entertainment system will be with speaker jacks so you dont have to run cable yourself.

I wouldn't bother with the central vaccuum its a paini n the ass at the end of the day lugging around the big cleaner and the attachments, spend your money on a dyson and be done with it.

and make sure you run all the wiring to a closet with plenty of ventilation and power

 

[Doggiedog]

Upgrade all your electrical switches and outlets with nice ones.

They make they place look much better and will help your resale value.

 

[Kelemvor]

$100-$200 per Jack? Holy crap?!? You in Wisconsin by any chance? Friend of mine does whole house audio/video/network etc and it's easy if the house isn't built yet....

 

[bernse]

Kitchen cabinets. Get big drawers for pots/pans, etc.

6' soaker tub, if you can.

Hold off on the landscaping for at least 1 year, IMHO. Give the soil a chance to settle before you put grass on it. Nothing worse than spending big bucks on your yard only to have a trench settle out.

Seal the concrete, although this is easily do-able yourself.

Wire the entire basement with light "switches" instead of just those pull cords. As well, put in perimeter outlets if they won't automatically.

Insulate the basement.

Wrap the home with homewrap.

Specify a high-effeciency furnace. Also may not be a bad idea to upgrade your hot water heater to a larger size. Nothing is worse than running out of hotwater if the dishwasher is on and you want a bath. Now is the time to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

[KoolAidKid]

Originally posted by: bernse
Specify a high-effeciency furnace. Also may not be a bad idea to upgrade your hot water heater to a larger size. Nothing is worse than running out of hotwater if the dishwasher is on and you want a bath. Now is the time to make sure that doesn't happen.

How about one of those cool tankless water heaters? I remember reading that you can never run out of hot water, and I believe that they are more energy efficient than a traditional water heater.

 

[bernse]

I'm not a big fan of those on-demand hot water systems. I will admit I do not have firsthand experience with them, I was under the impression they are not "hot-hot" like how a tank heater can be, and it takes a bit for it to "get up to temperature"... it really isn't as instant as you would think... but I guess the bonus is you don't run out of the "hot-ish" water once it starts.

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: bernse
Hold off on the landscaping for at least 1 year, IMHO. Give the soil a chance to settle before you put grass on it. Nothing worse than spending big bucks on your yard only to have a trench settle out.

Best advice yet i think.
Ended up with about a foot n a half sink hole in my yard.

 

[spacejamz]

had a friend whose builder wanted to charge about $150 jack and then told him that he couldn't put his own cable down before the drywall went up...

so he asked them to find out where in his contract that he couldn't...since they could not, he saved a ton of money doing it himself...

Hey OP...congrats on the house....

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Slacker
Central vacuum system and conduit for future wiring like fibre or whatever new tech comes along.

A family member used to use that central vacuum system but they CONSTANTLY had problems with the system getting clogged and was expensive to have someone come find the clog and clean it out. I don't trust those things; A good old fasioned cyclone upright is effective, easier to manage and clean, and isn't that much of a PITA.

Good luck on the new home, OP! :thumbsup:

 

[markgm]

Wow, thanks for all the responses!

The house is actually in Connecticut. I'd like to do as many things as I can, but from what it sounds like the builder won't let me. I might sneak in the house in the middle of the night during construction though ;-) I'll see if I can get it put in the contract that I can do the wiring myself for the low voltage stuff.

I'm trying to upgrade as many things as practical, such as the flooring. They had vinyl in the kitchen/dining room, they are putting in hardwood floors for $200 more. Some stuff they are reasonable on.

I think things like the garage door they rip you off on because the average person wants to move into a house that is perfect. I'm willing to save some bucks and finish things off myself. The idea of an unfinished basement is really cool because I have so many ideas how to turn it into a media room. (I already have the mounting for my projector ready to go!)

I want to add wiring for surround sound, but I might just add it in the basement and leave the first floor living room as a formal room. The plasma can go there! (Okay, a plasma will go there after I win the lottery.)


I plan on getting a tankless water heater. It has electric hot water, they are converting it to gas for $225, but won't install the tankless, so I'll have to do that myself. I am looking at getting the Bosch AquaStar 250SX-NG off of ebay. It was 700 a few weeks ago, so I'll just wait to find a deal. The house comes with a 40 gallon, and with 4 bedrooms, that's pathetic. I plan on renting out two of the rooms, so the idea of a tankless seems like a good one.

Thanks for all the advice so far! Being 6'5", there are a million things I would like changed but won't bother with. The counters being another 8" higher would be nice, but I could only imagine what they'd charge if they would even do it.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

If the house has a low ceiling attic, have them put plywood planks on 2x4's to make a "floor to crawl around on. doing this will greatly help out as you can access most of the attic space and use it for storage. My GF's dad did this to his place and it helps a lot.

 

[markgm]

I asked them to, they said they won't...looks like I'll be doing that myself. I also wanted attic stairs in the hallway, but the said they are going to keep the opening in the master bedroom closet. Located there, I'll never be able to use it for storage. This will be an upgrade I do on my own. A couple 2x6's to frame in the stairs, the stairs themselves go for 300 or so, and then a little paint to clean up the mess.

 

[DrPizza]

If there were any possible way to get in there to run the ethernet yourself, I'd do it... and while I was at it, I'd run cable, ethernet, everything to each room... the wiring is dirt cheap. Tell them to just leave the wires hanging out of the wall if they don't want to finish around them - you can put the boxes in later. But, it'll save 90% of the time of doing it after the drywall is up.